Few coaches have made as immediate and lasting an impact in recent years as Andoni Iraola. From his innovative work in Spain to his growing reputation in the Premier League, the former Atletico Bilbao right-back has earned widespread admiration for his tactical intelligence, demanding standards and ability to inspire those around him.

Few are better placed to offer a deeper perspective than Mario Suárez, who worked closely with Iraola during their time together at Rayo Vallecano. Having experienced his methods in the dressing room and on the training ground, Suárez witnessed the qualities that would later establish Iraola as one of Europe’s most highly regarded coaches.

In this exclusive interview with Dan Clubbe, Suárez reflects on Iraola’s leadership style, his tactical approach, the relationships he built with his squad and the traits that convinced him his former coach was destined for success at the highest level…

Liverpool Fans REACT To Andoni Iraola’s IMPRESSIVE First Interview!

On his first impressions: “I knew him before because I played against him a lot of times when he was playing in Atletico. I remember I was always joking with him that I wanted him in the Europa League with Atletico in the final, if you remember. Since the first day as a coach, you can see the way he understands football and the way he wants to play. He likes, as you said, to be there with Jurgen Klopp, rock and roll. He likes the players to run, to attack. It doesn’t matter who he’s facing. He used to play in the smallest, with all the respect teams like Rayo, as you said, with Mirandes in the second division here in Spain or in Bournemouth. Now he’s going to go to a big, big club, one of the biggest clubs in the world, for sure. But he’s not going to change. His style of playing is to attack, to play fast. He doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have possession of the ball, because what he wants to do is to win the matches. I’m sure you’re not going to get bored with him because it’s very funny to watch his teams.” 

On the difficulty of adapting to the style: “Well, at the beginning, it was tough because we were with another coach, Paco Jemed, who was now in West Ham with Nuno. Paco likes different styles of football, with more possession of the ball. And since the first day, he said, look, I don’t want what you were doing. I want this. He explained to us in the dressing room, and then we went immediately to the pitch. And with Pablo, his fitness coach, the training’s always with the ball. I think that’s a good thing that now it’s more typical, but maybe in Spain, three, four, five, six years ago, it was not so usual. It was normal, but maybe not all the clubs. And he has made his ideas very clear. I think he’s one of the strongest points of Andoni, that he’s not going to change even if he loses two or three matches, and he’s not going to change if he’s winning. He’s very calm in every situation. And as you said, he wants chaos on the pitch. He wants something to happen every time because he feels comfortable doing that. He doesn’t like the team defending in a low block. No, he wants to attack, to press high, to attack from the wingers, to put crosses on the box, to make something happen every time. And I think it’s very entertaining for the supporters, but also for the players. When you understand that you have to run, if you lose the ball, you have to press. Don’t complain to the referee because you are not going to do anything. Go, go, go and go. You, as a player, also enjoy it.”

On the demands of the intensity: “It’s true that he demands very intense work in everything that you are doing, in training and in the matches. Intensity. He likes the physical numbers, and in the sprints, the number of sprints, and the intensity. Also, Pablo, they both believe a lot in this. We were veteran players, Falcao and I, struggling a little bit with that. That’s why he’s intelligent enough. I guess we are going to talk more about him as a person, but he’s very intelligent. He’s very clever. That’s why one of the things that he put me as a centre-back in my last season and in the last two seasons, I played a lot of matches there. And I was struggling because he was also one to press high, put the defensive line higher. I’m not as fast as you can imagine, as Virgil van Dijk, for example, or Mo Salah in the past. But I think one of the key points from him is that he’s very clever. He understands what is happening in the dressing room, on the pitch, and during training. I think it’s going to be good. Maybe I can have some concern, but you can ask me whatever you want. You don’t come back to train if you are not able to train with the team. So if you are not ready to give the 100% that you have in that moment, of course, if you came from an injury, and then maybe you are going to be 80% and, sometimes. But if you are not ready to complete the full training session.”

