Sports
Liverpool Appoint New Head Coach
Liverpool have appointed Andoni Iraola as their new head coach.
Iraola, 43, signed a two-year deal to replace Arne Slot, who was sacked on Saturday – a year after guiding the club to the Premier League title.
Former Bournemouth manager Iraola joins after delivering the Cherries’ finest top-flight season to date, finishing in sixth place.
That was only one position and three points behind Liverpool and gave Bournemouth a place in next season’s Europa League.
The Spaniard announced in April that he would leave Bournemouth this summer, and he had been linked with Crystal Palace and AC Milan.
Now he moves to Merseyside, with Liverpool having qualified for next season’s Champions League despite finishing the Premier League season with 60 points – their lowest tally since 2015-16 and a distant 25 points behind winners Arsenal.
“Really excited, really excited,” said Iraola. “Because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it’s a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world.
“You don’t need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool.”
He added: “I think Liverpool gives me the chance to coach top players, and top players give you the chance to fight for titles. To win titles.
“Obviously, when you arrive at a place, you cannot promise everything. You cannot promise. But I indeed understand where I’m coming from and what is expected.
“I’m ready for the challenge.”
Iraola, who recalled Anfield’s roar when Federico Chiesa scored a late winner against his Bournemouth side last August, is understood to be keen to add Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper, his assistants with the Cherries, to his coaching staff.
Remembering Bournemouth’s trip to Liverpool almost 10 months ago, Iraola said: “[Chiesa] scored and the place erupted. It was crazy, no? I want to feel this now from the other side.
“At the beginning, when you arrive at any club, I think you need to kind of prove a little bit yourself.
“You need to earn the right also to belong. I want to do this as quickly as possible so I can also celebrate with them and I can be part of those celebrations properly.”
The decision to sack Slot was made by Michael Edwards, who is Fenway Sports Group’s chief executive of football, and Liverpool’s sporting director Richard Hughes.
Together, they decided the club required a more front-foot, aggressive, and urgent style of football.
Iraola was appointed at Bournemouth when Hughes was technical director at the Cherries, a role he left in 2024 to join the Reds.
Former RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund head coach Marco Rose has been confirmed as Iraola’s replacement at Bournemouth.
Liverpool spent £450m last summer – the highest outlay in a single window by a British club – in a bid to retain their league title.
They broke the British transfer record to sign striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle for £125m and also bought Bayer Leverkusen and Germany playmaker Florian Wirtz for £116m.
Iraola used to play football on the beach as a child with Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso. Now all three will be Premier League managers next season.
For a while, Iraola did not think he would make football his profession, and he was three years into a law degree when he gave it up to commit to the demands of playing at full-back for Athletic Club.
After coaching in Cyprus and taking recent Conference League finalists Rayo Vallecano back into the Spanish top flight, he arrived in England with a relatively low profile but soon made his name by making Bournemouth a Premier League force.
Iraola started his football education at renowned Basque amateur club Antiguoko alongside Alonso and Arteta, who are now in charge at Chelsea and Arsenal respectively.
They played football on the beach as children, but only when the tide was out.
Iraola told BBC Sport’s Kelly Somers last year: “It’s incredible because when we were seven, eight, nine, I played with Mikel Arteta, I played with Xabi Alonso.
“We are more or less the same age, playing sometimes against each other because I was in a school and they were in other schools when we were playing on the beach.
“Then after we played together in a small club, also in Antiguoko, and now it’s amazing that we see each other on the football pitches almost 40 years later.”
Iraola spent the bulk of his playing career with Athletic Club, where he worked under top coaches such as Marcelo Bielsa, who led the Bilbao side to two finals in 2012, and future Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde.
But it was when he left the club in 2015 to see out his career at New York City FC that he truly got to rub shoulders with the game’s elite, playing in a team containing Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa, and managed by Patrick Vieira.
“It was the moment where I realised I was going to retire and I started thinking about the game differently,” Iraola said.
“I also had Patrick Vieira as a coach. He showed me a different style of play because he was coming from the Manchester City academy, where there was more positional play, and I was used to a different style of play.”
Iraola has a history of overachieving everywhere he has been, beginning with his playing career.
He spent 15 years with Athletic Club, which famously only picks players with ties to the Basque Country. In his four seasons as captain, the club reached two Copa del Rey finals, a Europa League final, and qualified for the Champions League.
