A like-for-like Andoni Iraola replacement is succeeding at Rayo Vallecano

The job that Andoni Iraola did at Rayo Vallecano was nothing short of spectacular. Having gotten them promoted from the second tier in his debut season, he took the newly-promoted side with by far the lowest wage bill in La Liga all the way up to 12th place. They followed it up with an 11th-place finish in 2022/23 despite making limited improvements to the squad, as their distinct approach and style of play troubled opponents of all statures across the division.

Following Iraola’s move to Bournemouth, almost all Spanish football fans and followers feared for Rayo. Club owner Raul Martin Presa is far from a popular figure among the club’s supporters or staff, as his lack of support has very much left them to fend for themselves. Their success against the odds under Iraola is made all the more impressive by this context, but it also led most to expect the club to quickly get relegated thereafter.

Indeed, the Franjirrojos would only just stay up in 2023/24 as they ended up 17th. Iraola’s immediate successor Francisco Rodríguez was gone by February, with Iñigo Pérez coming in to steady the ship. The former Osasuna midfielder had been a part of Iraola’s coaching staff in the 2022/23 campaign and would have joined him in England if it weren’t for Brexit (no kidding; he was denied a work permit partly because he only had a year’s experience), but instead got his first senior head coaching opportunity back in Madrid.

The club didn’t spend a penny on transfer fees ahead of Pérez’s first full season in charge, but that didn’t stop the young tactician from leading them all the way up to a European spot in 8th. Although they have once again suffered a bit of a downturn this season as they are currently three points clear of the drop zone, Rayo still have to be delighted with the job Pérez has done for them as they are enjoying just the second continental campaign in the club’s history. The only trouble for them is that much like Iraola, his has earned him a good few admirers around the continent.

Stylistic similarities

Given Pérez’s history of having worked with Iraola, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that his side bears a lot of resemblance to what the team looked like under the now-Bournemouth coach. Rayo’s financial constraints have further limited his options, as most of the core of the squad has remained in place without too many significant upgrades or departures.

So, Rayo Vallecano still line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, defend in some variation of this shape and are quite direct on the ball. They are fifth from bottom in the league when it comes to build-ups by Opta’s definition, and anyone who has watched them take a goal kick will know exactly why. They largely use the same routine with the goalkeeper touching it to a centre back, who takes a touch before sending it long to the front four. The tactical details lie in where exactly the long ball is direct, and how the team is set up to contest and make use of the second ball to attack in broken play.

This very much mirrors what Rayo worked on under Iraola. His final season at the club saw them average 27.9 accurate long balls per match, and they are currently on 26.5 this term. Of course, the 43-year-old tactician has gone to make tweaks to his approach in the Premier League (where his side would face much greater challenges in trying to impose themselves in such attacking duels), but the ideas of trying to get at unsettled opposition defences remain consistent. As a result, Rayo’s attacking metrics make them out to be quite similar to Bournemouth, just somewhat less efficient due to a relative lack of quality.

Differences and evolutions

The most pronounced difference in the above radars is in terms of high press shots. This has been perhaps the most interesting tactical aspect to follow through Pérez’s tenure at Rayo. He started off doing almost exactly what Iraola’s side used to do (and have continued to do at Bournemouth) – step up to press high in a 4-4-2 that moves into a 4-1-3-2. The main idea behind this approach is to limit the opposition’s central options and either squeeze them wide or spring traps in the middle.

This approach worked well enough into the start of Pérez’s first full season at Rayo, but its effectiveness waned with more and more opponents getting incredibly familiar with the pressing scheme as well as generally becoming more adept at going direct to target strikers or runners in behind. As a result, Rayo’s defence started to get increasingly leaky, prompting their head coach to come up with a new strategy in the summer.

Los Franjirrojos started the 2025/26 season off with a pressing masterclass against a subpar Girona side, setting up in a mid block before springing a fantastically well-coordinated press. This approach continued to succeed against similar possession-based opponents, but teams more used to going direct like Athletic Club and Osasuna continued to cause problems for the Rayo back line. As this trendline shows, their defensive numbers once again spiked up, but their coach was quick to react once again.

In recent months, Rayo have become much more selective in their press and seemingly worked on their solidity in a deeper block, often dropping into a 4-5-1 or even 5-4-1 at times. They have retained some of their ideas of springing pressing traps which have kept their PPDA the fourth-lowest in the league, but they are also fifth from bottom in terms of high turnovers — a stark contrast from Iraola’s days when they were as high as third in this metric.

As described, this might well be a circumstantial decision given the context of Rayo’s squad and La Liga’s general tactical trends. Pérez very much seems to be a coach who prefers profiting from high turnovers as far as possible and even referenced the idea of using a successful high press as a playmaker in a recent interview. His previous work, coupled with the openness to tweaks he has lately shown, should be greatly encouraging to any potential suitors.

In fact, finding such a balance has been one of Iraola’s main challenges at Bournemouth. While his attacking ideas have translated quite well in England’s south coast, the Cherries are being significantly outperformed by Rayo in some key defensive metrics including xG conceded and average quality of chances conceded.

On the flip side, Rayo have been facing some challenges with the ball this season. With lower blocks becoming increasingly common in La Liga (the league’s median start distance of 41.55m is the lowest among Europe’s big five leagues per Opta data), the Vallecas-based side have stumbled up to sixth in the possession standings despite not preferring to see too much of the ball. Pérez has tried to introduce some ideas to break down low blocks including situational back threes with the ball, but Rayo’s effectiveness remains limited to transitions for the most part. In fact, they have only won one of the 10 league games in which they have seen over 57% of the ball.

Given the limited resources he has had to work with, this shouldn’t be held against Pérez too much, but it will be the main question for him at a potential next job.

Where next for Pérez?

Pérez’s contract at Rayo is due to expire this summer. While he has reportedly rejected offers from three clubs this season — namely Nottingham Forest, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Monaco — he also hasn’t shown any indications of extending his stay so far. So, expect reports of interest from other clubs to grow in the coming months.
Perhaps the most obvious destination for him would be Bournemouth if Iraola moves on to pastures new. The Cherries can hardly be more confident in appointing a successor given the two’s history and similarities, so this would be a no-brainer.

An interesting alternative in the English Premier League could be Crystal Palace. Oliver Glasner’s departure is certain, but the effectiveness of his ideas for the most part of his tenure has been undeniable. While Pérez likely won’t field such a block-and-counter side, he too places a greater emphasis on out-of-possession ideas and thus could offer a good balance between continuity and evolution for the Eagles. His more direct approach in possession could also prove handy for a side that should expect to lose its best progressive passer soon.

Should Pérez not move to England, the most likely alternative is to make a step up in Spain. An interesting La Liga link to follow is with Athletic Club, whose deal with Ernesto Valverde is also up in the summer. Pérez has a lot of history with the club having come through their youth academy and spent over a decade with them all told, while his style of play seems well-suited to succeed the ex-Barcelona coach as well. This move looks to be a great fit for all involved, and could also offer a nice testing ground for the 38-year-old tactician at a bigger club before one of the real giants might get interested.

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