Villarreal's manager Iñigo Pérez, denied a UK work permit in 2023, faces his longtime friend and Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola in the Champions League at Anfield, a reunion that almost never happened.
01Summary
- 01Pérez and Iraola have been friends for 22 years, having met at Athletic Bilbao's academy in 2002.
- 02The Home Office and an FA panel denied Pérez a work permit two years ago, blocking him from becoming Iraola's assistant at Bournemouth.
- 03Pérez, 36, took his first head coach role at Villarreal and now faces Iraola's Liverpool in the Champions League.
- 04Their former teammate Carlos Gurpegui described both as 'intellectually brilliant' and natural leaders.
- 05Pérez credits Marcelo Bielsa for his development after impressing the coach in a training collision in 2011.
02Why it matters
This match highlights how a bureaucratic decision shaped an unlikely managerial rivalry, and it underscores the personal and professional bonds that endure across top European football.
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