Spain appointed Julen Lopetegui as their new manager
Former Porto boss Julen Lopetegui has been named as the new manager of Spain.
The ex-Barcelona goalkeeper, 49, who won one international cap for Spain in 1994, has also coached the nation’s Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 teams.
He was dismissed by Porto in January and had been linked with English Championship side Wolves, who have been bought by a Chinese group for £45m.
Lopetegui replaces Vicente del Bosque, 65, who announced last year that he would retire after Euro 2016.
OFICIAL | Julen Lopetegui (@julenlopetegui), nuevo seleccionador absoluto español https://t.co/MWHox8YRV1
— Selección Española Masculina de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) July 21, 2016
“A national team coach has very little time to transmit what he needs to a player before a big competition,” Lopetegui said.
Del Bosque took charge of the Spain national side in 2008 and guided them to victory at both the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 European Championship.
He offered to resign after Spain’s exit at the group stage of the 2014 World Cup, but was convinced to stay.
At Euro 2016, Spain reached the last 16, but were eliminated at that stage as they lost 2-0 to Italy.
His first match will be Spain’s friendly in Belgium on Sept. 1. Four days later Spain start their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign with a home match against Liechtenstein.
