Photo: Rober Cutts via Store Norske Leksikon CC 4.0

Andoni Iraola is they new Liverpool manager. Is he the right man to get The Reds back to the glory days of Jürgen Klopp?

Is he the right man for the job?

After Arne Slot's sacking on Saturday, Liverpool have been quick in appointing a new head coach in Andoni Iraola. After leading Bournemouth to a 6th place finish and Europa League for the first time in their history, he is known for his physical, aggressive and attack minded playing style. The sacking of Slot comes at a wired time with legend Xabi Alonso going to Chelsea a few weeks prior. At Bournemouth, he has fostered some unbelievable players such as Antoine Semenyo and Milos Kerkez. He has a 37.8% win rate which is the highest in their top flight history, winning 48, drawing, 38 and losing 41 and averages 1.43 points per game. However, at Bournemouth he was under no pressure as he was overachieving with a limited budget. Under FSG, he will have to hit the ground running and will have almost infinite money to play around with, providing he get financial backing. At Liverpool, it is high pressure and the fans expect attacking, exciting football, and most importantly, winning trophies and he only has 1 Cypriot Sup Cup in 2018/19. The biggest question for him is can he make that step up and not only play good football but win games and honours under pressure. If Liverpool had opted for King Xabi, he would be used to these situations as he has managed Real Madrid and won an unbeaten Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso also would be used to winning trophies and also competing in 3 games a week, something Iraola has not. Will Iraola know the winning formula and how to get the best out of his players like he did at Bournemouth, but is it right getting an inexperienced manager at the top level after an underwhelming season where they lost 20 games. Or has his tenure at Bournemouth and his forward, attacking system be enough to make the step up and make Liverpool great again.

How does he play?

    Andoni Iraola is renowned for playing a physical, high pressing game and likes his teams to bomb forward when attacking. Out of possession, they play a 4-4-2 formation with their Centre Attacking Midfielder locking onto the opposing centre backs. They also deliberately leave space out wide for the fullbacks to get into and then they aggressively press them leaving them isolated and suffocating them and trapping them next to the byline. His centre backs are ordered to man mark their player which disrupts their link up play. His teams also use brute physical strength to tackle and win the ball back in his counter-pressing style. Last season, his Bournemouth side registered an astonishing 654 tackles and won 1,957 duels. He likes to try and regain the ball in the midfield in order to go forward straight away. However, seen as they go all out on one side, the other is left open with it being exploited with the long ball over the top which results in the team sprinting back to defend. When going forward, they start off their attacks with a vertical long ball over the top completely bypassing the centre of the field and aiming for the big #9. As the ball is in the air, the midfielders move forward ready to poach onto the second ball which allows them to get moving with the opposing defenders being disorganised. Out wide, they have inverted wingers and overlapping fullbacks. The wingers stay relatively narrow and play as a slim front three. This forces the defenders to be narrow, marking their man. This allows for space out wide for the fullback to get into to cross into the box which the front 3 plus more overload to get on the end of it. Also, they act as in the box poachers and like to score from second balls. Also, they are not afraid to cut inside and shoot alongside their second ball poaching. The big striker is the focal point of his system. They make curved runs,  pressurising the centre backs, halving the pitch and blocking midfield passing routes which also allows the midfield press to win it swiftly, then go forward. They also make lots of movement inside the box and gets on the end of cutbacks and through balls. Iraola has a high physical demand on his players with them dropping off in the last 30 minutes of the game and has high energy subs to come on.
  Iraola's style is efficient and high intensity, attacking football which is the way Liverpool like to play. He needs fit players who can distribute the ball well and can press the opponent. This should work well at Liverpool especially with some investment in the Transfer Window.

Who could he Invest in?

Yan Diomande

Yan Diomande will fit in well in Iraolas system. The young Ivorian has blistering pace and can win the ball quickly and tear apart discombobulated defenses. He is a ball carrying right winger who has high level attacking output with 12 goals and 9 assists  in the league this season. Alongside that, he has elite dribbling with 60% of his dribbles being successful. He also fits the managers high press style as he has 148 ball recoveries with 27 being in the final third allowing rapid counter attacking opportunities. He is a perfect replacement for Mo Salah. However, he has a hefty price tag with Leipzig valuing him at around £112 million and Leipzig are adamant he is staying despite interest from European giants. With the owners spending nearly half a billion last year, they don't want to break the bank. Despite this, he will fill that gaping hole they have on the right wing and is perfect for The Reds.

Nico Schlotterbeck 

With the incoming departure of Ibrahima Konaté, Liverpool have a hole in defence to partner Virgil van Dijk. A good defensive option could be Nico Schlotterbeck. He has averaged 88% of his passes being successful and 62% of his long passes being on target, in which he averages about 7 per 90. Standing at 6"3, he is an ariel threat winning about 65% of his ariel duels and 64% of al his duels making him a great tackler and fits perfectly in the high press system. In addition, he is rapid and likes to suffocate counter attacks with 1v1 defending. He can also neutralise the threat of counter attacks via his rapid pace. In a defense that has conceded just the 34 goals, he has the ability to track back and get ready to defend. This is brilliant for Liverpool as the long ball threat in their high press is severely limited with him at the back. His aggressive defending comes at a cost with 8 yellow cards this season. Nico Schlotterbeck is the perfect example of a defender who will fit in well in Andoni Iraolas teams and will really help keep the opposition at bay.

How does this effect Bournemouth

The departure of Andoni Iraola was expected by the Bournemouth hierarchy with him announcing he will be leaving early on in the season. Since then, they have appointed Marco Rose as their new head coach to succeed Iraola. Seen as everyone at Bournemouth knows about this, they will be preparing and doesn't have too much to do. However, he will have to cope with playing 3 games per week as they are in the Europa League so he will have to invest to increase squad depth. Aside from that, it won't have a huge impact on Bournemouth but it is crucial that the new manager get off to a flyer.

Final Notes