The walls of the Emirates could hardly contain Andoni Iraola’s beaming grin. As he crossed the touchline last Saturday after Bournemouth’s 2-1 win, his stride wasn’t one of rushing disbelief. He applauded the away support in between tousles of his charges’ heads and slaps on their sweat-soaked backs. The coach knew his side had completely outplayed the league leaders for their third win in four against Arsenal.
This wasn’t a Bournemouth upset of old. It was further evidence that these arenas have never been more welcoming to the Cherries – and are the sites that Iraola is ready to call his next home.
For two decades, Bournemouth’s rise from administration and the cellar of League Two to the Premier League failed to build a reputation as spoilers. When Eddie Howe’s side dismantled Sarriball in 2019 and handed Chelsea one of their worst defeats of the Abramovich years, the 4-0 victory in Dorset was “impossible” for the Italian to comprehend. This was Bournemouth, after all. How their stars have changed thanks to a Basque import.
Once Howe’s extraordinary tenure ended with relegation in 2020, Bournemouth looked to domestic pragmatists. Jason Tindall wasn’t up for the top job, quickly returning to Howe’s staff. Jonathan Woodgate grasped the handbrake even tighter, falling in the promotion playoffs to Thomas Frank’s more ambitious Brentford. Scott Parker oversaw a Premier League return, but an early 9-0 thrashing at Anfield showed he was woefully unprepared for a lower-table scrap.
Gary O’Neil followed Parker and fared admirably, finishing five points above the drop. He seemed a worthy successor to Howe, balancing stability with guile and capable of springing surprises with clever half-time adjustments. His reward: a “ruthless” dismissal after a job well done. At the time, it seemed like a reckless gamble by new American owner Bill Foley. In hindsight, it was a step toward ensuring the club could forge a firmer footing.
Iraola’s schooling came at Athletic Bilbao, where he made 510 appearances before a late-career coda in MLS. Iraola admired the club’s commitment to directness, utilising width “like a classical, more British team”, as he told Sky Sports in August.
Early returns validated the skeptics. Bournemouth were winless and 19th after Iraola’s first nine games in 2023, five of their six defeats decided by multiple goals. A narrow win against relegation rival Burnley was followed by a 6-1 humbling at Manchester City, with Howe’s Newcastle set to visit Dean Court a week later. A Dominic Solanke brace was all the day needed, a 2-0 win kicking off a run of seven unbeaten league games and 19 sorely needed points.
His team were credible spoilers, a role they have relished ever since. In year one under Iraola, Bournemouth claimed just 0.42 points per game against the “big six”. Since, he has curated a winning record against the league’s longtime heavyweights: 1.5 points per game in both 2024-25 and the current season, including nine wins and seven defeats.
While positional play models emphasize technique and psychology, Iraola’s approach leans on athleticism, work rate, and on-ball audacity. His teams aren’t a sure thing – Bournemouth’s 11th-place standing this season says as much – but they can be vastly more entertaining on their day than more rigid rivals.
His Cherries play with visible joy once they find a rhythm, creating a striking contrast when pitted against, say, an anxiety-riddled Arsenal. Iraola’s breakthrough came as the big clubs were taking cues from how minnows survived in past seasons, emphasizing set pieces and seeming to prioritize risk mitigation (with positional play models and defensively curated schemes). The 2023-24 season’s infamously dull title bout between City and Arsenal left Pep Guardiola and others looking for ways to inject life into their meticulous plans.
The transfer market would suggest Iraola provided a salve. As his team racked up results in an expansive and proactive style, his players were increasingly in demand. Solanke was picked to replace Harry Kane at Tottenham (£55m). Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi were coveted across the continent, landing at Real Madrid (£50m) and Paris Saint-Germain (£54.5m), respectively.
After years of buying players from Liverpool with often poor returns, Bournemouth collected £40m from Arne Slot’s side for Milos Kerkez, whose defensive deficiencies were better accounted for by Iraola, himself a former full-back. Dango Ouattara, a Cherries super-sub, became Brentford’s record signing for £42m. Three months ago, City’s title hopes were rejuvenated in part by the addition of habitual entertainer Antoine Semenyo (£62.5m).
That’s a windfall of £304m: six players gone to “big six” sides, Champions League winners and data-driven darlings.
When Iraola joined, it was unthinkable that Bournemouth could be an admired talent factory. Now they’re in company with Brighton and Brentford – those buoyant, book-balancing B’s – as model mid-table clubs with a knack for finding rising talents. The next wave is already established, led by Eli Junior Kroupi, Alex Scott, Rayan and Adrien Truffert.
And so, Iraola himself will leave this summer in search of a new challenge. Two wins and a draw at Old Trafford will make him a popular alternative to Michael Carrick at Manchester United. Perhaps Bilbao, ninth in La Liga under Ernesto Valverde, will try pulling a native son’s heartstrings. A homecoming could also serve as a crucial middle step before helming a continental heavyweight – an ideal in-between stop to work out issues of acclimation that befell Frank and Graham Potter after they left Brentford and Brighton.
Such was Iraola’s impact that the club seems determined not to regress to past customs. Rather than scouring recently dismissed Premier League and Championship coaches, Bournemouth’s first target is Marco Rose, another high-intensity acolyte who did wonders for Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham among others.
This may be the club’s new normal for a while. It’s just as possible that Iraola’s endearing dynamic with his players can’t be replicated. But for now, Bournemouth can recruit his successor on the back of their growing track record of developmental successes. While Foley’s investments advanced the project, Iraola’s culture and system ensured something greater.
This is no longer a club left to chase Howe’s heyday. Life after Eddie has finally brought thrills even he couldn’t match. That’s a feat in itself: a legacy all Iraola’s own.