Three Reasons why Julen Lopetegui failed at Real Madrid
Julen Lopetegui has been sacked as Real Madrid boss, here are three reasons why the former Spain boss failed at Los Blancos
Mitch Freeley
Julen Lopetegui has unsurprisingly been relieved of his duties as Real Madrid boss just ten games into the La Liga season. The 5-1 humiliation at the hands of bitter rivals Barca was enough to convince the Los Blancos hierarchy to sack the former Spain boss, who had been on thin ice since the defeat to Leganes last weekend. With Santiago Solari announced as interim boss, and Real looking at Antonio Conte or Roberto Martinez for the role we look at three key factors why Lopetegui failed at Real.
The timing of the appointment
It seems that Lopetegui was doomed from the start, as Real Madrid announced the signing of the national team boss after Lopetegui had finished his duties after the World Cup. Understandably the Royal Spanish Football Federation wanted answers and Lopetegui was dismissed from his job a day later. The whole incident would have left a bad taste in the mouth of Real Madrid and La Roja players such as Sergio Ramos, Isco and Marco Asensio. It’s safe to say that Lopetegui didn’t make the best first impression and set in place the chain of events that saw him lose his job after four months in the hot seat.
No Ronaldo, No party
The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer left a big gap to fill in terms of a goal scorer in the side. Simply put, you cannot let the all-time goal scorer of your club leave and fail to replace him. Real had been linked with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbpabbe & Eden Hazard in the summer, yet for whatever reason Florentino Perez decided not to peruse them. Eventually, Los Blancos activated the buyback clause for Mariano Díaz from Lyon, but a club the stature of Real Madrid they should be signing proven world-class talent.
This issue has to fall on Florentino Perez, who was well aware of the impending departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, and the failure to secure a worthy replacement in the summer left Lopetegui on the back foot even before a ball was kicked.
No track record of Club Success.
This may sound a little obvious, but looking at Lopetegui’s managerial career it doesn’t scream of a serial trophy winner. His only major club job was at Porto where he oversaw a summer of record spending, bringing in no fewer than seven Spanish players at the club. The first season also turned up no silverware for the Dragons, and Lopetegui was abruptly sacked in January of his second season in charge.
The 52-year old coach rebuild his reputation at Spain U19 & U21 levels winning European Championships with the sides and ushering in a new generation of Spanish stars. It’s understandable that the Royal Spanish Football Federation saw Lopetegui as a replacement for the retiring Vicente del Bosque.
Although it’s a different proposition when moving to Real Madrid, having never won a major club honour. Granted, Zinedine Zidane had never done the same, however, he had guided Los Blancos to Champions League on the pitch it left Zizou in a unique position in the Real Madrid dressing room.
The issue of not understanding the fragile state of the Los Blancos is telling, especially with the comments of Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos in wake of the 5-1 defeat to Barca in El Clasico. “Respect is something a coach earns and understanding the dressing-room is more important than tactical expertise. We have won everything with coaches I don’t need to name.”
So now the Real Madrid hierarchy will turn to the task of appointing an appropriate successor. One thing is certain that they will have certainly learned from the ill-fated appointment of Lopetegui which was doomed from the outset.