Why Andoni Iraola Can Get Liverpool Back In The Title Race | OneFootball

Like most clubs, Liverpool go through good times and not-so-good times. After winning the Premier League title in his debut campaign as head coach, Arne Slot struggled to maintain the momentum into the 2025/26 season and was relieved of his duties as a result.

Former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was chosen as his replacement, and the hope is the Basque coach can get the Reds back in the mix for domestic glory.

A Proven Track Record

Liverpool are expected to put up more of a challenge this season, with football betting odds reflecting that. While this could primarily come down to the Reds’ historic reputation, and their Premier League title success from 2024/25, the appointment of Iraola is also a factor.

After transforming Rayo Vallecano and turning them into a promotion-winning outfit, he made the move to Bournemouth in 2023. The 44-year-old not only established an identity and clear way of playing, but he did so with limited resources and continued to progress the team even after multiple key players were sold. He left the Cherries at the end of last season after securing European qualification for the first time in the club’s history.

(Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

A Style Built For Anfield

What makes Iraola an even better fit for Liverpool is not the results he can achieve with his team, but how he does it. His Bournemouth team was built on relentless pressing, positional discipline and a willingness to attack whoever they came up against without fear.

Under legendary manager Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool played what he termed a ‘heavy metal’ brand of football. It was exciting, fans and even neutrals bought into it, and it produced results.

Iraola’s style is similar. While results slipped under Slot, the style of football also lacked excitement, which was a major bugbear for the Anfield faithful.

Climbing Back To The Top

Tactically, Iraola must adapt to fit the group of players at his disposal, and we’re sure he will. Having the flexibility to retain his principles but do what’s best for the team is one of the reasons why climbing back to the top is very possible.

When the former Athletic Bilbao player took over at Bournemouth, he inherited a squad with modest individual quality, one which hadn’t been built for him, and turned it into one of the league’s most cohesive and hardest-working teams through the structure he put in place and the intensity he demanded. He’ll attempt to achieve the same at Liverpool, only he’ll be working with a different calibre of player.

The Right Man At The Right Time

Timing is huge in football, but something even more significant is momentum, and Iraola has it in abundance. In his debut campaign in the Premier League, he led Bournemouth to a respectable 12th place. The season after (2024/25), the Cherries finished ninth, and last term they ended in a historic high of sixth.

The momentum is there for all to see; Liverpool have hired a manager on the up, which can be very different to bringing someone in who’s been out of work for a while but is highly regarded because they’re a big name from past achievements.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Iraola will be judged on results and performances with the Reds, but the evidence suggests that he could turn out to be a very shrewd hire by Liverpool and the man to get them back into title contention after a season of disappointment. His record speaks for itself, and his style of play should bring the excitement back to Anfield.