In his first management role with AEK Larnaca, Iraola led the Cypriot side to qualify for the Europa League group stage for only the second time.
Then at little-known Spanish second division side CD Mirandes, he steered a team destined for relegation to a mid-table finish – and led them to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, knocking out La Liga heavyweights Celta Vigo, Sevilla and Villarreal.
Expectations were similarly low when he took charge of Rayo Vallecano, but he inspired them to promotion via the play-offs, overcoming a 2-1 home defeat by Girona to win the second leg 2-0 despite playing most of the second half with 10 men.
He took over at Bournemouth in 2023 when they had finished the Premier League season in 15th place, something that was deemed a success after Gary O’Neil replaced Scott Parker following a 9-0 loss to Liverpool just four games in. Since then, Iraola has guided the Cherries to a new level.
He has continued to network since becoming a coach, remaining in close contact with Alonso. He got to know Eddie Howe when the ex-Bournemouth manager was on a sabbatical before he moved to Newcastle United, inviting him to Madrid to watch his Rayo team train and “exchange ideas, especially on how to set up against the biggest teams”.
Iraola had no problem doing just that last season with Bournemouth as his side beat Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Newcastle and Everton, garnering fans and friends with an exciting brand of football that was not derailed by the January sale of star man Antoine Semenyo.
Another Spaniard, Pep Guardiola, even used Iraola’s side as an example of “modern football” last year.
Guardiola said: “Today, modern football is the way that Bournemouth play, that Newcastle play, Brighton play – Liverpool have always been like that.”
In 2025-26, Bournemouth went on an 18-game unbeaten run.
Fans at Anfield will hope for a similar upturn now that Iraola has the chance to work with a squad of established stars and big-money signings.
The new head coach will certainly look to build a strong relationship with fans – counting that rapport as important as results on the pitch.
Iraola said in his BBC Sport interview last year: “The most important thing when I come to a new club is this: when I leave, I hope everyone has good things to say about me.
“When I come back 10 years later, I still have relationships with people inside the clubs. This has happened in all the clubs I have been to, and I hope it continues.”
Lionel Messi is set to make his final appearance for Argentina after being named in the squad for an international friendly against Benin on October 6.
The 39-year-old forward, who announced his retirement from international football in August, will return to the national team for what is expected to be an emotional farewell before Argentine supporters at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) plans to honour its captain during the fixture, with AFA president Claudio Tapia confirming that Messi was invited to receive the send-off the federation believes he deserves.
“We made the decision to invite the best player in the world, the symbol of our national team, our captain, Lionel Andres Messi, so that he can have the farewell he truly deserves on October 6 here in Argentina,” Tapia said.
Members of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad have also been invited to attend the ceremony.
Messi is expected to win his 208th and final international cap against Benin. He remains Argentina’s record appearance holder and all-time leading scorer, with 125 goals for the national team.
His two-decade international career has been decorated with major honours, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024.
Before the farewell fixture, Argentina will face Bolivia in Cordoba on September 30 and Burkina Faso in Buenos Aires on October 3.
The Bolivia clash will be Argentina’s first match since their defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.
The fixtures will also take place against the backdrop of FIFA disciplinary sanctions imposed on Argentina following incidents involving members of the team.
Argentina have been ordered to play their next home match at 50 per cent stadium capacity after breaching FIFA disciplinary regulations relating to demonstrations considered non-sporting at a sporting event.
The punishment followed Argentina’s 2-1 semi-final victory over England in July, when several players displayed a banner bearing the words: “The Falklands are Argentine.”
The upcoming friendlies are also expected to count towards suspensions handed down following incidents after Argentina’s World Cup final defeat to Spain.
Midfielder Leandro Paredes has been suspended for 10 matches, while defender Nahuel Molina was handed a seven-game ban.
Despite the disciplinary backdrop, the October 6 fixture is expected to centre on Messi as Argentina prepares to bid farewell to the captain who led the country to its long-awaited World Cup triumph.
The Premier League’s refereeing body has admitted that an error was made in allowing Erling Haaland’s winning goal to stand during Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United in Sunday’s Manchester derby.
The controversial goal, scored at Old Trafford, has sparked fresh questions over the use of VAR after the video assistant referee overturned an initial offside decision and allowed City to take the lead.
Haaland eventually scored the only goal of the encounter as Manchester City secured all three points against their city rivals.
