The former Bournemouth boss takes over at Anfield after three years on the south coast. What will he bring to Liverpool next season?
Andoni Iraola has been announced as the new head coach of Liverpool, the club announced on Thursday.
The 43-year-old has signed a two-year deal at Anfield after his contract at Bournemouth expired. The hiring of Iraola comes just five days after the sacking of former head coach Arne Slot.
"Really excited, really excited. Because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it's a big club, massive club, one of the biggest in the world."But feeling inside and understanding a little bit more of this club, I always thought it's a special club."You don't need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool."But obviously the atmosphere, the supporters, the club, the players, the chance for me to coach top-level players, the chance to fight for titles. I think it cannot be more attractive than this. It's difficult to find it. So, really excited to start."
Other names considered for the role included Sebastian Hoeness at VfB Stuttgart and Pierre Sage at RC Lens but initials reports suggested the Liverpool hierarchy had their sights set on Iraola.
The Spaniard joins a club that finished fifth in the Premier League last season and 2026/2027 will be his first taste of Champions League football.
What can Liverpool fans expect from Andoni Iraola?
Iraola's style has been described as featuring: "high intensity... aggressive, front-footed pressing and athleticism," according to Thom Harris at The Athletic.
Indeed, Iraola has opined on his philosophy in the past:
"The first thing we try to do when we recover the ball is play to the number nine, because that is usually the moment when the opponent is less well-positioned and you can find better spaces.”
The football statistic gurus at Opta affirm this. They said Bounemouth had some of the highest numbers for shots from fast breaks, speed of moves upfield, and turnovers in the oppotion's half. Their writer Ali Tweedale described them as "one of the league’s most proactive sides when out of possession."
Bournemouth's passes per defensive action (PPDA), used as a measurement of pressing ability, were the fourth-highest in the league. In contrast, Liverpool's PPDA stat put them down in eighth.
With that said, Arne Slot guided Liverpool to the title in 2024/2025 despite his side being far down the table of distance covered per game. Slot's style, including the lack of pressing, had been criticised by pundits like former Reds captain Jamie Carragher.
The stats suggest Iraola will bring a style more associated with former manager Jürgen Klopp, but adapted to the player workload more common in 2026.
Another factor to note is that Iraola will link up with Milos Kerkez, who he coached during his time at Bournemouth. Kerkez was voted PFA player of the year in 2024/2025 before his move to Anfield, and it could be exciting to see the two work together again.
Andoni Iraola's Career So Far
Iraola's first management role came with Cypriot side AEK Lanarkas in 2018 before moving to Spanish sides Mirandés and Rayo Vallecano. He swapped Vallecas for Bournemouth in 2023, and the Cherries finished 12th in his first season. They continued progressing and finished ninth in 2025/2025.
Bournemouth had a great start this season but endured a run of 11 games without a win over the winter. Form returned in January and Iraola did not lose any of the remaining 18 matches of the season. His team finished in sixth place, earning themselves a European spot for the first time in club history.
Alongside his management career, Iraola made more than 500 appearances as a player for Athletic Club in Bilbao, Spain, and had two seasons in the MLS with New York City FC. He won seven caps for the Spanish national team but did not play in any major tournaments.
