Andrea Pirlo's thoughts on Andoni Iraola will excite Liverpool fans as the Reds inch closer to signing the head coach tabbed with leading the club to the future after Arne Slot's dismissal
22:14, 01 Jun 2026
Andrea Pirlo, (center) #21 of New York City FC with team mates including David Villa, (right), #7 and Frederic Brillant #13, Andoni Iraola #51, Jefferson Mena #23 and RJ Allen #27 during a team photograph before the New York Red Bulls Vs New York City FC MLS regular season match at Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey on July 24, 2016 in Harrison, New Jersey
Andrea Pirlo (C) played with Andoni Iraola (Back Center) in New York in 2016(Image: Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Andrea Pirlo had high praise for Andoni Iraola from their time playing together.
Iraola is claimed to be Liverpool's top managerial target after the club parted ways with Arne Slot following a disappointing 2025-26 campaign. Though it has not been set in stone as of yet, it is becoming clearer that the 43-year-old coach will be heading to Anfield in the near future.
As Iraola's spot with the Reds becomes clearer, more information about the head coach is emerging, including what his former teammates and coaches thought of his ability. In June 2016, Pirlo scored his first MLS goal as a member of New York, a free kick five minutes into the second half which proved to be the game-winning goal against the Philadelphia Union.
NYCFC came away with the 3-2, and Iraola was there to witness it all.
Speaking of Iraola, whom he played with in the past, Pirlo lauded the Spaniard's attention to detail, which sets him apart from the other players he's suited up alongside.
“I find myself in a great situation because he is very smart technically,” Pirlo said at the time about the star, according to the club. “We play well and we just have to make sure we continue to improve because that is the most important part."
Head Coach Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth at City Ground on May 24, 2026 in Nottingham, England
Iraola seemingly will be taking tenets he learned from a coaching legend to Liverpool(Image: Photo by Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
The Italian legend's declaration should be exciting for fans as they look ahead to life after Slot's departure. Not only was he a technically sound player, but it appears that what he learned from Marcelo Bielsa throughout the years has been instrumental in shaping him as a coach.
Speaking of how Bielsa influenced him, the former Bournemouth coach was candid in his reply to Sky Sports back in 2023. "I was very lucky to play for him for two seasons as a player," he told the outlet as he coached Rayo Vallecano.
"I think he has another vision of football. They were two very good seasons for us, and, for me, it was a different knowledge."
He added: "I use a lot of exercises from Marcelo that I learned from him. I use a lot of things, especially with the ball."
In the same vein, Iraola explained that the players Bielsa coached at Athletic Bilbao had a certain attribute to them, noting: "Offensively, his teams are very dynamic. He is willing to make all the runs to the space, he is ready to accept this kind of disorder, offensively."
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At times, Iraola's coaching style, described as "Rock and Roll," has been compared to that of Pep Guardiola. To that end, Iraola added: "It is true that we like, and we perform better, in high-tempo games. We need to run a lot. We don't need so much control, not in every single play, but I think we have the legs, we have the willingness, to go up and down."
Former Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo shared that training often followed a routine to build player endurance, with no days off.
"We would play on the Saturday, train on Sunday," he said. "The players that were in the starting XI would do like the first maybe 30, 40 minutes of the session, so you're hanging, your legs have gone. ... "You're thinking, 'We're going to get exposed here,' but once you adapt to it, yeah. You see how Bournemouth won at the weekend [against Arsenal]. That's what it was like for the three years I was there."