Iñigo Pérez to face former team-mate Andoni Iraola at Anfield in Champions League showdown
Villarreal manager Iñigo Pérez will meet Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola at Anfield in the Champions League on 20 October 2026, a reunion of two former Athletic Club teammates and long-time collaborators.
Their connection stretches back more than two decades: Pérez joined Athletic Club Bilbao’s academy in 2002 at 14 while Iraola was 19, they lived in the same residency, came through the academy and first played together in the first team in October 2009. They later worked side by side as manager and assistant until their paths diverged; Pérez recalled that on his first day as a head coach Iraola “wished me luck and said he was there for me,” and “said that if I ever needed anything …” Pérez added: “Sometimes life brings what you never imagined.”
Former teammates and coaches describe both men as highly intelligent and analytically minded. Carlos Gurpegui said: “Intellectually they’re brilliant,” while the goalkeeper Raúl Fernández recalled that in Fantasy Football “Andoni always won.” Anecdotes from their time under Marcelo Bielsa emphasise Pérez’s commitment — Gurpegui recalled a training incident in which Pérez’s lip was split and Bielsa’s reaction — and teammates remember him sleeping at Lezama on a mattress as a sign of his determination.
Iraola has spoken about Pérez’s early tactical awareness: “Iñigo was always aware of tactical [shifts],” he said later. “At 14 or 15, the way he thought about the game was mature. Ever since I knew Iñigo, I thought he had the personality to be a coach. In fact, he had a clearer idea about being a coach than I did.” Their last game together came in October 2013; Iraola retired in 2016 and began coaching two years later, while Pérez’s transition into coaching proceeded less publicly.
The pair reconnected in February 2022 after a match in which Osasuna won 3-0 at Rayo; Pérez did not play in that game but a conversation afterwards stayed with Iraola. Osasuna’s manager Jagoba Arrasate had already described Pérez as a “player-assistant coach” and invited him onto the coaching staff, and Marcelo Bielsa reportedly approached Pérez too, “furious when Pérez turned down Uruguay.”
At Rayo, Pérez joined Iraola’s staff and impressed teammates and coaches; a member of Rayo’s coaching staff said: “Iñigo’s top,” and added: “He was special, a phenomenon. Super‑elite, like Andoni.” Together with fitness coach Pablo de la Torre they developed a physical model that underpinned the team’s style and attracted attention from the Premier League.
When Iraola moved to Bournemouth he wanted Pérez and De la Torre to join him, but Pérez was denied a UK work permit after an FA exceptions panel concluded it was not satisfied that he was “of the highest calibre and able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in England”. Pérez said: “We did everything we could.” While unable to wear a club tracksuit, appear publicly or sit on the bench, he continued to work at the training ground until his tourist visa expired and he returned to Spain; Shaun Cooper, Tommy Elphick and De la Torre absorbed his duties in the meantime, and Iraola called the situation “very difficult, an uncomfortable situation for all of us.”
After Rayo sacked Francisco Rodríguez in early 2024 the club offered Pérez the manager’s job and Iraola encouraged him to accept; Pérez said: “In the summer, I didn’t feel ethically comfortable and I wanted to continue with Andoni,” and added: “The circumstances changed.” Rayo striker Sergio Camello reflected on the transition: “I think the transition from assistant to head coach here was hard. He had been so close to us. Iñigo loved us too much: he felt so responsible for us that the inevitable frictions as No 1 were taken to heart. But he opened up to us, reached us. The relationship is still so good: he messaged me yesterday with some bands to listen to. And I doubt I’ll ever come across someone so capable in football terms. It’s amazing how many solutions he gives you on the pitch. Seeing him and Andoni in the Champions League doesn’t surprise. They have no limits; we’re just grateful that two monsters coached us.” The article notes Iraola took Bournemouth to Europe for the first time, while Pérez secured Rayo’s first European qualification and led them to the only final in the club’s history.
The two men will meet at Anfield in the Champions League tonight, and many who watched them rise together will follow from Bilbao. David López said: “It’s special: I’m so proud of them,” Carlos Gurpegui added: “Iñigo suffered in England but that situation opened another opportunity and now look: Andoni at Anfield. Bloody hell, I’m so pleased, because they’re two incredible people: humble, always there when you need them. Football needs more people like that.” Iraola also remarked: “These games aren’t good for your relationship. We usually talk a lot but when you’re facing each other you talk less. It’s a special game because he’s my friend. He knows me very well. We’ve been through a lot together.”