MADRID: In just months, Julen Lopetegui has lost two of the most high-profile coaching jobs in the world.
Lopetegui was finally fired by Real Madrid on Monday, less than five months after he was sacked by Spain before the World Cup for not telling federation officials he accepted the Madrid job.
The latest axing followed a meeting by the club’s board of directors a day after the team was crushed by Barcelona 5-1 at the Non Camp.
Santiago Solari, coach of Real Madrid B, will take charge for the Copa del Rey match against third-division club Melilla on Wednesday.
Spanish media speculated Solari, a former Real player, was in the running for the permanent job along with former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and Belgium manager Roberto Martinez.
The firing caps a horrible few months for Lopetegui and is likely to deal a significant setback to his career. After doing well with Spain’s youth teams, he had a lackluster stint with Portuguese club Porto, but gained prominence after revamping Spain and turning them into contenders entering the World Cup.
“I want to thank the club for the opportunity it gave me and the players for their effort,” Lopetegui told the local news agency EFE. “I wish the team the best for the rest of the season.”
Madrid said in a statement they sacked 52-year-old Lopetegui to “change the team’s dynamic while all of its objectives for the season were still reachable.”
The board of directors believed there was a huge difference between the quality of the squad and the results it was achieving. The board noted the team has eight players nominated for the Ballon d’Or award, something unprecedented in the club’s history. They have lost five of their past seven matches.
“We know that results are important for a coach,” Real captain Sergio Ramos said after the Barcelona match.
Lopetegui, who led the team practice on Monday morning, was hired by Madrid to replace Zinedine Zidane, who quit after leading the club to the past three Champions League titles.
Losing el clasico left the capital club ninth in the La Liga table, seven points behind leaders Barcelona. They have not won in five straight league matches, with four losses.
The club had a decent start to the season but things went sour as the squad struggled to produce goals in their first season without Cristiano Ronaldo in nearly a decade. Real didn’t replace the superstar; their only high-profile signing was goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
In 14 matches with Lopetegui, Madrid won six, lost six, and drew two.
After the Copa match on Wednesday, Real host Valladolid in the league, and visits Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League.
“We have to move on as soon as possible because there is a lot of season left,” Ramos said.
To make things worse, veteran left back Marcelo is expected to be out for a few weeks because of a muscle injury. Forward Mariano Diaz is also injured and is likely to be out for at least a week.
Solari, aged 42, is a former Argentina midfielder who played for Real Madrid in the early 2000s and helped the team win the 2002 Champions League. He also played for Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan. He has been coaching Real Madrid B since 2016, taking over not long after Zidane left to coach the main squad.
Lopetegui is the second La Liga coach to be fired. The first was Leo Franco of promoted club Huesca, currently last in the 20-team standings.
Real Madrid axe Julen Lopetegui after thrashing at hands of Barcelona
Real Madrid axe Julen Lopetegui after thrashing at hands of Barcelona
- Real give Lopetegui marching orders after poor run of form.
- Former player Santiago Solari to take interim charge at the Bernabeu.
Guardiola hails Man City’s ‘massive’ win over Newcastle
- Guardiola’s second-placed side closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to just two points with their tense victory at the Etihad Stadium
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Pep Guardiola labelled Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday as a “massive” moment in the Premier League title race.
Guardiola’s second-placed side closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to just two points with their tense victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Nico O’Reilly put City ahead in the first half and restored the lead before half-time after Lewis Hall had equalized.
City weren’t at their best in the second half, but they held on to pile pressure on spluttering Arsenal, who travel to Tottenham for the north London derby on Sunday.
Guardiola knew it was essential to make Arsenal sweat.
“Massive. Newcastle is an incredible team, awesome in physicality and speed they have up front. Physicality in the middle. Really tough but the team was unbelievable,” he said.
“It’s coming in best part of the season. Every single game will be similar to today.”
After finishing without a trophy last season, City are back in the hunt for the seventh English title of Guardiola’s reign.
They will have a game in hand on Arsenal after this weekend and are guaranteed to win the title if they win their last 11 league matches.
Guardiola has embarked on an expensive overhaul of City’s squad in the last 12 months, shedding aging stars like Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson and Kyle Walker and bringing in the likes of Marc Guehi, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki.
The Spaniard is well aware that his new generation largely lacks the experience of winning under the pressure of a title race, which made their gritty success against Newcastle even more meaningful.
“70 percent of the players have never been in that situation, and I don’t play. So we have to live it, they know that every game will be like this,” he said.
“Especially at home, with five home games left. Today was the best crowd of the year, it was unbelievable with our people, really proud to be manager of these incredible people and fans.
“Of course in terms of points it’s important, but we have to improve to have chance to compete until the end. Now we deserve three more days off. Then another battle in Leeds.”
Guardiola singled out O’Reilly for praise after the young England midfielder’s pair of clinical finishes showed he won’t be affected by the strain of chasing Arsenal.
“Nico give us in the middle that physicality that we need. He now plays in his position,” he said.
“He has always played that, he is so complete and so young. I am really pleased the academy produced these incredible players, Nico, Phil (Foden), Rico (Lewis).”
