Andoni Iraola has started where any sensible head coach starts, with the calendar, the workload and the reality of modern football. Liverpool are in pre-season, the squad is split by summer commitments and the new man at Anfield has made it clear there will be no rush with players returning from the World Cup.
The key names are obvious. Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch are expected to link up with the squad in the United States during the second week of the tour. That gives Iraola time to get them into the group, and more importantly, time to get them physically right.
He put it plainly: “The three players (Gravenberch, Isak and Wirtz) that are going to join us are going to be [in the] second week fully with us.” That is the headline. Clear enough, no spin, no fake mystery.
Liverpool’s World Cup players were knocked out between June 29 and 30, which left some room for interpretation over whether they would return midway through the US trip. Iraola has now shut that down with a structured plan. He said, “The ones that were [eliminated] from the World Cup, they all – because of different reasons – have individual days for their arrivals, but I think the sooner we can start working with them and they can understand what we want from them the better.”
That matters. New ideas take repetition. New pressing triggers, distances, and responsibilities do not appear by magic. Iraola has already spoken to the players individually and said, “Individually I talked with the three of them, they know the main things, but I am looking forward to having them here with the group and to go slowly, slowly with recovering bodies [to the squad].”
#wirtz
The key names are obvious. Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch are expected to link up with the squad in the United States during the second week of the tour. That gives Iraola time to get them into the group, and more importantly, time to get them physically right.
He put it plainly: “The three players (Gravenberch, Isak and Wirtz) that are going to join us are going to be [in the] second week fully with us.” That is the headline. Clear enough, no spin, no fake mystery.
Liverpool’s World Cup players were knocked out between June 29 and 30, which left some room for interpretation over whether they would return midway through the US trip. Iraola has now shut that down with a structured plan. He said, “The ones that were [eliminated] from the World Cup, they all – because of different reasons – have individual days for their arrivals, but I think the sooner we can start working with them and they can understand what we want from them the better.”
That matters. New ideas take repetition. New pressing triggers, distances, and responsibilities do not appear by magic. Iraola has already spoken to the players individually and said, “Individually I talked with the three of them, they know the main things, but I am looking forward to having them here with the group and to go slowly, slowly with recovering bodies [to the squad].”
#wirtz
8 days ago
