Liverpool's New Era Begins Under Iraola
Under a low Chicago sky, Liverpool’s new era began with a familiar figure in the background skying a penalty.
At one end of the Chicago Fire performance centre, Robert Lewandowski – now 37 and wearing MLS colours – was drilling spot-kicks. One effort sailed over the bar just as Andoni Iraola blew the whistle to start his first open training session as Liverpool head coach. A fading great missing from 12 yards while a new project kicks into gear a few yards away. It felt symbolic.
Szoboszlai, Jones and a storm in a teacup
Earlier in the week, a clip from the win over Wrexham had done the rounds online: Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones in a heated exchange, Kostas Tsimikas caught in the middle, the footage replayed and dissected. Jones has been linked with Inter Milan, Szoboszlai is one of the standard-bearers of this squad, and social media didn’t need a second invitation.
Szoboszlai downplayed it on Thursday, stressing that everyone is “in the same boat”, chasing the same standards for the club and each other. On Friday, his actions backed that up.
The three of them walked out together for training, side by side, laughing, juggling the ball, clowning around in front of the cameras. No tension, no distance, just teammates leaning into the theatre of it all. All smiles, and very deliberately so.
The disagreement is understood to have stemmed from Szoboszlai handing the captain’s armband to Tsimikas rather than Jones. A flash of pride, a question of hierarchy, nothing more. By the time they stepped onto the turf in Chicago, it looked done and dusted.
Still, it served as an early lesson for Iraola. In a world where anyone in a stadium can capture and upload a moment from a different angle, the smallest flare-up can be magnified. Passion is non-negotiable in an elite dressing room. But some conversations are better held out of sight.
It also underlined a practical issue: with Andy Robertson gone, Liverpool still lack an official vice-captain. The vacancy hangs there, waiting for Iraola’s decision.
Big names back, big calls ahead
On the grass, there was more encouraging news. Record signing Alexander Isak returned to full training this week, a welcome sight for a coach who wants his No 9 fully integrated before the serious business begins.
Isak, Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch all missed the trip to New York, where Liverpool edged Wrexham 1-0 in their second pre-season outing. All three are expected to feature on Sunday against Leeds at Soldier Field, a game that should give a clearer picture of Iraola’s early blueprint.
Not everyone was involved. Young centre-back Jeremy Jacquet sat out the session, working in the gym as the club manage his comeback from the shoulder injury he suffered in February. Iraola had suggested earlier in the week that Jacquet would feature at the weekend, but his absence from full training makes him a doubt.
Joe Gomez, already ruled out of the start of the Premier League season, was also inside, continuing his rehabilitation.
Iraola’s imprint: sharp, loud, relentless
Once the warm-ups ended, the temperature of the session changed quickly. Iraola’s drills snapped into life, high tempo, high demand. He doesn’t stand back and observe; he prowls, talks, corrects.
“Play in possession.”
“Quicker, quicker.”
The shouts cut through the grey afternoon as players moved through small-sided exercises. There were roars and celebrations for goals in the mini-games, a competitive edge that felt more like a dress rehearsal than a gentle pre-season run-out.
Iraola repeatedly stepped in to adjust a player’s position or highlight a passing lane. Nothing theatrical, just a coach intent on embedding his ideas, detail by detail, before the first whistle of the campaign.
The group then split. One cluster headed to a smaller pitch for a nine-a-side match, the sort of tight, intense contest Iraola favours to sharpen pressing and decision-making. The other worked on set-pieces with assistants Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper.
Wirtz took charge of corners, whipping deliveries in as Elphick, bib on, threw himself into the drills as an extra body in the box. It was functional work, but also revealing: Iraola wants his stars involved in the craft of dead balls, not just the execution.
Watching from the sidelines was Mike Gordon, the Fenway Sports Group president, back in the thick of Liverpool operations. His presence in Chicago underlined the significance of this tour and this transition. He is expected to be at Soldier Field on Sunday as the next pre-season marker arrives.
Old legends, new voice
Off the pitch, Iraola has been just as deliberate. On Thursday night, the squad gathered for a team dinner. Afterwards, the new head coach shared a beer with Liverpool greats Phil Thompson and Robbie Fowler.
Thompson, a three-time European Cup winner with the club, said they talked about everything from the coming season to family life. Ordinary topics, but an important scene: a coach who wasn’t even born when Thompson lifted his third European Cup, now sitting and listening to the men who built the club’s mythology.
It was a small but telling gesture. Iraola understands that at Liverpool, you don’t just manage a squad, you inherit a history. Recognising the weight of those who came before him is part of the job.
He has three weeks left before his first Premier League game as Liverpool manager. The tactical framework is still being assembled, the leadership group not yet fully defined, the fitness work ongoing.
But under the grey skies of the Windy City, with Lewandowski blazing penalties in the background and a new voice barking “quicker, quicker” in the foreground, the first clear outlines of the Iraola era have begun to take shape.
