FeatureIn profile: Andoni Iraola and his journey to Liverpool
Get to know Andoni Iraola with our comprehensive profile of Liverpool’s new head coach, following the confirmation of his appointment today.
From Usurbil to Liverpool, via places including Bilbao, New York, Cyprus, Madrid and Bournemouth.
Iraola arrives at Anfield with a CV indicative of a keenness to travel and learn while embracing different ideas and cultures.
His is an interesting journey that began in his birthplace of Usurbil, a small town near San Sebastian in the Basque Country, northern Spain.
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The 43-year-old played for the same youth club as Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta, and his route forward in the game was formalised when he joined the academy of Athletic Club.
Iraola progressed through Athletic’s youth system and initially, quite remarkably, combined playing in La Liga while studying for a law degree. Three years into university, he dropped out to focus entirely on his career in professional football.
After debuting at the age of 21 in August 2003, the right-back established himself as a mainstay of Athletic’s team for more than a decade.
He eventually totalled 510 appearances across 12 seasons, playing under managers including Javier Clemente, Marcelo Bielsa and Ernesto Valverde.
Iraola, who was also capped seven times by Spain at senior international level, was Athletic captain for four campaigns and skippered the club to the 2011-12 Europa League final, two Copa del Rey finals and Champions League qualification.
He left in the summer of 2015 and broadened his horizons by spending the final year of his playing career at New York City FC.
In November 2016, Iraola decided it was time to retire and began on a new path in coaching.
A little less than two years later, his first job took him to Cyprus, where he led AEK Larnaca to the Cypriot Super Cup title.
Iraola then returned to Spain and second-division side Mirandes. During 2019-20, his sole season there, they beat Celta Vigo, Sevilla and Villarreal en route to reaching the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for only the second time in the club’s history.
Mirandes’ fairy-tale run was halted in the last four by the eventual champions – a Real Sociedad team spearheaded by a certain Alexander Isak.
Three eye-catching years in charge of Rayo Vallecano followed.
Iraola led the Madrid club to promotion to La Liga at the first time of asking, and their fearless, relentless brand of football in the top tier earned victories over Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as plaudits and admiring glances from elsewhere in the game.
And in June 2023, AFC Bournemouth made their move to bring Iraola to the Premier League.
- Watch Iraola's first interview as head coach free on All Red Video
While successfully transplanting the intense style and exciting philosophy that made his Rayo team so watchable, Iraola combined style with substance to lead Bournemouth on three seasons of steady progress.
Successive finishes of 12th, ninth and sixth in the Premier League provide proof of that, with his final campaign at Vitality Stadium culminating in the Cherries achieving European qualification for the first time in their history.
Iraola’s intention to depart Bournemouth at the conclusion of 2025-26 was announced in April and his feats ensured he left as a hugely popular figure at the south-coast club.
Now, he takes the reins at Anfield, succeeding Arne Slot and becoming Liverpool’s 10th permanent head coach/manager of the Premier League era.