The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈

Former Atletico Bilbao full-back and Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has announced he will leave the club at the end of the season, after two seasons in charge.

Iraola, 43, was formerly wanted by Leeds, but wound up at The Vitality Stadium. During his time on the South Coast, he’s immensely impressed.

Many star players have been sold during his tenure, including Antoine Semenyo, Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen, but The Cherries, to their credit, have found a way to move on without them.

Some of the credit goes to the board, and those who are involved in the running of player recruitment, but some of the credit surely goes to The Basque native. In the case of Andoni Iraola, he shows why the role of coach is very important.

From top to bottom at Bournemouth, the way operations run is very smooth. In my humble opinion, I don’t think that in the last few seasons there are many clubs that are better run than Bournemouth.

Time and time again, players wise they produce that winning formula, it’s little wonder why half of the Premier League want to say their players and manager. Iraola was linked with the Tottenham job, the Manchester United job and the Chelsea job too. In the case of Chelsea, their manager, Liam Rosenior, appears to be skating on thin ice, which isn’t the first time that can be said of an English manager who has managed the West London side.

One thing is certain, Andoni Iraola is a wanted man, that’s for sure. The Spaniard’s work at both Bilbao and Bournemouth has earned a lot of admiration. If it’s anything to go by, Iraola’s next job will be at a club starting with B. But Bayern Munich and Barcelona are managed by two exceptional managers.

All tongue and cheek aside, rumours are circulatig that Andoni Iraola will repalce his former boss Ernesto Valverde at Bilbao, who’s announced he’s leaving at the end of the season. One of the reasons for this rumour is due to his family reportedly wanting to move back to Spain.