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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.”

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The Super Eagles of Nigeria were held to a 2-2 draw by the White-Reds of Poland in an international friendly match played in Warsaw on Wednesday night.

Following the successful defence of the Unity Cup in London, Eric Chelle welcomed most of his regulars back to the squad, with just some players like Igoh Ogbu, Terem Moffi, and a host of others joining the squad in Warsaw.

Maduka Okoye returned to start between the sticks, while Ogbu retained his spot at the heart of the backline, and he was joined by Emmanuel Fernandez, Bruno Onyemaechi and debutant Abdullahi Bewene. Chelle opted for a mix of experience in midfield with skipper Wilfred Ndidi and Tochukwu Nnadi starting together, and then the trio of Moses Simon, Akor Adams and Moffi in attack.

Poland could have taken the lead in the opening ten minutes of the contest at the PGE Narodowy Stadium in Warsaw as they went close. Jakub Kaminski headed his effort wide when he should have done better in the third minute before Ndidi nearly turned a Poland corner into his side’s net moments later.

After those two early chances for the home side, Nigeria seized control of the game, playing some exciting football and combining very well. The moment of sustained pressure ended with a goal for the Super Eagles in the 23rd minute. After some lovely build-up, Moses Simon’s low cross into the box was expertly finished by Moffi for his second goal in two games.

Nnadi then forced the Polish goalkeeper into a strong save, as Nigeria tried to double their advantage. In stoppage time, the home side got back on level terms through Kacper Potulski after the Super Eagles failed to deal with a corner from the right. It was 1-1 at halftime.

Before the restart, Chelle made several changes, introducing Philip Otele, Semi Ajayi, Calvin Bassey, Rafiu Durosinmi, Raphael Onyedika, and Zaidu Sanusi, and bringing on Paul Onuachu for Akor Adams, Fernandez, Ogbu, Moffi, Frank Onyeka, Nnadi, and Onyemaechi.

Those changes took a bit of steam out of the Super Eagles, who were struggling for dominance compared to the opening half. However, Onuachu and Onyedika could have put Nigeria back into the lead, but they could not get their attempts on target.

Okoye then made a big stop to deny Robert Lewandowski after a poor back-pass from Zaidu Sanusi. At the other end, Sanusi’s fierce goal-bound strike was pushed away by Poland goalkeeper Kamil Grabara. However, Nigeria were awarded a spot-kick in the final quarter, and Onuachu stepped up to put Nigeria ahead in the 77th minute.

The Super Eagles came under a lot of intense pressure in the final moments of the contest, with goalkeeper Okoye making a double save to retain Nigeria’s lead. Meanwhile, with the final kick of the game, Przemyslaw Wisniewski scored an unstoppable equaliser for the hosts to ensure a share of the spoils.

Eric Chelle and his men will now head to Portugal for another friendly game, where they will be facing the 2016 European champions, who are heading to the 2026 World Cup.

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New Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has been handed significant influence over recruitment and squad planning as Real Madrid look to recover from a disappointing trophyless campaign.

The Portuguese manager is expected to officially begin his second spell at the Santiago Bernabeu after the club’s presidential election, having already agreed a long-term contract until 2029.

Mourinho reportedly made an immediate impact at Real Madrid by identifying six players he does not see as part of his plans for next season..

According to reports in Spain, the former Chelsea, Inter Milan and Manchester United boss has already informed the club hierarchy which players can leave this summer.

Among those reportedly placed on the transfer list are Eduardo Camavinga, Rodrygo Goes and highly-rated youngster Franco Mastantuono.

Defenders Fran Garcia and Raul Asencio have also been deemed surplus to requirements, while midfielder Dani Ceballos is expected to be available for transfer.

Ceballos has already attracted interest from Ajax, with several clubs monitoring his situation ahead of the summer window.

Meanwhile, Mourinho has approved moves for Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate and Inter Milan wing-back Denzel Dumfries as part of a major squad rebuild.

The 63-year-old is also believed to have requested that Real Madrid explore a move for Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori.

Mourinho reportedly values the Italian international’s versatility, with Calafiori capable of operating both at centre-back and left-back.

The Arsenal defender played a key role during the Gunners’ Premier League title-winning campaign and remains highly regarded across Europe.

With Mourinho now shaping Real Madrid’s transfer strategy, significant changes could be on the horizon as Los Blancos prepare for a new era under the Special One.