Dani Vivian, from Athletic, winner of the Euro Cup. Sergio Camello, from Rayo Vallecano, top scorer of the team that won Olympic gold. Rodrigo Riquelme, recruited by Sergeant Simeone at Atlético de Madrid. Nico Jackson, Chelsea striker. Iván Martín, a regular at the historic Girona in the Champions League. Abdón Prats, legend of Mallorca, finalist of the Cup. Iraola, coach of Bournemouth after shining in Vallecas. They all grew up in the same house: Anduva. The humble Mirandés, which represents the small Miranda de Ebro (Burgos, 35,000 inhabitants) in the Second Division, is holding on in the hyper-tense silver category, overcoming financial difficulties as a springboard for young gems from powerful teams. A review of the First and Second Division squads reveals the breeding ground for wild boars, with changing rooms renewed annually with players loaned out to do their military service. This season, 12 of the 21 footballers came on loan.
Far away is the friendly and very modest Mirandés of Pablo Infante, banker by day and magician by night, or the bronze myth César Caneda, with those semi-finals of the Copa del Rey in 2012 with a squad more accustomed to the mud than to the cameras. The disadvantage, the lack of experience to fight to stay in the Second Division, but the weapon of enormous quality and the seal of the great youth teams wins. The objective, to stay in the Second Division even if suffering until the end, as last season. The paths of football mean that a striker who a few years ago harangued the small but noisy red and white crowd now has an Olympic gold. Sergio Camello reflects on that Mirandés where two seasons ago he scored 15 goals in a diabolical partnership with Rodrigo Riquelme (seven goals and 12 assists). “The experience in such a young dressing room was wonderful. It was my first year away and it is appreciated to meet people of your generation, we all came from important teams. In Miranda I matured because I left home and had to behave like an adult,” said the striker, aware of the disadvantages of inexperience: “We lacked the experience to control the games and finish higher, that comes with age and football and sometimes we behaved like a reserve team.”
That team finished in the middle of the table with names like the two Atlético youth players, Meseguer (Real Valladolid), Sergio Carreira (Celta), Iñigo Vicente (Racing) or Brugué (Levante). Camello opted “for what it understood as a springboard for many players”, and ended up forming a quality squad: “We shared the responsibility because we knew we could give a lot and be important.”
The president of CD Mirandés, Alfredo de Miguel, attributes this model to the club’s economic philosophy, which tends not to take on debt. “Nobody is going to help us if things get tough, we do budgetary tricks. The conclusion is given by the market, we cannot turn to players with competition like Málaga or Deportivo.” The manager admits not trusting veteran players, backed by the successes of these campaigns, and attributes the performance of the youngsters to the very personal treatment, a lot of proximity: “They feel like they are part of a big family.” The “loaning” teams, adds De Miguel, fully trust Mirandés to train their players because “all parties benefit.” “The vast majority are great kids and seeing them develop and succeed gives me enormous satisfaction, in the Olympic Games the pass to the final was given by a goal from Juanlu and the two gold medals, Camello, were ours,” details the president: “Look, there are clubs in the world!” he exclaims.
The success of reaching another cup semi-final in the 2019-2020 season resonated under this new and effective model. The following year, Vivian led the defence, Iván Martín snaked in the three-quarters and Meseguer handled the midfield. The latter, now a Pucela player, fondly remembers that baptism. He was 20 years old when he changed his formation in Murcia for the reality of Anduva. “When they called me from Segunda I didn’t even think about it, the sports director Chema Aragón bet on me, it was a big step,” says Meseguer, happy in a new and hungry dressing room: “There was a very good atmosphere, at first it was always difficult, but there was so much talent that we won as soon as we worked, based on quality.” For many it was the first adventure outside the nest and they ended up growing up on and off the field, with many afternoons together to alleviate that initial loneliness. “It was almost a reserve team,” says Mese, one of the few who played two seasons in a row, with 76 games.
The proximity to Euskadi helps Basque teams from prestigious lower categories to trust Mirandés for their youngsters. Real Sociedad sent Guridi (now from Alavés) or Merquelanz (Eibar, burdened by serious injuries), and Athletic Bilbao sent Vivian, Imanol García de Albéniz or Beñat Prados, Ernesto Valverde’s young compass, who coincided with Juanlu (Sevilla) or García de Haro (Osasuna). Prados praises that he learned what awaited him when he jumped from First RFEF to Second, “with a high level and tough teams” as training prior to the elite. After starting in the middle, he moved to center back in a line of five: “I improved the defensive facet in duels, the category demands it and I became a better player.” The midfielder chose Miranda on the advice of Vivian and Iñigo Vicente and seduced by the project offered by Chema Aragón and the coach, a Joseba Etxeberría who he knew from the Biscayan reserve team. “With so many young players we became closer, we often met up for a drink and we became friends,” says the man from Pamplona, who blames the bad start on the fact that so many new players joined together: “We didn’t know each other, we didn’t know how each one played. One ends up asking for the ball at the foot and another in space, that’s why it’s a bit difficult to get started.” That’s why he praises veterans from that year like Raúl Navas or Manu García to help digest the phases of the long Second Division seasons.
Last season, Carlos Martín (15 goals), now on loan from Atlético in Vitoria, and Gabri Martínez (a Girona reserve team player, now at Sporting Braga, who scored nine goals and provided six assists) stood out. In 2024-2025, the sixth consecutive year in the Second Division, Panichelli is currently on the horizon, with a goal and good feelings, belonging to Alavés. There will be time for him, or any of his teammates, to add to their CV.
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