CHICAGO -- Andoni Iraola opened up on the importance of his backroom staff at Liverpool, with the club's coaching setup having undergone a significant revamp this summer.
Liverpool confirmed earlier this month that four new coaches would be joining Iraola at Anfield following the departure of Arne Slot and his assistants Sipke Hulshoff and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, as well as lead physical performance coach Ruben Peeters. Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper have subsequently been appointed first-team coaches, with Pablo de la Torre arriving as an assistant coach and Tom Webber joining as first-team tactical analyst.
De la Torre has worked with Iraola since his time at AEK Larnaca, while Elphick, Cooper and Webber met the Basque when he arrived at Bournemouth in the summer of 2023, having been part of the previous regime under Gary O'Neil.
"For me, it was important they came with me," Iraola said. "Pablo is a physical coach but has been with me almost all the years I have been coaching. So for me, he is much more than a physical coach, really. He is an assistant and we know each other very well.
"I was very lucky with Tommy and Shaun when I arrived at Bournemouth. Because I was unlucky to have the issue with my assistant coach Inigo Perez [being unable to get a work permit in the UK].
"After it, it worked out very well for him because now he is coaching Villarreal, maybe we play him in the Champions League. But when I had Tommy and Shaun there, we did not feel the need to send in another assistant.
"They were very prepared, they were very helpful for me in terms of understanding the English culture, the mentality of the players, what they were used to, what they like in training, even the small details that maybe in Spain are different.
"Also the experience Tommy has at Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Huddersfield, they can be in a closer position to the players, if you want. They can feel more identified. I am a little bit older. Some of the players maybe didn't know I was a player.
"So they are very good to me, they are very good coaches, we kind of understand the game similarly and they have different roles in the coaching staff, they help with set-pieces also. That's the reason I continued with them."
Iraola added: "Tommy does defensive set plays, Shaun does more offensive, more creative ones. But also we are working very well here with the set-piece analyst [Lewis Mahoney], who was very good in the second half of last season.
"He is already with the club, so they are working on some stuff."
Liverpool are in the U.S. for a trio of friendlies against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United. They begin Premier League play on Aug. 23 away to Newcastle United.
