Spain firing saddest day since mother’s death, says Lopetegui
barcelona — Julen Lopetegui said being fired as Spain coach two days before its opening match at the World Cup was possibly “the saddest day of my life” since his mother died, and joining Real Madrid as its new coach was “the happiest day of my life.”
The 51-year-old Lopetegui made the emotional remarks when he was officially introduced by Madrid on Thursday at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
It has been a tumultuous three days for Lopetegui, and Spain’s national team. Lopetegui was fired by Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales on Wednesday — a day after Madrid made the unexpected announcement that Lopetegui had agreed to leave for European champions Madrid after the World Cup in Russia.
Rubiales said he felt “compelled” to fire Lopetegui because the coach and Madrid had kept him in the dark until five minutes before the club made the deal public.
Madrid president Florentino Perez denied his club had acted improperly and slammed Rubiales for firing Lopetegui.
“It was a disproportionate and unjust response that is without precedent,” said Perez. “Some people will do anything to hurt the image of Real Madrid.”
Perez said that Madrid informed Rubiales as soon as the deal was done. “Those who say we hid something are wrong,” Perez said. “We reached a deal ... and wanted to make it public so as to avoid leaks that could disrupt the work of the national team.” —