Julen Lopetegui Agote is a Basque former professional footballer, currently the manager of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Julen Lopetegui : Pronunciation | tactics | real madrid
Born in Asteasu, Gipuzkoa, Lopetegui started his professional career at local Real Sociedad. In 1985, he accepted an offer from Real Madrid, where the 19-year-old played in the B team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Julen Lopetegui Agote | ||
| Date of birth | 28 August 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | Asteasu, Basque Country, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
After a loan spell at UD Las Palmas Lopetegui returned, but could never dislodge another veteran, Francisco Buyo, only managing one La Liga appearance during two seasons, a 3–3 away draw against Atlético Madrid as Real were already crowned league champions.
He subsequently signed with CD Logroñés, being instrumental as the modest Riojan club consistently managed to retain its top-flight status.
Julen Lopetegui Pronunciation
According to Google Trends, “’How to pronounce Julen #Lopetegui?’ is a top searched question on the sacked Spain manager the day before the #WorldCup”. Here’s the video of Julen Lopetegui Pronunciation :
Lopetegui had become the head coach of Spain in 2016 after the retirement of Vicente del Bosque and the team truly enjoyed an unbeaten run during his reign.
Despite having a phenomenal record, the ‘back-stabbing’ on Julen Lopetegui’s part got the federation to sack him immediately.
Spain sporting director Fernando Hierro has been named to take charge for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The sudden new development in 2010 World Champions’ camp has led to a huge commotion among netizens who have bombarded the search engine with questions including the crazy ones about Julen Lopetegui.
Julen Lopetegui Tactics
At the 2003 UEFA European U-17 Championship, Lopetegui was one of Spain coach Juan Santisteban’s assistants.
Following the tournament, he took over as head coach of Rayo Vallecano, a team in the second division.
Still, he was fired following the club’s tenth match of the 2003–04 season, culminating in division three relegating.
After working as, a sports commentator with Real Madrid Castilla, he returned to coaching, the team he played in the 1980s, currently in the third tier.
Many believe Julen Lopetegui tactics started here, while there is some truth to that now. Porto devised a 4-3-3 attacking configuration that they built from the ground up.
Their defensive line attempted to establish a quick link with the two pivots in midfield, Casemiro and Hector Herrera, in order to create an overload that would help them attack; Casemiro and Hector also provided the defensive cover needed for their influential full-backs Danilo and Alex Sandro to join attacks.
Lopetegui’s use of a false nine or withdrawn striker to drag a central defender out of position and create an imbalance in rival defenses is another common aspect of his sides. At Porto, Yacine Brahimi played such role, combining with others around him with his back to goal before combining with the rest of the team.
Real Madrid
Lopetegui’s first competitive game in charge took place on 15 August 2018, in a 4–2 loss to rivals Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup after extra time.
He thus became the second Real manager to start his tenure by conceding four goals, after Englishman Michael Keeping who began in 1948 being downed 4–1 by RC Celta de Vigo.
Following a string of bad results and, ultimately, a 5–1 away defeat to Barcelona in El Clásico on 28 October 2018, Lopetegui was fired a day later, being replaced by Santiago Solari.
On 5 June 2019, Lopetegui was appointed as the new Sevilla FC manager on a three-year contract.
In his first year, they finished fourth to qualify for the Champions League, and on 21 August they defeated Inter Milan 3–2 in the 2020 UEFA Europa League Final, his first club honour.
Lopetegui agreed to a further two-year extension on 10 January 2021. On 5 October 2022, however, following five losses in eight matches in the new season – the last being 4–1 at home against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League – he was dismissed.
After leaving Sevilla, Lopetegui was interviewed again by Wolverhampton, who had dismissed Bruno Lage. He turned down the offer, due to his 92-year-old father’s ill health.