New Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola insists he is ready to fight as a Premier League “underdog” as he became the latest Gipuzkoa-born boss to manage in England.
Iraola was appointed as Gary O’Neil’s successor at the Vitality Stadium last month, following in the footsteps of Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery and Julen Lopetegui; his managerial counterparts who all hail from the same small province in northern Spain.
The 41-year-old played in the same youth team as Arteta and also has a relationship with former Bournemouth manager – and current Newcastle boss – Eddie Howe, who previously travelled to Madrid to study Iraola.
Iraola spent three years in charge at Rayo Vallecano, leading the club into LaLiga before keeping them in the top-flight for the next two seasons before departing for Bournemouth.
“When you start the season with the sense of being the underdogs, we have to gain a little bit of respect from the league,” he said.
“It is pretty similar (to Spain) because of the stadium being not so big or the club not having maybe the history – but we have to use this to our advantage and I am used to this in Spain with Rayo and Mirandes.
“For me this was a great opportunity, it is the Premier League and right now for sure it is best league in the world.
“We knew the club, now I have seen new faces, known new people, I am sure it is the right choice for me and I hope I can be at the level.
“I’m really grateful and the welcome has been very, very nice. We know Eddie, he was in Madrid visiting us and we know (former Bournemouth manager and Howe’s assistant) Jason Tindall and we had talked previously about Bournemouth.
“Obviously everyone here talks about Eddie, that is a sign he did a lot of very, very good things here in Bournemouth, I am happy he has been very successful now in Newcastle but every coach has his own ideas.”
While he goes well back with Arsenal boss Arteta, Iraola has not felt the need to rekindle his relationship with his former team-mate.
“Mikel I know him, we played together when we were nine or 19 years old, we kind of lost the relationship.
“We know that when we meet we will hug and talk about a lot of things. We haven’t maintained the relationship – I could call him right now but…”
Emery, too, has not had a phone call but Iraola holds the Aston Villa coach in high regard and said: “I think I’m not, I’m not on his level because he has shown a lot of things before, he has been really successful almost everywhere.
“He is very good as a coach. We have spoken sometimes but I haven’t talked with him (since getting the Bournemouth job).”
Iraola is very much head coach in every way, insisting he “shouldn’t be signing the players” and is instead keen to get to know his squad and challenge them to play in the style he wants to implement.
“I don’t like the game to be too controlled,” he added.
“We try to attack as soon as we can, we open the game and have a good volume of chances and crosses.
“Sometimes you will suffer at the back but you have to be ready, we have good defenders, also.”
Tuchel and Bayern fume at 'absolute disaster' after contentious offside call
Thomas Tuchel and Bayern Munich were left fuming after Matthijs de Ligt's contentious late strike was disallowed in their semi-final defeat to Real Madrid.
Bayern crashed out 4-3 on aggregate at Santiago Bernabeu after a dramatic double from substitute Joselu saw the hosts snatch victory to advance to the final on June 1.
Tuchel's side thought they had forced extra-time when De Ligt had the ball in the net, but the referee had already blown his whistle after the linesman raised his flag, so VAR could not intervene.
The replays showed that the original decision was closer than first thought, and the head coach bemoaned the lack of consistency after Madrid's second goal was awarded following a VAR review.
"I think it's pretty clear and there is no doubt that is against the rules of modern football," he said. "A disaster. An absolute disaster.
"With Real's second goal, they let the play continue. The clear rule is that the scene must continue. The first mistake was made by the linesman, the second by the referee."
Bayern had taken the lead through Alphonso Davies at the midway point in the second half, before Joselu's late intervention denied them a crack at a seventh title against compatriots Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
De Ligt said the linesman had apologised to him after the game.
"[It is] very difficult. Of course, as sportspeople, we accept it," Tuchel said. "But it is a semi-final, it's not for two such mistakes.
"Everyone has to be at their limit. The referees have to be there as well. That is what we expect, so the apology does not really help."
Super sub Joselu 'the perfect reflection of Madrid', hails Ancelotti after Bayern brace
Carlo Ancelotti saluted Joselu after the striker climbed off the bench and scored twice against Bayern Munich to send Real Madrid through to their 18th Champions League final.
Following Alphonso Davies' earlier strike at Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid trailed Bayern 1-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate when Joselu replaced Federico Valverde with nine minutes of their pulsating semi-final tie remaining.
The 33-year-old, who is on loan from second-tier Espanyol, turned the tie on its head with two dramatic late goals.
First, he pounced on a rare mistake by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer to stab in an 88th-minute equaliser, before volleying home Antonio Rudiger's cross in the first minute of stoppage time.
This was Joselu's eighth substitute appearance in this season's Champions League and Ancelotti praised the professionalism of his striker, who has now netted 17 times across all competitions, despite spending much of the campaign on the bench.
"He's a player who's contributed a lot this season, even if he hasn't played many minutes," the Italian said.
"But he's the perfect reflection of what this squad is: players who contribute a lot without losing confidence [if they're not playing] and the idea that they can offer the team something."
Ancelotti, whose side will play Borussia Dortmund in his sixth Champions League final as a manager on June 1, also hailed the character demonstrated by his players during another "magical" Madrid performance.
"It's happened so many times now, it's something inexplicable," he added. "It's happened again [thanks to] fans that push [us], a fantastic atmosphere and players who never stop believing that they can do it. It's something magical, there's no explanation for it."
Everton shareholders demand a decision on takeover
Everton shareholders have urged Farhad Moshiri and the Premier League to make a decision on the future of the club.
The Toffees, who have been hit with two separate points deductions this season due to previous financial discrepancies, secured their Premier League status in April by beating Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brentford in the space of six days.
However, Everton remain in turmoil off the pitch, with majority shareholder Moshiri wanting out. He is aiming to sell the club to 777 Partners, a Miami-based investment firm that has stakes in several other clubs, including Genoa and Standard Liege.
There is no lack of controversy surrounding 777, though, and their co-founders Josh Wander and Steve Pasko.
It has been close to eight months since Moshiri confirmed his intention to sell his 94.1 per cent stake in Everton to 777, but so far the group has been unable to pass the Premier League's Owners' and Directors test.
While 777 has pumped over £200million into Everton to fund the day-to-day running of the club, it has now the subject of multiple lawsuits.
One of these lawsuits is by Leadenhall Capital Partners LLP and Leadenhall Life Insurance Linked Investments Fund plc, in New York.
Leadenhall claims Pasko and Wander "are operating a giant shell game at best, and an outright Ponzi scheme at worst".
On Tuesday, Everton's shareholders released a statement condemning the situation.
The statement read: "We are the oldest shareholders’ association in the world and are dismayed by the lack of respect being shown to our football club by the largest shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, and the Premier League during what seems a never-ending change of ownership process.
"We have observed with concern and frustration as it became increasingly clear that a fit-for-purpose process cannot possibly take this long as the Premier League continues to demonstrate their inability to regulate.
"In the absence of the Premier League making a timely decision we insist that the Everton board, and Farhad Moshiri in particular, stop this damaging process now and recognise that 777 Partners are not at this time fit-and-proper prospective owners of Everton Football Club.
"The powers that be are being disrespectful to our fellow shareholders, our fantastic worldwide fanbase and football as a whole by continuing to allow this farce to continue. We demand a decision and we demand it now."
Everton face Sheffield United on Saturday before rounding out their season with a trip to Arsenal.
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