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▲ Source | Fabrizio Romano SNS
[SPOTV News — Park Dae-hyun] Andoni Iraola (43, Spain), the coach who sparked Bournemouth’s surprise rise this season, is set to take charge at Liverpool.
Transfer-market specialist Fabrizio Romano reported on June 2 (Korean time) that Liverpool have reached a principal agreement to appoint Iraola, even adding his trademark line “HERE WE GO” to signal the deal is effectively done.
Born in 1982, Iraola was a right back during his playing days.
He turned out for CD Baskonia, Bilbao Athletic and Athletic Club in Spain, then New York City FC in the U.S., before retiring in 2016.
He began his coaching career in June 2018 with AEK Larnaca in Cyprus’s top division.
Poor results saw him leave Cyprus in January the following year, and in July he took over at Spain’s CD Mirandés to rebuild his reputation.
At Mirandés he made an immediate impression, guiding the club to an 11th-place finish in La Liga in his first season and earning plaudits for his leadership.
He also produced eye-catching Copa del Rey upsets, knocking out established La Liga sides such as Celta Vigo, Sevilla and Villarreal.
He went on to manage Rayo Vallecano from 2020 to 2023 before crossing the Channel in 2023.
Iraola left Spain to become AFC Bournemouth’s 39th manager and significantly raised his profile in the Premier League.
▲ Andoni Iraola (left) adapted quickly to the Premier League with high-pressing, fast-paced, direct football. After finishing 12th in his first season and 9th the next, he delivered a breakthrough this year: 13 wins, 18 draws and 7 losses, guiding Bournemouth to 6th place and the club’s first-ever qualification for European competition since their founding in 1899.
He adapted quickly to the Premier League with a high-pressing, fast-tempo, direct style of play.
After a 12th-place finish in his debut season and a 9th-place finish the following year, this campaign represented a genuine breakout.
Bournemouth recorded 13 wins, 18 draws and 7 losses to finish 6th in the Premier League.
That finish secured the Cherries — founded in 1899 — their first-ever spot in European competition.
Now he will step onto the touchline at Anfield, tasked with steadying Liverpool amid a period of turmoil.
Just two seasons ago the Reds celebrated their second-ever Premier League title, but this season has brought a sharp reversal of fortune.
Signs of decline from Mohamed Salah and Arne Slot’s struggles to assert control over the dressing room have contributed to a disappointing fall to fifth this term.
Romano said his May 30 exclusive was “100% confirmed.” Slot has left the club, and as expected Iraola will take over to lead Liverpool’s next project. Negotiations accelerated over the past 48 hours and culminated in a contract agreement, officially naming the 1982-born Spanish coach as the Reds’ 24th manager.
▲ Andoni Iraola (center), who led Bournemouth’s surge this season, will take the Liverpool job — stepping in to try to steady a club in need of immediate direction.
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