Liverpool US tour diary - What I learned about Andoni Iraola after sit-down with new head coach
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Who knew?On Tuesday, the ECHO was one of several publications who were granted the opportunity to sit down with Iraola at the hotel over a coffee for an extensive chat about a number of topics.From his love of cycling to how he spends his time off with his children and his wife, the gregarious Iraola was engaging company as he got to know a number of the reporters who cover the club in depth day to day a bit better.And the new head coach said he saw the similarities between the Basque people and those on Merseyside, when it came to their incredibly strong sense of pride in their local identity, where their clubs - Athletic Club and Liverpool, respectively - remain enormous institutions, and international football doesn't quite elicit the same emotions that the domestic game does."I see a lot of things [in Scousers that resonates]," he said. The only way that policy can be successful is if you give 100% This creates a connection and you see they win things, they have never been relegated."I remember the first time I came [to Liverpool], it was probably already the Christmas markets, so it was probably around the November international break.
We had no kids at the time so we are talking about a lot of years ago but it was a lovely time with my wife."Elsewhere, the Reds preparations for Saturday's first pre-season friendly of the summer continued with more training at the Endeavour Performance Centre, the base of Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire.And the meeting with Sunderland at Nashville's GEODIS Park allows Iraola the chance to see how many of his Academy players can adapt to first-team action as he continues to assess the merits of those in the Under-21 and U18s sides ahead of the new campaign.“Last week, a group of us were training with the first team for a couple days, and then I found out Saturday evening, we just got a message, I got told I was coming to America,” striker Josh Sonni-Lambie told the club's official website in Chicago.“So, first thing I just called my mum and then told my dad when I got home. I was just so happy.
I’m just so happy that I could re-sign here and be a part of this amazing club."Pride and so many emotions, really. Last season I came in and did the role I was doing and then when I got the opportunity to play, especially the [Crystal] Palace game, it just felt like a real connection to the fans and just a massive understanding of them."Now I get the chance to stay here for longer and to be a part of it again is unbelievable, and me and my family are delighted."The news comes as another goalkeeper, Armin Pecsi, completed his season-long loan move to Hartberg in the Austrian Bundesliga.