When he left after a change of presidency, Begiristain was a wanted man. He was keen to experience England and had plenty of offers and Soriano says getting him to move to City was one of the most important appointments he ever made.
“The decision to hire Txiki Begiristain was a fundamental one for the development of the Club,” he says. “I am actually amazed that other Clubs didn’t see it.
“The ones that were talking to him were hesitating. He had demonstrated what he was capable of at Barcelona.
“If you want a football director, go and get the best in the world.
“Which is, by the way, what we’ve done now with Hugo Viana. We’ve done a proper analysis of the different directors in the world, how much they’ve changed their squads and the money they have spent for it. We ended up with a shortlist and we went to talk to this shortlist.
“This is what we did for Txiki. Remember that at the time, the idea of a football director in the UK was not widely accepted. It was crazy to me. I came here and our comms people told me that I can’t say that.
“It’s very dangerous because if you talk about the football director as the main person, you are diminishing the role of the manager and people in the UK do not accept that.”
Directors of football are now the norm although the secrets behind how they work can still be a mystery.
A contacts book is essential, of course, but so too is an honesty and an authenticity that is appreciated by players and staff. No one can stay in football in that role as long as Begiristain has, without a reputation that is respected throughout the game.
Important too, is a love for the sport and it’s something that has never left him. City helped with that, and plans to move on to experience other countries, were put back, then postponed and then shelved all together.
A relaxed atmosphere, a cultural city and a thrilling and friendly environment all contributed in him staying and making Manchester a second home.
Brought up close to the beautiful city of San Sebastian and so soaked in the culture that he once ran with the bulls in Pamplona, there were many things that kept him at our Club and in Manchester.
“To be a sporting director in a football club for more than seven, eight, nine years looks like a miracle.”
“It’s not only me and my work, the people that I’ve been working with have made my life easier and better.
“I was thinking that a part of my career to do five years and then to go to another country. My last years [playing] were in Coruna and then I went to Japan and I wanted to do something like this.
“England, Italy, US, Japan but suddenly things were going well with friends around me, two more years, two more years, two more years, Pep extending his contract and now I am 60 years old.
“Everything was working and the environment and people we had in the Club, it’s a good life. I was happy and enjoyed what I was doing. I’m from San Sebastian and I never thought that one day I would go to the Premier League and to Manchester but it has been amazing.”