Liverpool appoint Spaniard Iraola as new manager in place of Slot

Andoni Iraola left his role at Bournemouth at the end of the season and takes over at Liverpool in place of Arne Slot.Liverpool has named Andoni Iraola as their new manager after sacking Arne Slot following a calamitous Premier League title defence.Iraola quickly emerged as Liverpool’s top target to replace Slot, whose two-year reign came to a shock end when he was dismissed last Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Russia’s Andreeva beats Ukraine’s Kostyuk in no-handshake French Open semilist 2 of 4Sabalenka ‘mentally off track’ as French Open exit made her want to ‘quit’list 3 of 4Real Madrid will bring Jose Mourinho back if Florentino Perez is re-electedlist 4 of 4UK Athletics fined over death of UAE Paralympian Abdullah Hayayeiend of listLiverpool gave no indication as to the length of the 43-year-old Spaniard’s contract, but British media have reported that he has signed a two-year deal.“Really excited, really excited, because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it’s a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world,” Iraola, who called time on his impressive spell with Bournemouth at the end of this season, said on Liverpool’s official website on Thursday.“But feeling inside and understanding a little bit more of this club, I always thought it’s a special club.“You don’t need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool.”After criticism of Liverpool’s lacklustre performances in Slot’s second season at Anfield, Iraola is expected to deliver a more urgent, aggressive style of football, which characterised the team under beloved former manager Jurgen Klopp.Iraola earned rave reviews for Bournemouth’s sixth-place finish in England’s Premier League this season, which secured the club’s first qualification for Europe, in the Europa League.He arrived at the south coast club from Raya Vallecano in 2023, having previously managed Mirandes and AEK Larnaca in Cyprus.Bournemouth improved each year under Iraola, finishing 12th, ninth and sixth.