Andoni Iraola stood in the Anfield centre circle on Thursday afternoon with a red and white scarf draped around his neck.“You feel the responsibility, but also the excitement of being part of all this,” he told Liverpool’s club media as he gazed up at the stands.The day had started with Iraola boarding a private plane from the northern Spanish city of San Sebastian to Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport. A Mercedes-Benz V-Class took him on the 25-minute journey to the club’s Kirkby training complex.Waiting to greet the former Bournemouth boss on his arrival was Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, a former colleague of Iraola’s on the south coast, and his assistant David Woodfine. Fenway Sports Group CEO of football Michael Edwards was also present for the launch of a new era.Iraola put pen to paper on a two-year contract and conducted the first interview of his reign with LFCTV. “It cannot be more attractive than this,” he said. “Liverpool gives me the chance to coach top players, and top players give you the chance to fight for titles and win titles.”After a number of meetings and being introduced to staff across different departments, Iraola was taken from Kirkby to Anfield, where stadium tours were briefly halted so he could savour walking out on to the turf as Liverpool’s head coach for the first time.Andoni Iraola settles in at Liverpool’s Kirkby training complex (Nikki Dyer – Liverpool FC via Getty Images)From Anfield, it was straight back to John Lennon Airport. Iraola had returned to San Sebastian by the time his appointment was officially confirmed on Thursday evening.It was a swift process. Iraola had attracted significant interest from other clubs, both in England and abroad, but he was the only candidate Liverpool approached following the sacking of Arne Slot last Saturday.This is the story of how a momentous week for the club unfolded and why they are so convinced that Iraola is the right man to revive their fortunes.Iraola had been considering his next move since announcing on April 14 that he would leave Bournemouth when his contract expired at the end of the 2025-26 season.He was ready for a new challenge after a three-year spell at the Vitality Stadium which saw him oversee 12th, ninth and sixth-placed Premier League finishes, as well as securing European qualification for the first time in the club’s history.There had been discussions with Chelsea prior to their appointment of Xabi Alonso last month. Iraola was approached and impressed in talks with the London club, though there were concerns about the radical departure his style of football would represent from the work of previous managers Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior at Stamford Bridge. Iraola also had talks with Bayer Leverkusen, who were looking for a new head coach after parting ways with Kasper Hjulmand, but that did not progress. They subsequently appointed Carles Martinez Novell as head coach. The stronger interest came from Crystal Palace and Milan.Palace wanted him to succeed the outgoing Oliver Glasner. Talks took place between Iraola’s camp and the south London club over the make-up of the squad, playing style, and which areas needed strengthening in the transfer market.Yet no financial offer was made. Palace soon grew pessimistic about their chances and continued to meet other candidates. They were always conscious of the fact that Iraola was likely to receive offers from bigger clubs.Iraola met with a delegation from Milan near London during the final week of the Premier League season. He was the leading candidate to take over at the 19-time Serie A champions from Massimiliano Allegri, who was subsequently sacked after they missed out on Champions League qualification.But after helping Marco Rose with his induction as Bournemouth’s new head coach, Iraola went on holiday to San Sebastian with his family and Milan’s attempts to secure his signature were frustrated. Hughes only worked with Iraola at Bournemouth for one season before leaving to become Liverpool sporting director in 2024, but his admiration for the Basque coach goes back much further.The Scotsman admired from afar the transformation of Madrid-based club Rayo Vallecano under the guidance of Iraola between 2020-23. Iraola got them promoted to La Liga in 2020-21 and then established them in the top flight — no mean feat for a club with a fraction of the resources of city neighbours Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.When Hughes realised that Iraola was available in the summer of 2023 after turning down a new contract in Spain, he made his move. Sacking Gary O’Neil, who had kept Bournemouth in the Premier League after replacing Scott Parker, was a difficult decision which prompted scepticism from many fans and criticism in the media.Hughes believed that bringing in Iraola was too good an opportunity to resist. He was convinced that if Bournemouth didn’t move quickly then they would miss out to a bigger club.Iraola endured a torrid start, with three draws and six defeats in his first nine Premier League matches. There were teething issues as players adapted to a new style, which included complicated pressing demands.One of those defeats was inflicted by O’Neil, who having taken over at Wolverhampton Wanderers then went on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football to highlight various weaknesses in Bournemouth’s system that his new team had been able to exploit.It had the potential to make the scrutiny on Iraola even more uncomfortable, but Hughes was convinced his decision would come good. He responded by reassuring Iraola that he fully believed in him and also travelled to Spain to reinforce the same message to his agent. Bournemouth won seven of their next nine league matches and didn’t look back.Richard Hughes in conversation with Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth (Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)The relationship between Hughes and Iraola has remained strong ever since. With Hughes still living on the south coast, it’s not uncommon for them to see each other in social settings.The bond between the two is clearly a factor in Iraola’s ascent to the head coach’s role at Liverpool, although the man himself insists that it is the project which excites him, rather than the chance to reunite with Hughes. “Obviously it helps a lot when on the other side of the table there is someone who you have already worked with,” he told LFCTV. We were one year together (at Bournemouth). But in this case, I would say it’s about the club, it’s about Liverpool — what really attracted me.”Edwards and Hughes reaffirmed their backing for Slot at various stages of Liverpool’s turbulent 2025-26 season.They had great sympathy for what he had had to contend with from the tragic loss of Diogo Jota last July to the succession of injury setbacks and the breakdown of relations with Mohamed Salah, which resulted in two public outbursts.Yet increasing concern about the impact of so many defeats and declining performance levels led to the reluctant acceptance that they would need to at least contemplate a change in the dugout. It is commonplace for clubs to draw up contingency plans and establish the availability of possible candidates when a big decision looms. For example, Liverpool knew that Luis Enrique would be a non-starter if they decided to change coaches this summer because he was happy and settled at Paris Saint-Germain.No final decision over Slot’s future would be taken until after Hughes and Edwards had conducted a full review which lent heavily on data, but sources with knowledge of the situation have told The Athletic that the landscape shifted in the week building up to the final game of the season at home against Brentford — with Iraola at the forefront of Liverpool’s thinking.The backdrop had been a dismal 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa when Slot’s side fell apart. Hughes had been present at the previous home game against Chelsea when Slot was the subject of boos from an Anfield crowd fuming over such a passive, error-strewn display.Liverpool fans vote with their feet in the Chelsea game (Carl Recine/Getty Images)In the final week of the season, Hughes and Iraola chatted informally. While there is no suggestion any job offer was made — or even floated — at this time, it made sense for Iraola to leave his options open with the situation at Liverpool in flux. The Spaniard was also receiving advice from friends to bide his time amid Palace’s strong interest.Senior FSG figures are adamant that the decision to sack Slot was only taken five days after the 1-1 draw with Brentford and that it was one that all involved wrestled with given the mitigating factors for the team’s struggles.There was a meeting on Friday, May 29 where Hughes and Edwards delivered their recommendation to terminate the Dutchman’s two-year reign. It was approved by owners John W. Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon.Hughes was tasked with delivering the news to Slot the following morning ahead of an official lunchtime announcement. The former Feyenoord boss was shocked, having believed that salvaging Champions League qualification would earn him the opportunity to put things right.Liverpool’s hierarchy had concluded that the downward spiral had gone too far. They felt that if they didn’t make the change and the next season started badly the mood could quickly turn toxic. After witnessing a loss of identity over the course of 2025-26, they wanted to see a change in playing style.Players were not consulted or informed in advance. Captain Virgil van Dijk told Dutch broadcaster NOS on Tuesday: “I landed in Amsterdam Saturday afternoon and by then it had already leaked.“After that of course I had conversations, but the decision had already been made earlier. It’s not like they asked me about it. I spoke with Arne and Sipke (Hulshoff).“I am very grateful to them, for everything they have done. I wish them nothing but success. Hopefully, the club will come out of this well because this season was below par.”Once they opted to make the change, it was always going to be Iraola.Lens’ Pierre Sage and Sebastian Hoeness, the Stuttgart manager, were admired but never formally contacted, and while there was social media speculation over a possible romantic return for Jurgen Klopp, that was never on the table and neither was his opinion sought over the process.Liverpool were all in on Iraola. With Hughes leading the process and Iraola available and keen to take over, negotiations proved straightforward. A verbal agreement was in place by Tuesday, with Iraola flying in to complete the formalities less than 48 hours later.“I am looking forward to getting all the information,” he told LFCTV. “I’m talking to everyone so I can understand better the club, everything that happens outside the pitch. We have one month until we really start working with the players, but I would like to use this month properly to arrive here in the proper way.”Having sacked Slot in pursuit of a more aggressive brand of football, Liverpool believe Iraola is best placed to fulfil that brief and is the epitome of the modern head coach. It’s a big step up from Bournemouth but they regard him as having both the personality and leadership qualities to thrive in a more pressurised environment. They expect to see his Liverpool team pressing high, winning the ball back quickly and attacking with speed and purpose.The two-year contract, rather than a longer arrangement, was at Iraola’s request as it is how he has chosen to operate at previous clubs. Speaking to BBC Radio Solent last year, he said: “I don’t want to continue in a club just because I have a contract. I want to continue because both sides are happy and want to continue together. I believe you have to earn the right every season.”Left-back Milos Kerkez is well placed to advise team-mates about what’s in store given how he flourished at Bournemouth under the guidance of Iraola. It was that track record for developing young talent which further enhanced Iraola’s credentials.Liverpool were particularly struck by Iraola’s record of improving attacking players. Eli Junior Kroupi scored 13 league goals in 2025-26 — the highest number by a teenager in his debut season in Premier League history, surpassing a record previously held by Robbie Fowler and Robbie Keane.Getting the best out of the £241million double act of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz will be as crucial as the business Liverpool do in the transfer market this summer.Iraola far exceeded expectations on the south coast given the resources available to him. He found a way to keep Bournemouth moving forward — despite the sales of Kerkez, Illia Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen, Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo.After so much negativity dragged down the mood in the Liverpool dressing room towards the end of Slot’s reign, sources close to a number of senior players say there’s a sense of excitement as a new era dawns.They will embrace the prospect of a fresh start and an injection of positivity and new ideas. It is a clean slate for everyone.