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Andoni Iraola has been appointed Liverpool's new head coach ahead of the 2026-27 season after Arne Slot's departure, as per the Liverpool website.
The 43-year-old will take up the helm at Anfield to succeed Arne Slot, who departed the Reds on Saturday. Iraola arrives after three impressive campaigns in the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth, leading them into Europe for the first time in their history with a sixth-placed finish in the table last month. "Really excited, really excited. Because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it's a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world. But feeling inside and understanding a little bit more of this club, I always thought it's a special club," he told Liverpoolfc.com. "You don't need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool. But obviously, the atmosphere, the supporters, the club, the players, the chance for me to coach top-level players, the chance to fight for titles. I think it cannot be more attractive than this. It's difficult to find it. So, really excited to start," he added. Born in the Basque region of northern Spain, Iraola enjoyed a lengthy playing career, operating mainly as a right-back and making more than 500 appearances for Athletic Club in 12 seasons. He also won seven caps for Spain before moving to New York City FC between 2015 and 2016, before hanging up his boots. Iraola's maiden steps into management came in the summer of 2018 when he took control of AEK Larnaca and helped them to win the Cypriot Super Cup. A spell at Spanish second-division side Mirandes preceded a switch to Rayo Vallecano in 2020, where he led to promotion to La Liga in his first term at the helm. Then, just three years later, the Premier League came calling, and Iraola was appointed as Bournemouth boss. His work at the Cherries caught the eye, culminating in European qualification being achieved last term after a remarkable 18-match unbeaten run in the second half of the season, which sealed sixth place. Now Iraola joins Liverpool, where he will begin preparing the Reds for the forthcoming campaign. (ANI)
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