Lopetegui’s Real days numbered as Conte tipped
Print Edition
Possibly for the last time, Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui was in charge of the team again yesterday.
A day after a demoralizing 1-5 loss to Barcelona, Real was back in practice with Lopetegui in command. But a board of directors’ meeting later in the day was expected to end the coach’s tenure less than three months into the season.
The former Spain coach needed Real to succeed against Barcelona on Sunday to have a realistic chance of keeping his job, but he left Camp Nou lamenting the team’s fifth loss in seven matches in all competitions.
“We know that results are important for a coach. Let’s see what happens in the next few hours,” Real captain Sergio Ramos said after the game. “We’ve already said we are 100 percent behind our coach, but these decisions are not made by us and we have to respect them. We have to stay calm.”
Former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was touted as the main candidate to replace Lopetegui, with some Spanish media saying negotiations with the Italian coach were already in advanced stages. Belgium coach Roberto Martinez was also among the front-runners.
The firing would cap a horrible few months for Lopetegui and was likely to deal a significant setback to his career. The 52-year-old coach, making his debut with a major club in a top European league, was let go from Spain’s national team just before the World Cup for not telling federation officials he had accepted the Real job.
If Real fires him as expected, Lopetegui will have failed to succeed in two of the most high-profile coaching jobs in the world in less than six months.
After doing well with Spain’s youth teams, Lopetegui had a lackluster stint with Portuguese club Porto from 2014-16, but he gained prominence after revamping Spain’s national team and turning it into a contender entering the World Cup. Lopetegui was hired by Real to replace Zinedine Zidane, who quit after leading the club to three straight UEFA Champions League titles.
Real had a decent start to the season under Lopetegui but things went sour as the team struggled to score goals in its first season without Cristiano Ronaldo in nearly a decade.
Sunday’s rout at Barcelona — which played without the injured Lionel Messi — left Real in ninth place in the Spanish league with 14 points from 10 matches, 7 behind first-place Barcelona.
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