Andoni Iraola brings Bournemouth coaches to tackle Liverpool’s set-piece woes

Andoni Iraola has outlined the responsibilities his new backroom staff will take on as Liverpool seek to improve their set-piece record next season. He said he felt "very lucky" to work with them at Bournemouth and has already installed members of that group at Anfield to address the specific issue.

Iraola, who succeeded Arne Slot last month, has recruited several figures from his Bournemouth coaching team to join him at Liverpool. Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper have been appointed as first-team coaches, with Elphick noted as a boyhood Liverpool fan. Pablo de la Torre, a long-time colleague of Iraola’s, has arrived as assistant coach. Alejandro Rosalen has been named first-team goalkeeping coach after five years with Napoli.

Elphick and Cooper will carry particular responsibility for set-piece work as part of their first-team coaching duties. The pair’s remit at Liverpool is explicitly focused on improving deliveries and defending from dead-ball situations, roles they performed under Iraola during their time at Bournemouth. Elphick’s personal affinity for the club was highlighted in announcements of the appointments.

Pablo de la Torre joins the staff to take up the assistant coach position and continues a working partnership with Iraola that predates the move to Merseyside. Their previous collaboration at Bournemouth provided the basis for this reunion at Liverpool, with de la Torre expected to integrate tactical preparation across the first-team programme. The appointment completes a familiar coaching nucleus around Iraola’s methods.

Alejandro Rosalen steps in as the first-team goalkeeping coach, bringing experience from a five-year spell with Napoli. His arrival replaces the previous incumbent and places the club’s goalkeeping department under a coach who worked in top-level European competition. Rosalen’s role will encompass training and match preparation for Liverpool’s goalkeepers.

Iraola has framed these appointments as a coordinated effort to address a specific weakness in Liverpool’s play, with clearly defined tasks for each staff member. The club have assembled a backroom team drawn largely from the head coach’s Bournemouth setup to implement those changes ahead of the coming season.