Liverpool’s coaching staff for the 2026/27 season saw the Anfield natives reshape their backroom team following the sacking of Arne Slot. So, who features on new boss Andoni Iraola’s coaching staff on Merseyside?
Head Coach: Andoni Iraola
Liverpool hired Iraola as their new manager officially with the title of head coach in June 2026 to replace Arne Slot. The Spaniard left Bournemouth to take over the Premier League club on an initial two-year deal after leading the Cherries for a successful three-year spell, which included qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in the club’s history.
Most notably a former manager of Madrid-based side Rayo Vallecano, Iraola is also a former captain of Athletic Bilbao, where he spent most of his career playing as a right-back, also earning seven international caps for Spain.
Assistant Coach: Pablo de la Torre
Pablo de la Torre continued an association with Iraola which now stretches across five clubs after joining alongside his countryman in the summer of 2026.
Having initially linked up with Iraola as a conditioning coach at CD Mirandes, De la Torre held the same position at AEK Larnaca, Rayo Vallecano and Bournemouth, whom he left in 2026.
The Spaniard has taken the role of ‘assistant coach’ at Anfield, pointing to a change in responsibilities, and has been credited with instilling the necessary fitness levels at all of Iraola’s clubs to maintain his high-press, high-energy style of play.
First-team Coach: Tommy Elphick
Another coach to follow Iraola from Bournemouth is Tommy Elphick, whose long association with the Cherries dates back to 2012.
Having played with the club as a centre-back for four years, Elphick retired from playing in 2021, before joining Bournemouth’s development squad as a coach.
The boyhood Liverpool supporter stepped into a first-team position under Gary O’Neil in 2022, before continuing with Iraola from 2023.
First-team Coach: Shaun Cooper
Iraola ensured that his former Bournemouth coaching staff stayed together upon his exit for Liverpool, with Shaun Cooper seen as a valuable member of his team.
The former right-back had a long career as a player, taking in nine different football league clubs before retiring in 2016.
Like Elphick, Cooper also began his coaching career in the youth teams at Bournemouth, before stepping up to join O’Neil’s staff in 2022, and on to Liverpool four years later
Head of First-Team Goalkeeping Coaching: Xavi Valero
Liverpool were reunited with former goalkeeping coach Xavi Valero in 2025 during an overhaul of the keeping department.
Valero joined from West Ham as Liverpool’s new head of goalkeeping following Fabian Otte’s exit for Tottenham Hotspur after one year in the role.
The Spaniard previously served under Rafael Benitez at Anfield after being appointed in 2007, and went on to make up part of Benitez’s coaching staff at Inter Milan, Chelsea, Napoli and Real Madrid. After a spell with Hebei China Fortune, former goalkeeper Valero then joined West Ham in 2018, where he stayed for seven years before a return to Liverpool.
Individual Development Lead Coach: Luiz Fernando Iubel
Brazilian Luiz Fernando Iubel arrived at Anfield as the individual development lead coach in September 2025.
A former assistant with Brazilian sides Cuiaba and Atletico Mineiro, Iubel left the latter to join Liverpool.
The dual German citizen has a wealth of experience of coaching, with spells at Bahia, Ceara, Coritiba, Juventude, Ponte Preta and Vasco da Gama all on his CV.
Iubel also had the honour of leading Cuiaba to the Mato Grosso state championship as interim head coach in 2024.