What It’s REALLY Like To Play For Andoni Iraola

On his communication: “To be honest, he’s not a guy who likes to talk too much. I mean, he doesn’t want, or he doesn’t like to give explanations because of why you are playing, or you are not playing. He tried to keep the distance. But if you want to talk to him, he can talk, and he’s very clear in what he wants. He told me one day, ‘Look, Mario, the way I want to play, I don’t see you playing as a midfielder. I see you as a centre-back.
Not as a starter.’ I was in my last season also. He’s very clear in what he wants and what he has in his head. As I told you before, we were, I think, struggling with one consecutive match. I think it was 11 or 12 matches without winning. I hope that doesn’t happen there because I wish him the best. And he was not changing. We went to Barcelona to play against Dembélé, with the strikers. And we played the same, and we finally won. We won, and then we made a good streak of results, winning matches. So he’s very clear in what he wants. And if you don’t give him what he wants, you are not going to play. And he came to me, and when I talked to him,  he explained to me the things very clearly. He knows I was a veteran player, and the people in the dressing room follow me or believe me. And he talked to me clearly. I said, Mario, I want these things to happen easily, and have good relations with everyone. And it’s the truth. He’s not a person who likes to show his emotions or his feelings often. But it’s good because he keeps the count, even if you are winning, even if you are losing. He’s not the kind of guy who puts nerves,  who is going to start changing things. So I think it’s one of the key points from him. I like the way he acts in every moment, to be honest.”

On his team talks: “Never too high, never too low. He’s a very calm guy. But when he was asked to, in the dressing room, to make things clear, he did. I guess also in these three years, new experience in Bournemouth, successful three seasons there, he improved as a coach, he improved as a person, but his personality is what it is. But as I told you, a good leader doesn’t need to shout or to make the people respect him. And I think, as I told you, the way he is, I think you are not going to change. But the reality, and here is where we want to talk about different things, is that he never trained a big club like Liverpool. So now he has to handle big personalities because he proved that with smaller teams, as we said before, he did it amazingly. He believed in younger players, in young players. He believed in that. He put a lot of young players on another level, like Fran Garcia, for example, in Rayo Vallecano, who signed for Real Madrid. Santi Comezania signed for Villarreal and is now one of the captains. Huijsen to Real Madrid, another centre-back to PSG. So he proves that with young players, it’s amazing. And he’s going to do it for sure with the young players in Liverpool. He’s going to put them on another level. The problem now is you have to, not the problem, but the question here is how you are going to handle Virgil van Dijk, this kind of player, big personalities, big stars. But he’s a good human being. He’s a good guy. He’s the type of guy that you can talk with. But it’s true that he’s going to have to make decisions that in the bigger clubs, with bigger pressure, with a lot of journalists or media around him, it’s going to be different.”

On the step up: “To have the opportunity to coach one of the biggest clubs in the world, Liverpool, it is amazing. And to be honest, I think he’s going to do it amazingly. Because I think the way he understands football, the way he understands life, when I see last year’s Liverpool, it’s the way he wants to play. With some changes, for sure, because every coach has different types or different styles in some little details. But the only concern is about that. How to deal with the big personalities, how to deal with the pressure of the Champions League, how to deal with a lot of competitions, how to deal with the pressure that they are going to demand that you must win all the competitions when you participate. But you will never know until you are there. So let’s give him the chance. But as I said before, he is not the kind of guy who is going to be talking to you all the time. But he’s very intelligent. He’s very clever. And he likes to improve every time. But I’m excited about how it’s going to be because I wish him all the best, Pablo. And now I’m going to be a Liverpool supporter for sure.”

On the chances of success: “If we are talking about Andoni, from him and from Pablo, it’s going to be successful because they are hard workers. They are going to be 100%. They are really good, Pablo, in the physical part. And Andoni, as I told you, clever, tactically, intensity. I think his style fits perfectly with Liverpool’s style or the style you want. And if you convince the players and they follow you, I’m sure that Liverpool is going to be fighting for titles for sure. Because believe me, Andoni, his destiny is to train big clubs.”