Liverpool on Thursday named Andoni Iraola as its next head coach, and the 43-year-old is already looking past the handover to the stage he has waited years to reach. Speaking shortly after arriving at the AXA Training Centre, he said he is excited to coach in the Champions League for the first time after Liverpool secured a place in the competition.
That is why his first public remarks in the job matter now. Iraola spent three seasons at AFC Bournemouth before moving to Liverpool, and he arrives with the club set to prepare for 2026-27 while a new staff and squad dynamics take shape. For supporters searching for what this appointment means, the answer began with a simple message: he wants a team that feels comfortable, connected and able to work in the best atmosphere possible.
Iraola framed that approach as part of the job itself. Managers, he said, are there to help players and provide a collective platform, and the mood around the group can influence results. “For me, we are a lot of things as a manager but especially we are here to help the players,” he said, adding that if everyone is happy, there is a good mood around the team and that can give you points.
He also made clear that the job starts with respect for the one he is following. Iraola said he has “massive respect” for Arne Slot, calling him a Premier League champion, and then turned the focus to the squad he will inherit. Liverpool, he said, have “a very good squad,” but there is still work to do at this stage of the season. He said he and the club have analysed the team’s strengths and possible weaknesses a lot, which suggests the early months will be less about slogans than about fitting ideas to an already strong group.
There is also a personal thread running through the move. Iraola said he played in the Champions League only once as a player, and that experience makes this next step feel different. “I’m looking forward to play [it for the] first time as a coach,” he said. He added that he had only had Milos in his squad before and is looking forward to working with him again, a small detail that hints at how familiar faces may help him settle into a dressing room that will still be new to him.
For Liverpool, the immediate question is not whether the appointment arrives with ambition. It is how quickly Iraola can turn an already promising squad into one that matches his demands, while using the run-up to 2026-27 to shape the group on his terms. He has the Champions League stage he wanted. The harder part starts with the work he says still has to be done.
