Andoni Iraola has been unveiled as the Liverpool head coach, and his first press conference on Monday morning immediately addressed the need to restore pride at Anfield. Asked about his message to Liverpool's worldwide support, Iraola responded: "I would like to give them a team that they can feel proud of." This sentiment, amid the chaos of last season, is something that has been lost on the Anfield terraces.
Restoring Pride and Connection
While there may be many reasons why that pride eroded during the challenging 25/26 campaign, there is little doubt it needs to be restored. Iraola emphasised: "I think football, and especially Liverpool, for me is about connecting, connecting with the people, connecting with our supporters." This was an impressive first reply from a head coach who many believe is stepping way up from his comfort zone, having left Bournemouth in the close season.
If that is true in a sense of Liverpool being one of the institutions of British football, his Cherries side did only finish one place below the Reds last time out, highlighting the excellent job he performed on the south coast with a fraction of the resources.
A New Direction: Intensity and Aggression
Iraola did not arrive with any bombastic claims or seek to deliver the type of soundbites that might eventually end up on a coffee mug at the AXA Training Centre. Instead, his hard-working nature is seeking to instill a more aggressive, front-footed style into this Liverpool team, who, for large parts of last season, looked undercooked and even disinterested. Iraola referenced the first game of last season when his Bournemouth side were beaten 4-2 on a warm August evening to kick off the new campaign as defending champions.
An emotional night in L4 saw the match attended by Diogo Jota's widow, Rute, in the first competitive game since the No.20's passing the month prior. The outpouring from the stands when Federico Chiesa volleyed home late on to make it 3-2 was one of the moments of an otherwise ordinary term. Iraola said: "I've been in the other side at Anfield. I've experienced, I always say, the goal that Chiesa scored in the first game of the past season, where you can feel this stadium – and I would love to have this every game we play. And it has to come from us from inside the pitch and we have to be a team that works hard, [is] intense, aggressive, vertical so everyone can be identified, everyone can feel comfortable supporting this team."
Restoring Anfield's Aura
That is one of Iraola's first tasks: restoring Anfield's aura. Too often last season teams came and left with points, often without having to break too much of a sweat to do so. Memories of painful draws with Burnley, Leeds United, and the struggling duo of Chelsea and Tottenham are still fresh in the collective memory. One of the accusations leveled at Iraola's predecessor, Arne Slot, was that his football had become 'boring'.
If Slot took umbrage at that particular phrasing last season, there can be no denial the more prosaic approach, which featured less calculated risk, was unsuited to a club who have been reared largely on a diet of high-octane football for most of the decade prior. Tweaks, as evidenced by the stunning Premier League title win of 24/25, can yield enormous results but Liverpool simply drifted too far from the style that had become their trademark in recent years.
Harder Running and Pressing
One of the key themes emerging from behind-the-scenes conversations since Iraola's appointment has been the idea of a new direction. Harder running, more pressing, and a rediscovered intensity are all part of what Iraola will now try to inject into this team. No longer will Liverpool be outrun as routinely as they were last season. The Basque's insistence that he prefers to face low blocks might have sounded like music to the ears of supporters who had grown weary of explanations that started to sound like excuses on that front.
Iraola said: "I always say, I prefer to face low blocks in terms of: 'OK, we will be in control of the game, probably we will concede less chances, we will spend a lot of time in the opposition half and those are the scenarios that we have to find.' Obviously I understand that this is Liverpool. We have to change some things. We have to change a little bit even tactically, even on the pitch. But if they sign me, it's because they want a lot of things that I was doing before in other clubs. So, I wouldn't like to change in the pitch the DNA of what has been my teams and also outside. How I am going to answer your questions? How I'm going to relate to the supporters? I will try to be as natural as possible and I hope it doesn't change me a lot."
Iraola may not be looking to change too much, but it's clear this Liverpool needs to. That process is now officially underway.
