The year in New York City that turned Andoni Iraola into a manager: Patrick Vieira’s ‘discipline and structure’, an NFL playbook and the tactic that opened Liverpool boss’ eyes to the modern game
New York is the concrete jungle where dreams are made. It was the same for Andoni Iraola.
While the Basque international spent 14 years playing for Athletic Club in Bilbao, making 510 first-team appearances and seven caps for Spain, Iraola feels his year at New York City FC (NYCFC) was an important part of his journey.
It all started in the summer of 2015, when Iraola lived with her husband, Itziar, and their first daughter in a swanky apartment on the Upper West side of Manhattan, very close to the edge of Central Park.
Iraola acknowledged this week that joining NYCFC, which is owned by Manchester City’s City Football Group, was a key part of his career and marked his first foray into coaching.
The list of team-mates who played under boss Patrick Vieira included a star-studded squad: Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, David Villa.
Playing alongside this trio helped Iraola gain a richer understanding of the game. A right-back for most of his career, he learned to invert to become a deep midfielder when his team had the ball, and he believes this has further opened his eyes to the tactical side of the game.
New Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola credits his year at New York City with helping him transition into coaching
Iraola joined City Football Group club at the same time as Frank Lampard
Iraola was part of a star-studded New York team that included Andrea Pirlo and David Villa.
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The full-back only had to follow the opponent’s left winger; Now he had to control everything. Seeing the game from this new angle was important to Iraola’s tactical style; He further developed this style managing in Cyprus and then Spain with Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano.
“I was lucky enough to have Vieira as a coach and he made me look at the game differently,” Iraola said. Daily Mail Sports In an exclusive interview in 2024. ‘We were almost playing like Manchester City. I started to better understand positional play, football based on possession of the ball. These are the tools I used later.
‘Patrick had discipline and structure. It definitely helped me a lot. You need to be in communication with everyone in the midfield. This requires a good understanding of the game and it is no coincidence that many great coaches have come from midfield positions. There aren’t too many waits!’
Although Iraola learned a lot on the field during his 40 appearances in Major League Soccer, it was during his off days that he truly excelled. Baseball, basketball, NFL, ice hockey, you name it, Iraola has been there and even now he’s still playing the NFL version of fantasy football.
He believes the tactical side of the NFL is eye-opening in terms of the whole methodology of blocks, areas left open, exploiting spaces on the pitch and set-pieces. Iraola was fascinated by the playbook teams had; he sometimes reached 200 set plays, but limited his sets to four or five routines.
As well as attending sporting events, the Liverpool boss made a point of visiting a different neighborhood every day he had free afternoons.
He and his wife would dine in various parts of New York (Williamsburg in Brooklyn was her favorite) and take long lunches. The two made an effort to strike up conversations with strangers, which helped Iraola’s English.
When he retired as a player in November 2016 to begin his coaching journey, NYCFC’s official site published a glowing testimonial.
Iraola believes he is starting to look at the game differently by focusing on possession-based football
Iraola was transferred to MLS after playing for Athletic Club in La Liga for a long time.
Iraola was a right-back at Athletic Club but believes his understanding of the game has improved after moving to a midfield position with New York City
“His playing legacy will be from someone who exemplified consistent excellence and selfless teamwork,” he wrote. ‘Off the pitch, he will be remembered as someone who showed humility and professionalism every day he was at the club.’
Manager Vieira said Iraola was the ‘perfect image of a team player’ and ‘everyone loved him’, while captain and former Spanish World Cup champion Villa – with whom he is still friends – said: ‘He is a great person and player and I wish him the best for the future. He knows he’ll have a friend in me for the rest of his life.’
Iraola returned to New York several times after his departure, including the last two pre-seasons with Bournemouth. On Tuesday, Liverpool will face Wrexham in the Big Apple for the second leg of their summer tour.
For the new boss, it will be a chance to reflect on how far he’s come since long lunches on the streets of Williamsburg and nights watching the Brooklyn Nets and New York Giants. The Liverpool manager created his own playbook for success in this city.
