Liverpool officially appoints Andoni Iraola as its new head coach..

Liverpool announced on their official website on Thursday that former Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has been officially appointed as the club's new head coach.

According to Liverpool's official statement, Iraola has signed on a short-term two-year deal with the club which will only run until the summer of 2028.

Furthermore, according to The Athletic's resident renonwed Liverpool team correspondent James Pearce, the proposal for the short-term contract was made by Iraola himself.

Iraola believes he lacks experience and is not qualified to demand a long-term contract so soon after taking over. Instead, he believes he should gradually earn the recognition of the management, players, and fans through his performances to deserve a contract extension, hence this became his decision to sign only a two-year contract with the Reds.

Liverpool will now seek to add his former Bournemouth assistant coach Tommy Elphick, fitness coach Pablo de la Torre, Tom Webber, and set-piece coach Sean Cooper to his coaching staff.

In addition, Iraola has requested the appointment of a former Liverpool legendary player to his coaching staff to better understand and immerse himself in the club's culture and fanbase, but the identity of this person remains unclear.

Potential candidates include: Thiago Alcántara, James Milner, Adam Lallana, Simon Mignolet, Adrian, Joel Matip, Lucas Leiva, or legendary captain Steven Gerrard.

In his first interview with Liverpool's official website after completing the transfer formalities, Iraola said: "It's really exciting, really exciting to be here, because everyone knows Liverpool, knows it's a great club, a very important club, one of the greatest clubs in the world.

"But as I've really integrated myself into the club and gotten to know it more deeply, I've always felt it's a special club."

"You don't need much to be attracted to Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool." 

"But obviously, the atmosphere here, the fans, the club, the players, and the opportunity to coach top players and compete for championships—I don't think anything could be more appealing. Such an opportunity is rare. So, I'm really excited and can't wait to get started."

About Andoni Iraola

The 43-year-old Iraola was born on June 22, 1982, in Usurbil, Basque Country, Spain. He is 1.81 meters tall and played as a right-back during his playing career, becoming a legendary right-back for Athletic Bilbao and also played for New York City FC. He officially retired in November 2016.

After retiring as a player, Iraola was appointed Cypriot club AEK Larnaca's head coach in the summer of 2018, thus entering the coaching world. However, he was sacked the following January due to a lack of victories.

Iraola then returned to Spain to coach, joining Mirandés in the summer of 2019.

During his time at Mirandés, Iraola gained widespread recognition for leading the club to surprise victories against Celta Vigo, Sevilla, and Villarreal, reaching the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

In the summer of 2020, Iraola was appointed Rayo Vallecano head coach.

During his three years in charge, Iraola helped the club win one Segunda División promotion playoffs and then led them to a historic Copa del Rey semi-final appearance, breaking a 40-year club record.

In the summer of 2023, Iraola succeeded current Strasbourg head coach Gary O'Neill to become Bournemouth's new manager.

During his three years at the helm, Iraola's brilliant attacking style football tactics and his ability to develop players such as Antoine Semenyo, Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez, Igor Thiago, and Ilya Zabarnyi, and his abilties in helping the Premier League underdogs earned qualification for European competition for the first time in their history during the recent 2025/26 season, earned him considerable praise.

Image source: Internet / Liverpool official website