Lopetegui to be presented at Real
MADRID: A day after he was sacked on the eve of the World Cup, former Spain coach Julen Lopetegui arrived in Madrid on Thursday where he will be officially presented as Real Madrid’s new manager.
Lopetegui landed at Madrid’s Barajas airport just before 5 am.
He will be officially presented as Real new coach for the next three seasons at an event at the Spanish giants’ Santiago Bernabeu stadium at 7 pm, the club said in a statement.
“I am very sad, but we have a magnificent team and hopefully we’ll win the World Cup,” Lopetegui told reporters on his departure from Spain’s training base in Krasnodar on Wednesday.
Spain’s World Cup preparations were thrown into turmoil on Wednesday as Real Madridbound coach Julen Lopetegui was sacked by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), with Fernando Hierro taking charge just two days before their opening game in Russia.
In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, Real Madrid appointed Lopetegui as Zinedine Zidane’s successor to take over after the tournament in Russia, sparking outrage among the Spanish federation and fans at the timing of the announcement.
“Negotiating is legitimate but it took place without the RFEF being informed until five minutes before a press statement was released,” federation chief Luis Rubiales had said.