Liverpool appointed coach Andoni Iraola after firing Arne Slot
Liverpool has officially appointed Andoni Iraola as head coach, with the hope of rebuilding their playing style and competing for titles next season.
Liverpool officially appointed Andoni Iraola as head coach on Thursday, just a week after sacking Arne Slot. This 43-year-old Spanish coach once led Bournemouth, where he applied a strong pressing style very similar to the successful philosophy that Jürgen Klopp brought to the team. Iraola signed for Liverpool for an undisclosed period, after leaving Bournemouth at the end of last season, where he helped them finish sixth in the Premier League, unbeaten in their final 18 games, and qualify for Europe for the first time in their history.
Iraola replaces Arne Slot, who was sacked by Liverpool last Saturday after a difficult second season, despite winning the Premier League title in his first season. This gives Liverpool 20 championships in England's top league, a record equal to Manchester United.
Iraola said he joined "a special club" and insisted: "You don't need many reasons to be attracted to Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool. But obviously, the atmosphere, the fans, the club, the players, the opportunity for me to coach top-class players, the opportunity to fight for titles. I think there's nothing more attractive than that. It's hard to find a place more than that. So I'm very excited to get started."
Concerns about Liverpool's playing style under Slot were expressed in a social media post by star Mohamed Salah when he called on the club to "return to a strong, attacking style of play that opponents fear". This post has been liked by many current Liverpool players.
By choosing Iraola, whose strong pressing style was once favored by Klopp, Liverpool's management seems to have absorbed Salah's message. However, this appointment is not without risks. Iraola had never managed a club as big as Liverpool, and before arriving at Bournemouth he had only had short spells as manager at AEK Larnaca in Cyprus and Mirandes in Spain, along with three years at Rayo Vallecano.
Iraola has never won a major title and has not faced the demands of top domestic and European competitions. However, Liverpool is looking for a coach with an "aggressive and urgent" playing style and Iraola fits this requirement, although his personality — modest, quiet — is completely different from Klopp.
Iraola takes over a team in transition, with the departures of Salah and Andy Robertson leaving Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker as the only two remaining members of the stellar squad that Klopp led to the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League the following year. Liverpool spent $570 million to strengthen its squad last summer but finished fifth in a disappointing season, forcing it into the Champions League — a tournament Iraola has never managed.
Iraola is the latest coach from the Basque region of Spain to take on a top club in England, following in the footsteps of Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Unai Emery (Aston Villa) and more recently Xabi Alonso (Chelsea).
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