2024-01-08 13:44:29
Monday, January 8, 2024, 12:33 | Updated 12:44 p.m.
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Andoni Iraola wins and convinces in the Premier League. And he does it after having made the difficult decision this past summer to leave Rayo Vallecano and pack his bags. His destiny from him? The Premier League, a competition in which he wanted to try his luck and to which he arrived with an irrefutable offer under his arm. Of course, the young Usurbil coach landed in a much less glamorous destination than that of his Gipuzkoan colleagues, Unai Emery (Aston Villa), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) and Julen Lopetegui (Wolves). And, of course, without the (great) endorsement offered by renowned squads with stars such as Watkins, Douglas Luiz, Odegaard, Saka or Gabriel Jesús. Iraola began a high-risk adventure in modest Bournemouth, and from the looks of it to date the decision has been a success… both on the pitch and off it.
Of course, his beginnings in the Premier League were not easy at all, since his first victory in the domestic competition took almost two months. Be that as it may, the team owners did not hesitate and continued to trust in the coach’s affable character and his particular work methods. And the fans too. So much so that on his visit to Brentford, on the fifth day of the league, his fans dedicated a very significant song to him for the first time: «Iraola, Iraola… he drinks Estrella, he eats paella… (he Estrella drinks and eats paella). That day, the Gipuzkoan’s spirits fell on deaf ears as the ‘cherries’ could not get past a draw (2-2) at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth star
However, the Bournemouth fans did not lower their arms and continued chanting Andoni Iraola’s name wherever the team played. And yes, it took a long time to wait, but after ten days without knowing the taste of victory, Bournemouth opened its record of victories at the end of October (2-1 against Burnley). At last. And since then… Andoni Iraola is an idol. His numbers do not lie: in recent months this team from the south of England has only been forced to bend the knee against transatlantic teams such as Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham. This has allowed them to occupy a comfortable twelfth position in the table, with ten points clear of relegation and feelings that invite optimism for the second round of the competition.
Without going any further, this past weekend Andoni Iraola’s men were able to recover from a 0-2 loss in the FA Cup against QPR, and in the end they turned the tie around (2-3) by managing to overcome a round more in the English Cup. The “Iraola, Iraola… he drinks Estrella, he eats paella”, sounded again, yes, and his fans on social networks gave a good account of it with a song that has already become a classic among the ‘cherries’ . Let the pace not stop in Bournemouth… with a Gipuzkoan at the helm.
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