Jamie Carragher picked out three “main credentials” for coaching one of Europe’s top teams and claims new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola “ticks one of those boxes”.
Liverpool chose to sack Arne Slot late last month as the Reds finished fifth in the Premier League with the results and performances dropping off from when they won the title in 2024/25.
After a Liverpool statement confirmed Iraola’s appointment on Thursday, the Basque coach revealed his delight at signing on at a “special club”.
Iraola said: “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.
“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.”
His arrival has been met with excitement by Liverpool fans, who hope Iraola can replicate the exciting brand of football Bournemouth played at Anfield.
‘Dangerous’ Klopp mimicry
But Carragher believes appointing someone in the hope they can mimic the style of football which made Jurgen Klopp such a legendary figure at the club is a “dangerous” pursuit.
Carragher wrote in his Telegraph column: “The main credentials for coaching one of Europe’s best ought to be based on what a candidate has won, at what level, and with what style of play. Iraola ticks one of those boxes. His strongest claim to joining Liverpool is that his Bournemouth side resembled how Klopp liked to play.
“It is also revealing how all the noises coming out of the club reflect the eagerness to find someone who the hierarchy consider closer to the German’s style than Slot’s. Every managerial appointment is a risk, but profiling future Liverpool managers based on how they measure up to the populist idea of ‘heavy-metal football’ is dangerous.
“To reduce Klopp’s success as a world-class coach to high-pressing, aggressive, front-footed football is a serious misrepresentation of why he was so great, and why he and Liverpool were such a perfect fit.
“When Iraola was strongly linked with Chelsea, my impression was it was too soon and he would benefit from joining a club who were playing in European competition, adjusting to the demands of three games a week in readiness for the next step. Instead, he will encounter challenges at Liverpool which he has never faced.”
