The reluctant boss leading a post-Pep tactical revolution

High-flying Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola talks to Miguel Delaney about giving his players the freedom to fail, his Basque heritage, and what it takes to beat the top teams

-  Miguel Delaney

When Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth find themselves with an attacking avenue blocked, they are given an instruction that is rare in modern football. That is, almost no instruction at all. Trust yourself.

“I sometimes value much more a player carrying the ball and forcing things to happen,” Iraola explains. “I think when you play too positional – one, two touches to find a free man – you sometimes lose the initiative from the players to just take their man on and attack the spaces.”

The idea, as is often the case with a vibrant Bournemouth, goes against expectations. So many modern teams, influenced by the post-Guardiola era, seek to just stay in shape. Arsene Wenger pointedly spoke about this at a football writers’ gala celebrating Dennis Bergkamp on Sunday. He argued the modern era has lost that capacity to be surprised.

Maybe it’s no great shock that a man who had Michael Laudrup as his idol is restoring that sense of magic. Ever modest, Iraola won’t go that far. “I wouldn’t say magic,” he smiles. “I would say they have the freedom to risk a little bit in the dribbles.”

Others are more effusive about Iraola’s approach. Pep Guardiola himself said this week that “modern football is the way that Bournemouth play”. Iraola is the man of the moment, lauded for his style and results, while being talked up for the biggest jobs. He instead points elsewhere, to Saturday’s visitors Nottingham Forest.

“I don’t feel like this,” Iraola says of his current reputation. “Forest is now the exceptional team ... it’s much more important they talk about us at the end of the season!”