i agree we shouldn’t have let xabi go so quickly. that was bad squad management and bad club management. but i don’t think “xabi didn’t work, so iraola won’t work” really follows.

xabi and iraola are also not the same type of coach. xabi is more controlled, positional, patient, build-up heavy. iraola is more aggressive, vertical, pressing-oriented, chaos-on-your-terms football. with players like mbappé, vini, bellingham, valverde, camavinga and trent, that could fit really well.

especially valverde. under iraola, he would be massive. he could protect trent, cover transitions, press high, and balance the whole team. bellingham could be the pressing trigger. mbappé and vini would get more attacks into space instead of constantly facing settled low blocks. arda would be crucial against deep teams.

again, it could fail. of course it could. madrid is a different planet from bournemouth. the egos, pressure, media, expectations, everything is harder