Premier League side Bournemouth, have appointed Spanish boss Andoni Iraola to replace outgoing manager Gary O’Neil, find out more about his brief bio, age, height, career, net worth, trophy record, clubs managed, coaching style and tactics
The decision to sack O’Neil came as a shock to most Cherries fans after the former midfielder managed to rescue them from relegation troubles.
Who is Andoni Iraola new Bournemouth manager, coaching style, tactics, mana
gerial stats, style of play
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Andoni Iraola as the club's new head coach.
Welcome to #afcb, Andoni 🤝
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) June 19, 2023
Official, completed: Andoni Iraola has been appointed as new Bournemouth head coach. 🚨🍒 #Bournemouth
Contract will be valid until June 2025. pic.twitter.com/DFAMOZW8UK
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 19, 2023
However, new club chairman Bull Foley, has stated that Iraola’s arrival is simply the club taking the next step in a revamp under the new ownership.
Bill Foley’s Black Knight Football Club recently obtained Bournemouth and they are looking to build the club into a solid Premier League outfit.
Andoni Iraola brief bio
Andoni Iraola Sagarna is a retired Spanish professional footballer and the newly appointed manager of Premier League club AFC Bournemouth. Iraola was born on 22 June 1982 in Usurbil, Spain and played as a right-back during his playing career.
Iraola’s coaching philosophy is characterized by an ambitious yet flexible style of play and during his tenure at Rayo Vallecano, the team gained a reputation for being one of the most effective pressing teams in Spain. They played with a high block, forcing opponents into errors in the dangerous areas.
Iraola is a fan of positional play and wants his players to take charge of specific zones, look for width.
Age and height
Andoni Iraola currently 40 years old and stands at a height of 1.82 m
Andoni Iraola career
Iraola started out in the youth system of Athletic Bilbao, before eventually making 406 appearances for the Bilbao giants from 2003 to 2015. The Spaniard then had a brief stint in MLS with New York City FC, where he eventually retired in 2016.
He then started out his coaching career as head coach of Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in June 2018. However, things did not go smoothly and he was sacked just six months later following a poor run of form.
Iraola returned to Spain where he took charge of second-tier side Mirandes in July 2019. However, he failed to lead the club to promotion despite leading the club to the Copa del Rey semifinals and left at the end of the 2019/20 season.
Rayo Vallecano then took a chance on Iraola ahead of the 2020/21 season after sacking Paco Jemez. Iraola hit found success there as he helped the side secure promotion back to La Liga via the playoffs in his first season. They ended up finishing in 12th in the 2021/22 campaign.
Inspite of the clash between the Rayo supporters and their controversial club president Raul Martin Presa, Iraola led the side to an impressive European qualification push in the 2022/23 season. However, with Rayo eventually slipping out of a European spot, Iraola confirmed his decision to leave the club. He announced his decision to leave when his contract expires in June and leaves the club on the back of memorable wins over league giants Real Madrid and Barcelona last season.
Andoni Iraola net worth
According to various sources, Andoni Iraola has an estimated net worth of around $5 million.
Andoni Iraola trophy record
Iraola is still yet to have won any major trophy as a manager. He had only won the Cypriot Super Cup in 2018 till date and came close to the Copa del Rey crashing out in the semifinals with Mirandes and Rayo.
Andoni Iraola clubs managed
Given below are the clubs that Andoni Iraola has managed so far:
| Club | Dates Managed | Win Ratio |
| AEK Larnaca | May 2018 – Jan 2019 | 41.3% |
| Mirandes | July 2019 – July 2020 | 36.7% |
| Rayo Vallecano | August 2020 – June 2023 | 39.7% |
Iraola will now join Bournemouth as their newly appointed manager.
Andoni Iraola Leeds United links
Andoni Iraola will be familiar to Premier League fans as Leeds United had previously tried to bring him to Elland Road following Jesse Marsch’s departure earlier in February. Despite the interest, Iraola turned down their offer as he was still mid-way through his contract with Rayo. Leeds were yet again linked with signing him this summer, but Iraola has since decided otherwise.
Reason behind Bournemouth sacking Gary O’Neil
Despite keeping the Cherries away from relegation in 2023 season, the club decided to sack O’Neil. O’Neil came as a replacement for Scott Parker who got sacked following a 9-0 loss at Liverpool. Inspite of his lack of experience, the 40-year-old led the team out of the bottom three and in the closing weeks of the season. While thanking O’Neil for his efforts, Bournemouth decided to let him go and bring in Iraola instead.
Foley stated:
This has been a difficult decision. It has been made with great consideration to best position ourselves ahead of the coming season. Gary will go on to have a long career as a head coach or manager, but we feel that, at this moment, a change is in the best interests of the club.”
Bournemouth will begin their Premier League 2023/24 season with the opening home tie against West Ham on August 12.
ALSO READ: Joselu lands in the capital as Real Madrid’s new centre-forward (Ld)