Andoni Iraola’s journey from his childhood club Antiguoko to the Premier League elite is a path also trodden by two of his managerial adversaries. The newly-appointed Liverpool gaffer took over from Arne Slot on Thursday after a three-year stint at Bournemouth.
The 43-year-old’s arrival at Anfield has sparked a wave of enthusiasm among supporters, given his philosophy centres around intense pressing and a direct approach. His footballing principles were first shaped at the amateur club where he played alongside Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso.
The trio are still considered the greatest talents to have emerged from Antiguoko to date. Iraola spent eight years at the club under the guidance of Roberto Montiel, who currently serves as the amateur side’s vice-president and head of their sports department.
In an exclusive chat with the Liverpool Echo., Montiel shed light on what the new Liverpool boss was like growing up. He revealed: “Andoni was a very shy boy and a very good student, and he had spectacular talent.
“As a child, being very shy, when we had the game under control he would do things with the ball that very few players could do. We had a great team and I consider myself very, very competitive, and I instil that in all my teams.”
Iraola enjoyed a 15-year career after leaving Antiguoko, with 12 of those years spent at Athletic Bilbao, where he clocked up 510 appearances as a right-back. The Spaniard hung up his boots following a one-year spell with New York City FC, returning to Spain and reuniting with Montiel.
A key figure in his football journey, Montiel played a crucial role in his former student embarking on his own managerial path, despite confessing he wasn’t entirely sure about Iraola’s coaching ambitions.
He revealed: “The truth is that when he quit football, I thought he was going to retire, but when he called me and told me that he wanted to start coaching and asked if I could give him a team in Antiguoko, I saw that he might have the makings of a coach.
“He went to Madrid to get his coaching licence and there I saw that he might have a future, since he was the best in his class during the course.”
Iraola’s first professional coaching post was with Cypriot outfit AEK Larnaca before taking the reins at Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano.
A three-year stint at Bournemouth followed, with his final year seeing him guide the club to the Europa League – their maiden venture into European football – while concluding the season with an impressive 18-match unbeaten run.
Viewed as the ideal candidate to restore Liverpool to the standards they achieved before this season, Montiel informed the Reds squad what they can anticipate from working under Iraola. He added: “He’s a coach who has proven he gets the best out of his players, and above all, I think the most important thing is that he makes the players believe in him and he’s very well-liked by the squad.
“I think that in Antiguoko what we teach them is to compete with all those values, and what you learn when you are 9, 10, 11 years old is useful for your future, so I think something must have been useful to him.
“I think Andoni is a very, very smart person and has shown that he has adapted very well to all his teams. I think that with a little time he will become a key figure at Liverpool and will become a very memorable manager in the city and in the Premier League.”