Embracing the chaos – breaking down Bournemouth’s rise

Andoni Iraola has taken Bournemouth to another level this term following a positive debut season in English football last season.

The Cherries are currently seventh in the Premier League, just three points clear of the top four, and will face Nottingham Forest, one of the surprise packages of the year, on Saturday.

In an interview with Sky Sports in 2023, the Basque native discussed Marcelo Bielsa’s influence on his attacking style.

“I use a lot of exercises from Marcelo that I learned from him]at Athletic Bilbao]”, he said.

“I use a lot of things, especially with the ball. He is willing to make all the runs to the space, he is ready to accept this kind of disorder, offensively”.

The key takeaway here is disorder. Iraola’s Bournemouth embraces them and is all the better for it than Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, and Arne Slot, who are all about reducing risk and avoiding chaotic game states.

A system that uses man-to-man pressing and zonal marking is used by the former Rayo Vallecano boss. Although Bournemouth are not the only team to employ such a strategy, analysts today refer to it as “hybrid pressing,” and they are undoubtedly much more successful than most teams at carrying it out than most.

Above is an example from Bournemouth’s trip to Old Trafford last month. The striker Evanilson is well-positioned to cut off access to the right-sided centre-back option. Antoine Semenyo is ready to jump on any attempt to pass to Lisandro Martinez in the middle when Justin Kluivert is close to Harry Maguire in the middle.

Kluivert is the only one here with a man-oriented responsibility.

In an interview with the Times last year, former Cherries striker Dominic Solanke, who is now at Spurs, described the learning curve associated with Iraola’s methods.

“We couldn’t take in all the information at first. For me, I’m pressing with a number 10 behind me and at first, our timing was off”, said Solanke.

Last season, Iraola’s side managed to convert 54 high turnovers to shots across 38 games in the 2023-24 Premier League season. Meanwhile, so far this season, they’ve already managed 45 across 22 games.

If last year’s work was an introduction for the players to Iraola’s methods, this season they’ve shown how good it can get, both in results and performances.

Here are some rankings for the Cherries this term, in the Premier League:

Bournemouth’s average age is 25.1, making them the fourth-youngest squad across the Premier League. This is relevant because Iraola’s football involves a lot of risk, something he sees as a strength.

We are a team of volume, according to the Cherries’ boss, who spoke with Spanish outlet Relevo in an interview.

With 136 possessions won, Christie’s seemingly unending capacity for running helps Bournemouth take chances with their pressing, which also leads the league in possessions won.

When the right opportunities arise for Christie to play more creative roles, he can also hurt teams with his passing, just as he did against Chelsea for Semenyo’s goal.

Iraola has worked with non-too-public organizations before and now at Bournemouth, which has given him the opportunity to use his ideas and find players who will fit his style.