The beginning of 2023 brought about one of those ‘sliding doors’ moments for Leeds United and the man currently leading Liverpool to their second-ever Premier League title.
Would Leeds United have staved off the threat of relegation had they succeeded in luring the then-Feyenoord boss to Elland Road to take the place vacated by Jesse Marsch?
If Arne Slot had failed, what would this have done for his burgeoning reputation as one of the most hotly-tipped young coaches on the continent? It’s certainly difficult to imagine Liverpool headhunting Slot as Jurgen Klopp’s successor if the Dutchman’s prior spell in English football had ended in failure.
Slot is not the only managerial sensation Leeds looked at this time two years ago, however.
Long before he too was making waves in the Premier League, Andoni Iraola was flattered to find himself on Leeds’ radar.
Leeds United held Andoni Iraola talks before he joined Bournemouth
“You cannot think in things that could have happened. It was what it was,” Iraola told Sky Sports at the time, eventually rebuffing Leeds’ advances in order to see out the remainder of the La Liga campaign with Rayo Vallecano.
“I think it was a very open decision. We talked to the club, and Leeds were also very open with Rayo Vallecano. We talked for one day [and said]; ‘OK, it’s not the moment, it’s over.’ It is nothing more than that.
“I am very pleased that they thought of me as an option.”
If Iraola was flattered by the interest shown by a Leeds side staring down the barrel of relegation, one can only imagine the emotions the AFC Bournemouth boss was feeling when reports emerged suggesting he could replace the legendary Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
According to the Daily Mail, Champions League holders and quarter-finalists Real have added Iraola’s name next to that of Bayer Leverkusen chief Xabi Alonso on their post-Ancelotti wishlist.
To think after going winless in his first ten games at Bournemouth – Iraola took over on the South Coast a few months after stopping those Leeds talks in their path – some wondered if the Athletic Bilbao icon was destined to join the likes of Javi Gracia, the man who did eventually succeed Marsch albeit very briefly, as one of the shortest-serving coaches in modern Premier League history.
While it took only 12 games for Leeds to lose faith in Gracia – suffering the eventual ignominy of relegation under Sam Allardyce – Bournemouth’s decision to keep faith with Iraola is one which ages better and better with every free-flowing, free-scoring performance.
Sitting fifth and well-placed to secure European football for the very first time, Iraola has Bournemouth just a point off Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. The cheerful Cherries have beaten Man City, Man United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Champions League-chasing Nottingham Forest this term by an aggregate score of 17-2.
Iraola linked with Real Madrid after Cesc Fabregas praise
“He communicates really well with the players,” Arsenal and Chelsea icon Cesc Fabregas told BBC Sport last year of his fellow Spaniard. “He has a really good structure.
“I’m not surprised where he is [now] because you can see the style is very clear. It’s the patience that we always talk about, that they gave to Mikel [Arteta, at Arsenal]. For me if you really believe in it and you give the right players to the manager, most of the time it will pay off.
“I’m happy that it’s happening at Bournemouth.”
Something similar can be said of Daniel Farke, the man currently in the hotseat at Elland Road.
Chief executive Angus Kinnear felt the need to defend the ‘exceptional’ Farke publicly only a few months ago. Flash forward to late-February, and Monday’s dramatic comeback win over Sunderland saw Leeds take one big step towards re-joining Bournemouth in the Premier League.
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