On Wednesday Iraola’s Reds welcome Chelsea to Anfield in the EFL Cup in what will be the first clash with Liverpool’s former player since the summer of supporters overwhelmingly wanting Alonso to be our new head coach. After the weekend’s Premier League games Liverpool are sitting in fourth just one point behind Brighton and two points above Chelsea which would indicate that both head coaches are settling in with their new clubs and squads. For this writer that doesn’t tell the whole story because
it’s also about the different personalities and preferred approaches to playing the game.
As Liverpool supporters we’ve been involved in a constant debate about whether the two summers of bringing in expensive players was worth it as well the stark truth of a squad that lacks real quality in depth. As the new season has progressed it’s become clear that Iraola’s eagerness to encourage and improve young hopefuls has been a vital part of how the depth issue has been addressed and perhaps a method which has helped win over the Anfield faithful.
In contrast to this, Chelsea’s Alonso brought in ex-Red captain Jordan Henderson and Brighton’s Danny Welbeck to add maturity to his stacked squad. Both are in their 30’s and they are both signings that few of their fans or pundits would have even considered targets or wanted players but it makes sense as the Chelsea approach has been collecting young stars on long contracts to little effect.
For this writer it’s been interesting to reflect on the decision FSG made last summer to bring in a head coach who had never experienced navigating a squad who are competing in four competitions before nor a club of Liverpool’s stature in the footballing world.
The choice seemed to have been made due to Iraola’s high energy style of football and probably also due to his incredible ability to get more from less (very much like Jurgen Klopp) whilst also improving every player along the way. This is the area that also tells of the personality that is Andoni Iraola and how much of a contrast that is to former head coach Arne Slot whose approach was far more pragmatic with the default tactic of insuring the Reds defensive unit had to have a one player advantage at all times. Iraola sets up the team in a much more man-to-man marking which can be taken advantage of like how Villarreal intentionally had Ronald Araujo’s man dragging him inside to expose the right flank and Rio Ngumoha not the fastest to track back.
Something else that stands out is that Iraola genuinely comes across a lot warmer than Alonso as a man and as a head coach. It could be that if FSG had opted for Alonso he would be a lot warmer and passionate due to his personal bond with the Reds but that is not possible to prove but it does ask the question about the wisdom of FSG. Maybe they do really get this club and were also helplessly in love with what Klopp brought to the heartbeat of Liverpool with his passion, high energy, hugs and fist pumps to the supporters. Something that doesn’t strike this writer as core to Alonso’s personality but that’s not saying Iraola is running down the touchline to celebrate a goal or fist pumps the supporters yet he speaks with enthusiasm and excitement about how the squad is handling the challenges.
One of the factors that weaved into the Alonso for Liverpool thinking was that he had managed both Florian Wirtz and Jeremy Frimpong during his time at former club Leverkusen so maybe he could get the best out of them if he was managing Liverpool. Just in the tactical setup alone Frimpong would have been playing as a wingback and Wirtz possibly inside left rather than a central ten which are positions where they had excelled from but really it’s all just fantasy football now.
In no way is this piece an attack or dismissal of Alonso’s quality and there is a part of this writer that wonders how the embrace between former Red Alonso and the Anfield faithful would have been yet with the first few games under Iraola’s belt there’s a feeling something special is brewing at Liverpool. That’s not lightly said after living through the wonders of the Klopp era but there is something about Iraola’s approach and the squad’s hunger to put last season far behind them that is starting to really heat up from a slow burn at the start.
Iraola stated in his first interview that he wanted to earn the respect of the supporters and become one of them, that he understood the passion and the importance of Liverpool to all the supporters and the city (the red half anyway) which were the perfect words to speak. After the victory against Brighton at Anfield Iraola acknowledged the supporters as he walked about the pitch applauding the supporters and one video blog post from a supporter at the Kop said it felt like that was the moment when the bond deepened between head coach and the Anfield faithful.
It will be interesting to see how Alonso is received by Anfield as he attempts to lead Chelsea to victory over Liverpool but we will all be hoping the loudest cheers are for Iraola and the Reds after beating Chelsea and taking a step closer to some silverware. YNWA
