Andoni Iraola Tactics Explained
When Andoni Iraola was appointed head coach of AFC Bournemouth in the summer of 2023, he was a relatively unknown quantity for many Premier League supporters.
La Liga fans were aware of the excellent job he did at Rayo Vallecano — and the same could be said for his stints at Cypriot outfit AEK Larnaca and Spanish side Mirandes — but knowledge of his preferred style of play and specific methods was not widespread.
Bournemouth's performances in the last two seasons have certainly changed that. When Iraola arrived in the Premier League, he faced some early pressure, due to a very poor start to the season, coupled with the success achieved by sacked coach Gary O’Neil in guiding the club away from a relegation battle the previous season.
But once Iraola's players started to adjust to his style of play, things soon clicked, and the Cherries have never looked back.
In this article, we’ll be analysing the tactics Iraola has used to get Bournemouth competing towards the top end of the Premier League. We’ll sketch out his key principles and explain why it can take some time for players to get to grips with his unique tactical blueprint; as the Cherries threaten to qualify for Europe for the first time in their history, it’s worth dissecting exactly how Iraola has taken them to this exciting place.
Andoni Iraola Tactics Explained
When breaking down a manager's way of playing, it's useful to think about two key phases of play: in possession and out of possession.
On paper, Iraola tends to set his teams up in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 shape, although when in possession and looking to create chances, his team is likely to look more like a 3-2-5 as both full-backs will advance high up the pitch on the flanks, while a defensive midfielder will drop into the backline.
Iraola likes to look after the ball and rack up strong possession numbers, and his in-possession back three (and the goalkeeper behind them) is crucial here.
However, the Basque coach is not as strictly wedded to the idea of playing out from the back as managers like Ange Postecoglou, who encourages his defensive players to pass the ball out on the deck regardless of the level of risk involved (Spurs keeper Vicario launched just 7.7% of goal kicks long in 2024/25).
Instead, Iraola is happy to give his goalkeeper and centre-backs freedom to be direct and go long with the ball when under intense pressure, as long as the passing is targeted and the aim is to try to flip the opposition backline and get the ball into the final third.
This sums up the aggression of Iraola's teams. When out of possession and attempting to win the ball back from the opposition, the 43-year-old uses a high-energy hybrid pressing structure designed to maximise pressure on the opposition backline.
According to Total Football Analysis, "the goal of the hybrid high press is to start out in a zonal structure, force the ball to one side of the pitch, and then jump into a man-to-man high press.”
Bournemouth's forwards and more advanced midfielders start off by packing the central area of the pitch and leaving wide defenders in space, before switching to an intense man-to-man system when those wide players receive the ball, hounding them in packs and attempting to force mistakes.
Once the ball is won, Iraola likes to pack the opposition box as quickly as possible; he’s a very attack-minded coach and is always looking to create dangerous opportunities. Sheer physical output is super important to his method of doing this, and Iraola demands athleticism from players and spends a lot of time looking at physical data.
In an interview with The Guardian, he noted the importance of “high-speed running, [and] sprint speeds … not total distance covered because there are teams that do not run a lot and get very good results because they have another way of playing."
He added, "If our players produce our physical numbers, they give us a good chance to carry out the game plan. It is about trying to live the game, don’t switch off for one second because they’re [the opponent] waiting for you.”
The Strengths of Iraola’s System
Iraola believes that attack is often the best form of defence. The aggressive, high-intensity hybrid press that he deploys can have huge benefits, forcing the opposition into making mistakes in their own final third and leading to the frequent creation of dangerous chances that quality players are likely to exploit.
All the key metrics used to analyse pressing identify Bournemouth as one of the best teams around. In 2024/25, Bournemouth had the most impressive record in the English top flight in terms of PPDA, a metric that stands for passes per defensive action and is used to quantify and analyse a team's pressing structures.
Bournemouth's PPDA was just 9.9, which means they were exceptional at preventing the opposition from passing the ball around, recording a high number of interceptions, tackles, and blocks, many of them in advanced areas of the pitch.
On top of their high PPDA performance, Iraola's team also topped the division's leaderboard when it came to build-up completion percentage allowed, high recoveries, and goals directly from the result of high turnovers (these are additional indicators of an aggressive and effective high-pressing system).
Crucially, according to The Analyst, "They tried to make it count when they won the ball back as well, with Bournemouth having the most shot-ending high turnovers in the Premier League (68), while no team scored more than their 10 goals from high turnovers."
This aggression can also help enhance defensive output. Despite Bournemouth being known as a super attack-minded team, in 2024/25, only the top four, plus Nottingham Forest and Everton (two sides renowned for their solidity at the back), conceded fewer goals than Bournemouth's 46.
By playing with a high line and pressing the opposition backline with intensity, Iraola's team are able to limit the amount of time their opponents spend in their defensive half, thereby restricting chance creation.
Iraola's style of play has gained a huge amount of praise over the last couple of seasons. Speaking to reporters ahead of a clash between the clubs in late 2023, iconic Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola waxed lyrical about Bournemouth's new boss, saying: "Andoni is an incredible, well-respected manager in Spain and did an incredible job in Rayo Vallecano. "[Bournemouth are] playing offensive and attractive football. What I see is an alive team. It’s a team with good spirit, not set back, and of course, the result gives confidence.
In a later interview, Guardiola added: "They are completely alive, aggressive, and well organised. They are a good team.” Since then, performances and results have only improved, leading many to wonder whether the Cherries are capable of seriously challenging for Europa League or even Champions League qualification.
The Weaknesses of Iraola’s System
Despite the success of Iraola's Bournemouth tenure so far (prompted by his use of the same principles and key elements of performance showcased at Rayo Vallecano), there are some potential pitfalls in his system that are worth digging into.
It escaped no one's notice that Bournemouth's form dropped off significantly over the gruelling winter schedule of the 2024/25 season; while they were unbeaten in 11 games from 30 November 2024 to 1 February 2025 (picking up 25 points from a possible 33), they then slumped into a two-month spell in which they recorded just one win, picking up only five points from a possible 24.
Many people linked this dip to Iraola's intense methods: his players operate in a very physically demanding system and are expected to complete a large number of sprints per game, which increases the risk of injury and fatigue (his team was blighted by injuries throughout the 2024/25 campaign).
It's also worth noting that if your players don’t have the stamina or energy to conduct things properly, things can fall apart tactically, with the opposition cutting through your weakened press, and your ability to create chances significantly reduced.
Perhaps the biggest problem of all is that this system tends to rely on your opponents attempting to play out from the back.
If a team decides to sit back in a low block with the intention of absorbing pressure and creating chances on the counter-attack, Iraola's system can become unstuck; attacking players have less space to operate, their high-intensity attacking momentum is disrupted (if it even gets going in the first place), and they can find it difficult to break down the opposition backline.
The complexity of Iraola's demands also means that there can be an issue when it comes to communicating the system to players effectively. The Cherries went through a terrible run of form at the start of Iraola's first season, when the squad clearly needed a significant amount of time to understand and implement the tactical plan being proposed to them.
Pressing with the level of intensity the Basque coach requires isn't easy, and it doesn't always work; however, when at its best, it's a scintillating and highly effective style of play to watch.
Author: Fred Garratt-Stanley
Lead Content Writer
Fred Garratt-Stanley is an experienced football writer and journalist, specialising in industry insights, tactical analysis, and the culture of the game. He has contributed to publications such as NME, GQ, The Quietus, and Resident Advisor. As Lead Content Writer at Jobs In Football, he focuses on providing reliable, research-driven articles to help people navigate careers in the football industry.
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