Three years had passed since Manchester City's dark days, and the situation had changed dramatically. The Richard of today was confident—determined to secure three names that could guarantee City's future for at least a decade.
Antiguoko Kirol Elkartea (Sport Club of Antiguo in English) is an amateur youth Spanish football club based in Antiguo, a district of San Sebastián in the Basque Country, Spain.
It didn't take long for Richard to go there and speak with Xabi Alonso's agent—or, to be exact, his father, Periko Alonso.
Periko had won La Liga twice in successive seasons with Real Sociedad, and a third time after joining Barcelona. He had also represented the national team, earning 21 caps over the course of his career.
