Iraola's wife reverses match-attendance stance as Liverpool head to Bournemouth reunion

Andoni Iraola returns to Vitality Stadium on Sunday for the first time since leaving Bournemouth to take charge of Liverpool, and the occasion is set to be a family affair — with wife Itziar and their two children expected to be in the stands.

The 44-year-old Basque manager revealed earlier this season that his wife had rarely attended his matches, but has begun making exceptions now that their son and daughter are old enough to follow the game. “My wife never normally comes to my games. But now she is starting to go because my kids want to go,” Iraola said ahead of Liverpool’s home opener against Nottingham Forest. “The kids are starting to understand football a little bit and they will sometimes go.”

Iraola has spoken candidly about how his family life provides a vital counterbalance to the pressures of management. In a 2025 interview with BBC Sport, he described how football rarely follows him through the front door. “Once I leave the work environment I go home and sometimes we don’t speak anything about football,” he said. “It’s very good for me.”

The manager was equally open about the sacrifices his family make to support his career. “My family is very important. They are sacrificing a lot. I am going from country to country to the best clubs I have the opportunity to go, and they have to come with me,” he said. “I am very clear I couldn’t do this without them. If they tell me one day ‘I want to go back home’, I am leaving.”

On the pitch, Liverpool arrive at Bournemouth unbeaten under Iraola but having won just one of their four Premier League games. They travel south on the back of a Carabao Cup third-round victory over Tottenham, while Bournemouth come into the match having beaten Real Sociedad in their Europa League opener.

Iraola acknowledged the emotional pull of the reunion but was clear about where his priorities lie. “On the personal side, I’m really looking forward to meeting them, to hug them — it’s players that I love, staff that I have been working with, that I appreciate so much,” he said. “But there is another part and that is the most important one right now: we need to go there and beat them and be as ruthless as possible. And leave all the talks for after the game.”

Last season, Iraola’s Bournemouth side finished just three points behind Liverpool in the race for Champions League qualification — a detail that adds an extra layer of intrigue to Sunday’s meeting.