However, the refereeing body, ProRef, later acknowledged that the VAR team made an error in its assessment of the incident.
The controversy centred on City midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position during the build-up to Haaland’s goal.
Although Fernandez did not make contact with the ball, his position and movement were considered potentially relevant because of his interaction with Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez.
The assistant referee had initially raised his flag for offside, but VAR intervened and determined that Haaland was onside when he received the ball.
The on-field decision was subsequently overturned, allowing the goal to stand.
Following a review, however, ProRef admitted that VAR had failed to properly consider whether Fernandez had interfered with Martinez in the build-up.
According to the refereeing body, the VAR team should have advised referee Michael Oliver to review the incident on the pitch before reaching a final decision.
ProRef described the incident as an “error of judgement” and said Manchester United had been informed of the mistake.
The admission is likely to fuel further debate over VAR and the consistency of Premier League officiating, particularly when decisions have a direct impact on the outcome of high-profile matches.
Manchester City, however, will retain their 1-0 victory despite the refereeing admission.
Under Premier League rules, a match result is not overturned because of a subsequent admission that a refereeing or VAR decision was incorrect.
The defeat leaves Manchester United to rue another controversial moment in a derby that City ultimately won through Haaland’s decisive strike.
The latest development also puts renewed focus on the responsibilities of VAR officials, particularly in situations involving an offside player who may not touch the ball but could still influence an opponent’s ability to defend the play.
Top seed Alexander Zverev squandered a two-set lead in the 2020 title match against Austrian Dominic Thiem but now, armed with a champion’s mentality following his breakthrough triumph at Roland Garros in June, he broke American hearts with a devastating display against Shelton.
The German banished bitter U.S. Open memories to beat American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2 in the final on Sunday, capturing the title six years after letting a golden opportunity slip through his fingers
The home fans were desperate to see Shelton end a 23-year American men’s Grand Slam drought, but the eighth seed never found his top form in his first major final.
“I know that today 99.9% of the people wanted Ben to win, so I’m very sorry,” said Zverev. “Even though I know that the crowd was against me, the crowd was always incredibly fair, and we as players we appreciate it.
“I think God has seen how hard we worked, how much we suffered, how much pain we went through, and I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before,” Zverev said during the presentation ceremony.
Zverev was so focused on the job at hand, he did not even realize he had won the title when Shelton smacked a service return long.
As the umpire announced “game, set and match Zverev,’ the German headed back to the baseline, ready to receive Shelton’s serve.
It took him a few seconds to register why the cheering fans were giving him a standing ovation — as he belatedly cracked a smile and ran to the net to embrace Shelton.
He was beaming again as he was handed a Grand Slam record $5.5 million winner’s prize.
In a battle between two of tennis’ most explosive players, it was Zverev who had all the early firepower, as Shelton’s inexperience showed with a double fault on break point in the opening game.
Shelton produced one of the points of the match in the sixth game, scrambling to reach a drop shot and prevailing in a tense exchange at the net.
Encouraged by his team, the American mixed in serve-and-volley tactics in an attempt to shift the momentum, but the move proved ineffective, and he handed Zverev the set with a double fault.
The partisan crowd tried to get under Zverev’s skin in the second set, cheering wildly after he produced a double fault in the ninth game. But the German refused to get distracted, surging to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreak as the fans desperately chanted “Let’s go, Ben!”
Zverev looked like he would roll to the finish line in the third set as he saved a break point in the sixth game with a lethal backhand winner.
Shelton’s frustration boiled over two games later when he slipped and crashed to the court, prompting the American to let out an expletive.
But Shelton dug in his heels, subduing his opponent with a series of powerful groundstrokes from the baseline to break serve and force a fourth set.
Shelton’s resilience only delayed the inevitable as Zverev came through a 25-shot rally to secure an early break in the deciding set. He never let go of that advantage as he finally got the chance to hoist the U.S. Open trophy on his 11th appearance at the hardcourt major.
“My successes are a gift, the failures are a gift and being here playing in front of you guys is a gift,” said Shelton, the first Black American man in 54 years to play in the U.S. Open final after Arthur Ashe.
The victory marked another step in Zverev’s efforts to move beyond a series of painful Grand Slam disappointments. The German’s career has also been overshadowed by off-court allegations of domestic violence, which he has repeatedly denied.
“We went 30 years without winning a Slam title and now won two in the span of three months,” he said.
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