SerpApi.Org
Liverpool fans are learning all about their new head coach, Andoni Iraola, and the type of person they can expect to lead the club forward over the next few years.
The 44-year-old is a different type of character to the outgoing and charismatic Jurgen Klopp, as well as the more brutally honest Arne Slot, who he will succeed in the dugout at Anfield.
Iraola is someone who doesn't want to take the spotlight, letting his coaching do the talking, while his loyalty to each and every cause he has signed up to is clear throughout his career. As a manager, the Spaniard has seen out his contract with Mirandes, Rayo Vallecano, and most recently Bournemouth, as he threw everything at the job without considering offers to leave each club.
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That unwavering loyalty was evident during his playing days too. Iraola spent most of his career at Athletic Bilbao, where the right-back featured from 2003 until 2015.
His career could've looked different, however, when Liverpool came knocking in 2013. Under Brendan Rodgers, the Reds had shown interest in signing Iraola and wanted to bring him to the club, after head of recruitment Julian Ward followed the star with visits to watch him in-person.
While that interest was there, Iraola decided to stay with Athletic, but showed some real class by penning a letter to Liverpool to thank them for the admiration.
With such a close connection to the Reds as a result of that snubbing, the new manager of the club was asked about the letter and transfer interest by the Liverpool Echo in Chicago.
The head coach showed his true colors by wishing to avoid the question, believing that the story would be better told later on in his career at Anfield.
He claimed: "I don't know if I want to tell you this story this early in my career. I would like to win some games and have more time before I tell this amazing story.
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"I wouldn't like to use it this early. It will look like I am selling myself. We need some time, to win some games. If you remind me in some months, I will tell it but I don't want to go into it right now.
"Look, it is a nice story but if you remember me in some months, you can ask me again."
It shows the humility of Iraola, who recognizes that perhaps the story isn't about him, but about Liverpool and how he can improve the club moving forward.
That sort of selflessness could benefit the team moving forward, as the rebuild towards the top is back underway.
