How Bielsa's Classroom Forged Iraola's Liverpool
Andoni Iraola is stamping his ideas on Liverpool — and the blueprint traces straight back to Marcelo Bielsa.
Iraola, appointed as Liverpool's head coach on a two-year deal ahead of the 2026-27 season, was coached by Bielsa at Athletic Club in Bilbao between 2011 and 2013. Speaking to Sky Sports in 2023, he acknowledged the Argentine's influence openly and said he still uses many exercises learned from him, especially in possession work (BBC Sport).
Bielsa — a former Leeds United manager famous for his relentless pressing and obsessive preparation — has a tactical signature: wide pairings or trios that gang up on opposition full-backs to create overloads (when more attackers than defenders occupy one area of the pitch). Iraola experienced that first-hand, playing as a right-back under Bielsa at Athletic Club.
Now it is showing up at Anfield. Under Iraola, Liverpool attack in a fluid, busy manner, rarely filling fixed positions in a rigid structure. The full-backs have pushed high into the final third — the attacking zone closest to goal — alongside Rio Ngumoha or Cody Gakpo on the left wing. Florian Wirtz, operating primarily as the number 10 (the playmaker who links midfield and attack), has drifted to the left flank to provide a third option: one who can play centrally, drop deep, or stay wide (BBC Sport).
The result is that Liverpool simplify their attacking play into localised two-v-two or three-v-three situations near the box, creating crossings from dangerous positions. It is Bielsa's philosophy, translated through a manager who once carried it out as a player.
Pre-season has offered glimpses and growing pains. Liverpool beat Sunderland 4-2 on 25 July, with Iraola calling it "a good starting point to improve things" (Liverpool FC). A day later, they lost 3-2 to AS Monaco at Anfield, and Iraola acknowledged his side could not sustain his desired level for the full match (Liverpool FC).
Behind the scenes, the new boss has been managing a staggered pre-season return for players involved at the World Cup. Iraola confirmed return dates for Victor Munoz, Alisson Becker and Alexis Mac Allister in early August (Liverpool FC), after giving a broader update on World Cup players' schedules in July (Liverpool FC). From Liverpool's training base in Chicago, he also addressed the positions of Ngumoha and Wirtz, transfer plans and the benefits of the US camp in a press conference on 30 July (Liverpool FC).
He has also made clear he wants more new faces through the door. Iraola told Reuters he was "impatient" to sign more players as Liverpool aimed to improve on the previous season (Reuters).
What makes this appointment intriguing is the lineage. Iraola replaced Arne Slot, whose own tenure followed the long, decorated era of Jürgen Klopp. Each successor has had to reconcile his own ideas with the weight of what came before. Iraola's answer is to reach for the tutelage of Bielsa — one of football's most distinctive and demanding minds — and adapt it for a squad now being reshaped to suit.
For fans at Anfield, the early signs point to a team that will play with energy on the flanks, positional flexibility through the middle, and a willingness to overload the wide areas until something breaks. Whether it all clicks in time for the new season is the question pre-season exists to answer.
