Andoni Iraola's Anfield Journey Begins Against Nottingham Forest
Andoni Iraola has already walked out at Anfield this summer, felt the stands, heard the songs and watched his new team find its feet against AS Monaco and Como 1907. That was the dress rehearsal. Saturday is the real thing.
Nottingham Forest arrive as the first Premier League visitors of the 2026-27 season, the opening act in what Iraola calls Liverpool’s “Anfield journey” under his watch. The word might sound sentimental. He does not treat it that way.
A stadium waiting to erupt
The Basque coach knows exactly what he is stepping into. He has been here before, on the other side of the touchline, and the memory of that noise has not faded.
“Having been an opposition manager at this stadium, I know as well as anyone the difference that this stadium can make,” he writes in his first home league programme notes as Liverpool head coach.
That experience shapes his message. Anfield does not simply turn up the volume on command. It responds. It feeds off what it sees.
“For this to happen – for the stadium and the supporters who make it what it is – I know the responsibility rests with the players and myself to give you something to respond to.”
That is the crux of his early Liverpool doctrine: energy on the pitch, energy in the stands. One drives the other. When both are in sync, the place becomes a weapon.
From pre-season taster to the real thing
Pre-season gave Iraola and his squad a taste of that environment. Those friendlies, he says, were a chance to “enjoy the Anfield experience” whether it was a first glimpse or a familiar ritual. The gratitude is clear; the realism sharper.
He always knew those games were just the warm-up.
“Our shared Anfield journey would begin for real when points are at stake,” he writes. That moment comes now, with Forest in town and the league table finally in motion.
The timing matters. The fixtures dropped in June and supporters circled this date immediately. Iraola knows it.
“I know for our supporters Saturday will be a day that you have looked forward to since the fixtures came out back in June. The first game of the season at your own ground is always special and I can tell you that it is no different for the players, staff or myself.”
The sense of occasion is not a distraction for him. It is a tool. Harness it, and Liverpool gain an edge from day one.
Demanding standards from the start
There is no attempt to pretend this is a finished product. The new coach and his players are still learning each other, still absorbing new methods. Last weekend’s outing at Newcastle underlined that, showing “both the work that we have done and the work we still need to do.”
He does not hide behind that process.
“Yes, we know that the short time we have spent together so far means we cannot expect to be the finished article,” he concedes, before snapping back to the standard he expects. “This does not mean I do not expect to win now, I do. This is our responsibility in every game we play. It is not about setting targets a long time from now.”
The message to his squad is blunt: be competitive from the first whistle of the season, not after a bedding-in period. “We have to challenge ourselves to be competitive from day one, which we have done, and achieving positive results in this period when we are getting used to new methods and also to one another is a big part of that.”
In other words, evolution cannot come at the cost of results.
Tapping into Liverpool’s identity
Iraola has been quick to lean into the identity of the club and city he now represents. He does not view Liverpool supporters as mere spectators. They are participants, and highly emotional ones at that.
“The passion of the Liverpool fans is something we do not just want to tap into, we have to,” he writes. “Football is not just something you watch if you are a Liverpool supporter, it is something you participate in with incredible emotion.”
That line matters. It goes beyond the usual platitudes about “great fans”. He is setting a standard for connection. The team must reflect the people in the stands, not just entertain them.
“Identifying with the people, with the city and with the values that the club has is a big part of this,” he continues. If Liverpool can fold that identity into their performances, he believes “our chances of fulfilling our own expectations can only be improved.”
This is not a side project. “This is our challenge and I want everyone involved to embrace it.”
Forest test the foundations
All of that emotion and theory gets an immediate examination. Nottingham Forest have made life awkward for Liverpool in recent seasons, and Iraola is under no illusion about the scale of the task.
“On Saturday, the challenge will come from a Nottingham Forest team which has proved itself to be such a difficult opponent in recent seasons,” he writes. That is the Premier League: no gentle introductions, no easy home openers.
“This is what the Premier League is about – facing teams who bring a big test and who will come to stadiums like this one looking to make a big impression.”
Forest will not come to admire the view. They will come to spoil the occasion, to quieten the noise that Iraola wants to unleash.
Liverpool’s answer must come from the pitch. “We have to be prepared for that. Most of all, we have to be ready to make the most of Anfield.”
That is the challenge laid down by the new head coach. Not just to win, but to ignite something. To turn a first home game into the opening chapter of a new era, with a stadium and a team pushing each other to see how far this journey can go.
