Julen Lopetegui is the immediate coach who was appointed to take over from former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane and just a day to the world Cup in Russia which starts on Thursday 14th June.
Lopetegui appointment came as ashock to many with Spain preparing for their first World Cup match against Portugal in Sochi on Friday night.
But just to recap.How well do you know the new Spanish coach.Here are a few facts
- He used to play for Real Madrid in his hay days
He used to play for Real Madrid in his hay days.He joined Los Blancos from Real Sociedad in 1985 at the age of the 19, linking up with the side’s highly successful youth setep.He was promoted to the first team ranks but failed to dislodge the veteran stopper Luis Arconada, instead going on loan to Las Palmas.He played one game for the Real first team, in a 3-3 draw against Atletico Madrid when Los Blancos had already won the title in the 1989/90 season.
- He has been a coach before
He was one of Spain coach Juan Santisteban’s assistants at the 2003 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[9] After the tournament, he had his first head coaching spell at Rayo, with the club in the second level, being sacked after the tenth match of the 2003–04 campaign,[10] which ended in relegation to division three; after working as a sports commentator, including for laSexta in the 2006 FIFA World Cup,[11] he returned to coaching, with a side he represented in the 1980s, Real Madrid Castilla, now in the third tier.
- He won the European Under 21 Championships
After he moved on the Spanish youth setup, coaching Spain’s Under 19s, 20s and 21s.The 19s impressed everyone on the way to winning the European Under-19s Championship in 2012, with Jese Rodriguez top scorer on five goals and Saul Niguez, Gerard Deulofeu and Suso all starring, later, he won the European Under 21 Championships with star studded side, featuring Alvaro Morata, Isco, Koke, David de Gea and Thiago Alcantara, who scored a hat-trick in the final against Italy.