Liverpool’s meeting with Wrexham at Yankee Stadium will see Andoni Iraola return to the scene of a late-career move as a player that set him up to make the first step to becoming a coach.
Having spent his entire playing career in the Basque region, mostly in Bilbao for the regional powerhouse Athletic Club, in 2015 Iraola moved to a New York City team that were playing their first-ever season in Major League Soccer.
During his short time in North America, Iraola played against Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane and Kaka, and lined up alongside Andrea Pirlo, David Villa and Frank Lampard.
Less than 10 years after his final season as a player in New York, he is managing at the top of the game and returns to Yankee Stadium looking to begin to turn around the fortunes of a Liverpool side drifting off course.
It is not dissimilar to the role he performed in his final games as a player.
A new challenge out of his comfort zone
02.10.2011, Stadion Anoeta, San Sebastian Donostia, ESP, Primera Division, Real Sociedad vs Athletic Bilbao, im Bild Real Sociedad's Antoine Griezman (r) and Athletic de Bilbao's Andoni Iraola // during Primera Division football match between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao at Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian Donostia, Spain on 2/10/2011. EXPA Pictures © 2011, PhotoCredit: EXPA/ Alterphoto/ Acero +++++ ATTENTION - OUT OF SPAIN/(ESP) +++++
02.10.2011, Stadion Anoeta, San Sebastian Donostia, ESP, Primera Division, Real Sociedad vs Athletic Bilbao, im Bild Real Sociedad's Antoine Griezman (r) and Athletic de Bilbao's Andoni Iraola // during Primera Division football match between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao at Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian Donostia, Spain on 2/10/2011. EXPA Pictures © 2011, PhotoCredit: EXPA/ Alterphoto/ Acero +++++ ATTENTION - OUT OF SPAIN/(ESP) +++++
Iraola arrived at New York midway through their debut MLS campaign. In the same month, Gerrard moved to LA Galaxy while Lampard and Pirlo joined Iraola at NYCFC.
Iraola may have gone somewhat under the radar given he arrived with those two marquee signings, but he would eventually go on to play a key role alongside them.
“I have only played for one club throughout my whole career, and I knew after leaving Bilbao my first choice was always to play in the US and in New York,” Iraola said on his arrival.
NYCFC’s sporting director, Claudio Reyna, summed up what Iraola would bring to the team when he said: “His level of professionalism and humility is exactly what we want to have at New York City FC.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Saturday, March 27, 2004: Manchester City's Claudio Reyna and Fulham's Mark Pembridge during the Premiership match at the City of Manchester Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Claudio Reyna in his playing days for Man City
“His experience playing at the highest level will be a great influence on the younger members of the squad.
“He’s not going to wear the captain’s armband, but essentially we’re adding another captain to the team.”
When looking back on the playing careers of those like Iraola who go on to become managers at the top level, you begin to realise the signs that showed they were capable of making the transition to becoming a coach – there were several at NYCFC.
Reyna’s comments about Iraola being another leader on the pitch were one of them, and another would come in the team’s second season in 2016, Iraola’s first and only full season with the franchise.
Still learning and adapting
GBPXMY the Bronx, New York, USA. 3rd July, 2016. Andoni Iraola (NYCFC), JULY 3, 2016 - Football/Soccer : Andoni Iraola of New York City FC after the Major League Soccer match between New York City FC 2-0 New York Red Bulls at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, United States. © Hiroaki Yamaguchi/AFLO/Alamy Live News
GBPXMY the Bronx, New York, USA. 3rd July, 2016. Andoni Iraola (NYCFC), JULY 3, 2016 - Football/Soccer : Andoni Iraola of New York City FC after the Major League Soccer match between New York City FC 2-0 New York Red Bulls at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, United States. © Hiroaki Yamaguchi/AFLO/Alamy Live News
In that first season at NYCFC under coach Jason Kreis, a 32-year-old Iraola slotted in as expected in his usual position of right-back.
It was a position he had played throughout his career at Athletic Club, and the idea was that he would add a reliable presence to a team struggling in their debut season.
Villa had already arrived as NYCFC’s first marquee signing in 2014 ahead of their debut season, followed by Lampard, Pirlo and eventually a more familiar name in the dugout, Patrick Vieira.
The former Arsenal midfielder replaced Kreis, who was sacked following the disappointing debut campaign.
Vieira was already in the City Football Group system as a coach at Man City’s academy, and the New York franchise of the multi-club ownership group took the opportunity to hire a big name in the dugout to add to those they were assembling on the pitch.
New York City FC head coach Patrick Vieira shouts instructions to forward David Villa (7) during the first half against the Toronto FC in an MLS soccer game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, March 13, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York City FC head coach Patrick Vieira shouts instructions to forward David Villa (7) during the first half against the Toronto FC in an MLS soccer game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, March 13, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Vieira saw something in Iraola, whose age was by now preventing him from getting up and down the flank as he once had as a right back, but he had the ability on the ball to play more centrally.
