‘Don’t become the protagonist’: Andoni Iraola on the secret of Spain’s success and his role at Liverpool

Andoni Iraola trains in Chicago with the message: ‘I think things work when we are not just selfish, no? When you prioritise the situation of the one who has less’. Photograph: Nikki Dyer/Liverpool FC/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenAndoni Iraola trains in Chicago with the message: ‘I think things work when we are not just selfish, no?

When you prioritise the situation of the one who has less’. Photograph: Nikki Dyer/Liverpool FC/Getty ImagesInterview‘Don’t become the protagonist’: Andoni Iraola on the secret of Spain’s success and his role at LiverpoolAndy Hunter in ChicagoLiverpool’s new head coach is settling into the pre-season tour in Chicago as he begins to reshape the Reds’ identityOver coffee in Liverpool’s plush hotel in Chicago, Andoni Iraola presents his theory for the phenomenal success of Basque and Spanish coaches. It is a theory that will shape his entire approach to life as the Liverpool head coach and his attempts to bring the connection, the joy and the belief back to Anfield.

It centres on the power of the collective.The Champions League, the Premier League, the Europa League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the European Championship and, as of Sunday, the World Cup: all currently in the hands of Basque and Spanish coaches, even if Pep Guardiola has since taken his leave from Manchester City. Next season, four men from the small Basque region of Gipuzkoa will manage four of the Premier League’s main contenders, Iraola included.

There is, he believes, a simple explanation for the rise of the guys from Gipuzkoa and for Spanish dominance across a global stage.Liverpool primed for business: Bezos, Bhatia and the next steps at Anfield | Andy HunterRead more“They ask me why a lot of Basque managers especially have arrived to this level and why Spanish teams are winning a lot of things,” Iraola explains. “I always say that a sense of collectiveness is very important.

Spain has never had the best athletes. If you analyse in swimming, boxing, track and field, Spain don’t normally win medals. But in collective sports they are very good.

In football, basketball, handball, hockey, normally they have good teams. We always put the team first. An example is someone like Rodri.

He didn’t score or make an assist but at the end they won the World Cup and he won best player of the tournament. Team first was always integrated in how we were raised.”Iraola, warm and friendly despite the jet lag at the start of Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the US, then gives an immediate example of how he embodies those values.

He is asked about a letter he sent to Liverpool in January 2014 when, as captain of boyhood club Athletic Club, he rejected the opportunity to sign for Brendan Rodgers’ team. By all accounts courteous and apologetic, as well as highly unusual, the letter provides a telling insight into Iraola’s character. It is an open goal of a question to a new manager wanting to win over a new fanbase.

But Iraola declines to shoot.Following a lengthy pause, he says: “I don’t know if I want to tell this story so early in my career here. I would like to win some games first.

It is a nice story but if you remember me in some months, then you can ask me again. I don’t like to do this from the beginning. I just don’t want to.

It will look like I am selling myself. We need some time, and to win some games.”Iraola’s outlook is refreshing – “Don’t become the protagonist,” he says of his role as head coach – and one that Liverpool can easily identify with.

Continuing with the theme of Spain’s collectiveness, he adds: “I think there has to be something in society. It cannot only just be about football. I think things work when we are not just selfish, no?

When, in the end, you prioritise the situation of the one who has less. That happens also in football. The ones that don’t play, the ones who come from the academy, the ones who earn less.

You can compare it with society.”View image in fullscreenAndoni Iraola will hope to inspire Jeremie Frimpong this season after his disappointing debut campaign at Anfield. Photograph: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Getty ImagesBut, and it is a “but” that needs saying given what Iraola hopes to achieve, there were few signs of togetherness at Liverpool last season as Arne Slot’s reign unravelled amid acrimony in the dressing room and in the crowd.

The power of the individual took over, and the power of the team appeared secondary. Mohamed Salah’s frequent attempts to undermine his former, title-winning coach was not the only example of that last season.“I cannot change the personality of the players,” says Iraola, who will manage for the first time as Liverpool head coach on Saturday against Sunderland in Nashville.

“Some players are very different to me but they are great players. I don’t want to change everyone and what they think is the best way. But I think we need to think collectively in this game.

As a player you are always selfish. You always want to play, you always want to get your sta