Andoni Iraola is the new head coach of Liverpool after signing a two-year contract, the club confirmed on Tuesday. The 43-year-old Spaniard replaces Arne Slot, who was sacked on Saturday – just a year after guiding the club to the Premier League title.
Iraola arrives after delivering Bournemouth’s finest top-flight season, a sixth-place finish that secured Europa League football. That left the Cherries only one place and three points behind Liverpool in the final standings. He had already announced in April that he would leave Bournemouth this summer, with Crystal Palace and AC Milan among the clubs linked, but it is Liverpool who have won the race for his signature.
“Andoni Iraola signed a two-year deal as Liverpool head coach after Arne Slot was sacked.”
“Really excited, really excited,” Iraola said. “Because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it's a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world. You don't need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool.”
The decision to sack Slot was made by Fenway Sports Group’s chief executive of football Michael Edwards and Liverpool’s sporting director Richard Hughes. Together, they determined the club required a more front-foot, aggressive and urgent style – and they have turned to Iraola to deliver it.
Iraola, who won seven caps for Spain, has not yet confirmed his backroom staff but is understood to be keen to bring his Bournemouth assistants Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper to Merseyside. He recalled the atmosphere at Anfield when Federico Chiesa scored a late winner against his Bournemouth side last August. “The place erupted. It was crazy, no? I want now to feel this from the other side,” he said.
Liverpool finished the season with 60 points – their lowest tally since 2015-16 and a distant 25 behind champions Arsenal – but have qualified for next season’s Champions League. Iraola believes the squad can compete for silverware. “I think Liverpool gives me the chance to coach top players, and top players give you the chance to fight for titles. To win titles,” he said. “Obviously when you arrive at a place, you cannot promise everything. You cannot promise. But it's true that I understand where I'm coming and what is expected. I'm ready for the challenge.”