This initially involved a hybrid right-back role and playing right centre-back at the beginning of the 2016 season, before he dropped to the bench for a short time.
But an injury to new signing Federico Bravo led to Iraola’s tactical know-how and technical ability making him the ideal stand-in for the No. 6.
“He brings his tactical knowledge and understanding of the game,” Vieira said of Iraola’s positional switch.
“But what I really like about Andoni is he’s really calm and tactically he’s really improved the team.”
Patrick Vieira is in the dugout at New York City FC (MLS/PA)
Patrick Vieira is in the dugout at New York City FC (MLS/PA)
Even when Bravo returned to fitness, Iraola retained his spot in the middle of the park and played the rest of the 2016 season as the team’s first-choice defensive midfielder.
It was a stark contrast to their inaugural season, when they had finished eighth in the Eastern Conference and 17th overall in MLS.
In 2016, with Vieira in the dugout and Iraola in a new midfield role behind Pirlo and Lampard, they finished second in the conference and fourth overall in MLS.
At the end of the season, the Third Rail supporters’ group named Iraola the Unsung Hero of 2016 for his performances alongside those big-name players.
Vieira said: “A lot of players get a lot of credit, but the work he does on and off the field deserves recognition.
“There are players who work really hard for the team but never get mentioned, and those kind of guys are really quite special because they sacrifice themselves for the team.
“Andoni is the perfect image of a team player; everyone loves him on and off the field.”
Valuable experience for a future coach
Recruitment teams and managers place great value on versatile team players.
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - Thursday, May 14, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Andoni Iraola poses for an official photocall ahead of his first press conference at the AXA Training Centre. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - Thursday, May 14, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Andoni Iraola poses for an official photocall ahead of his first press conference at the AXA Training Centre. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Liverpool had several during their successful period under Jurgen Klopp and, like Klopp, Iraola had shown his own versatility when required as a player, which enabled him to play a key role in a team despite not being a star.
Even though it was just for one season, that time playing in midfield will have been important to Iraola’s understanding of the game and of the tools required to be a midfielder in a physical league.
Working under someone of Vieira’s stature and alongside a technical player such as Pirlo will also have been useful for someone about to begin on the path to becoming a manager.
If you want a year-long lesson in midfield play, which is vital to the pressing and high-intensity game as well as possession and build-up, having those two to learn from is about as good as you can get when it comes to covering all bases.
Playing in a different league, outside of the Athletic Club comfort zone in his Basque Country birthplace, will also have been a good learning experience for a would-be coach.
25.09.2010, San Mames, Bilbao, ESP, Primera Division, Athletic Bilbao vs FC Barcelona, im Bild Atletic de Bilbao's Andoni Iraola (l) and FC Barcelona's Adriano Correia during La Liga match. EXPA Pictures © 2010, PhotoCredit: EXPA/ Alterphotos/ Acero +++++ ATTENTION - OUT OF SPAIN / ESP +++++
25.09.2010, San Mames, Bilbao, ESP, Primera Division, Athletic Bilbao vs FC Barcelona, im Bild Atletic de Bilbao's Andoni Iraola (l) and FC Barcelona's Adriano Correia during La Liga match. EXPA Pictures © 2010, PhotoCredit: EXPA/ Alterphotos/ Acero +++++ ATTENTION - OUT OF SPAIN / ESP +++++
It meant mixing with players of different nationalities, which would not have been the case in an Athletic Club squad that fields only Basque players.
When he retired at the end of the 2016 season, there was high praise for the role Iraola played in the formation of NYCFC.
“Andoni always led by example and set the tone for some of our best victories this year,” Vieira said.
“All of the guys love him, and we will miss him a lot.”
Reyna added: “I believe his experience and professionalism have made a huge impact in the young history of NYCFC, showing the younger players in the locker room the standards they must aspire to in order to compete at the top level year after year.
“Off the pitch, Andoni embodies the type of human being we want at the club. He is a humble guy who always puts himself at the service of the collective.”
Just 10 years after retiring as a player, Iraola is back at Yankee Stadium as manager of one of the biggest clubs in the game.
New York City, too, are about to embark on a new chapter. Though the ground they share with the Yankees baseball team has served them well enough as their main stadium, NYCFC have led a nomadic life since their inception with no home to really call their own.
Next year, they will finally move into their own football-specific ground in Queens, next to the other baseball stadium in which they have occasionally played home games, Citi Field, home of the Mets.
Yankee Stadium will always have a place in New York City FC history, though, just as it will in the career path and development of Liverpool’s new manager.
His time there could even be considered the key moment in his transition from player to coach.