Julen Lopetegui, a name synonymised with promise and controversy, has had a fascinating career in management. Known for his tactical awareness, methodical approach, and a well-structured defence, Lopetegui’s journey through the ranks of Spanish football has been a rollercoaster of achievements and failure, ranging from glory in Europe to the lows of the Premier League.
Lopetegui had a playing career that spanned over 15 years, featuring in goal for some of the biggest clubs in Spain, spending his youth days at Real Sociedad, followed by a blockbuster moves to El Classico rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona. “Include some stats. How many appearances did he make for Real Madrid? Can mention he only made one appearance and that he was a goalkeeper”.
However, Lopetegui’s playing days came to an end in 2002 after stints at smaller clubs in Spain including La Liga regulars Rayo Vallecano, thus leading him into a career in management.
Julen Lopetegui was chosen by the West Ham board to succeed previous manager David Moyes. Despite initial optimism, his style of play and tactical decisions have caused debate amongst West Ham fans all over social media.
This has left many supporters questioning whether Lopetegui is the right man to help the club progress.
Lopetegui’s decision to transition into management came naturally, given his footballing background. His first managerial role came in 2003, when he was appointed the head coach of Real Madrid’s B team, Castilla.
The Spaniard started his coaching career with the Spanish U19s, guiding them to an impressive campaign at the European Championships in 2012. La Rojita won the tournament without losing a game, handing Lopetegui his first honour in his managerial career.
A year later, in 2013, he led Spain’s U21s to the UEFA Euros. Lopetegui continued his invincible streak, once again winning the tournament without any losses to his name.
Lopetegui’s first big job came in 2016 when he was appointed head coach of the Spanish national team. His work in the youth teams over recent years caught the eye of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). He took over a squad that had won everything there was to win in international football, a world cup in 2010, and two consecutive European Championships in 2008 and 2012.
His task was to rebuild without losing the style of play synonymous with Spanish football, placing an impetus on mesmerising passing patterns (Tiki Taka), and fluid attacking play.
Under Lopetegui, Spain showed vast improvements with the coach instilling a more dynamic, attacking style. The team also maintained a high level of possession every game, maintaining one of the most important attributes expected of a Spanish side.
Spain qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia with ease, winning nine of their ten qualifiers. Lopetegui relied heavily on the established spine of the Spanish sides that won so much in the years before, with players such as David De Gea, Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta and Isco playing key roles for the new gaffer.
In a controversial turn of events, just days before the start of the tournament, it was announced that Lopetegui would leave his role as the head coach of Spain to take over at Real Madrid, following the departure of Zinedine Zidane. This left the Spanish side in tatters, eventually being knocked out by tournament hosts Russia, following a penalty shoot-out.
However, the grass was not greener for Lopetegui. Madrid’s results were largely inconsistent, and the team struggled to adapt to Lopetegui’s methods. The loss of the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus that same summer, left a massive gap in attack, leading to the team’s inability to find a consistent goal-scoring threat.
Four months was all it took for Real Madrid to dismiss Lopetegui who would then have a renaissance in Seville, winning them the Europa League in 2020 before transitioning into the Premier League with Wolves.
That was also a disaster for the Spaniard, getting sacked after just one year in charge at Molineux. “Fact-check this mate. Pretty sure he left by mutual consent due to not aligning with the board”. Just three years later, he would join West Ham to be the successor of the great David Moyes, who led the Hammers to an iconic Conference League victory a year prior.
Whilst the appointment was welcomed by many, who felt that Moyes’ time had come to an end, there was an cautious optimism due to the Spaniard’s disappointing spells in Madrid and Wolverhampton.
This left the West Ham faithful sceptical on whether Lopetegui was the right fit to lead the post-Moyes era.
His CV looks a perfect fit for a club like West Ham, with European giants: Real Madrid, Porto and Sevilla, already on his CV.
An attacking identity is crucial to the West Ham fan base. There is an expectation of free-flowing football at the Olympic Stadium, one that matches with Lopetegui’s tactics.
The 58-year-old likes a team that is comfortable in possession whilst being quick to win the ball back.
This synergises with what both sides want. So why is it not working?
I spoke to several West Ham fans and asked for their opinions on the new boss and whether he is the right man to take the reins at one of London’s finest clubs.
One fan I spoke to said he thinks Lopetegui will be successful if we show patience. “I think Lopetegui will come good, I really do. Look he’s won in Sevilla, been manager of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, stuff like that doesn’t just happen”.
Whilst another fan isn’t so sure about the appointment. “I think he’s the wrong man. There were a lot of options out there and I think Lopetegui was a rushed decision just to keep people happy that Moyes was leaving”.
The ghosts from Lopetegui’s past appear a stumbling block for some claret and blue fans to overlook. He added, “I think his style of play doesn’t suit the premier league speed. Look what he did with Wolves, I know he didn’t have as much money there, but he’s been given 100 million (pounds) in new players here and we’ve won two games from eight this season, it isn’t good enough for the premier league”.
The statistics of Lopetegui’s start to life in East London are fairly damning. West Ham have played eight premier league games and two carabao cup fixtures. The hammers have picked up only three wins from these opening ten which is worse than what David Moyes accrued in his tenure last season, ultimately losing his job.
However, Lopetegui has picked up a win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park,something Moyes tragically failed to do last season, falling to a 5-2 battering by the Eagles.
Moyes’ side also picked up 14 points from the opening 8 games last season whilst conceding 3 less goals than Lopetegui’s current West Ham side.
Despite this, there has been a transfer overhaul of seven new players,designed to suit Lopetegui’s style of play, with the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka joining from Manchester United and Max Kilman who had previously worked under the Spaniard at Wolves. The pair joined the club for a combined fee of 55 million pounds.
Lopetegui started his West Ham tenure during the 2024 pre-season with a fixture against Hungarian side Ferencvaros. The game finished 2-2 with a sublime free kick from Danny Ings and a late equaliser from defender Nayef Aguerd.
Although the results hadn’t set the world alight, there were very promising signs from Lopetegui’s team and many fans were hopeful for the future.
Two 3-1 defeats in the USA at the hands of London rivals Crystal Palace and former side Wolves followed, backed up with some poor finishing displays by the Irons.
Lopetegui would then manage his first game at the London Stadium, contesting the Betway Cup against Spanish outfit, Celta Vigo.
West Ham would go on to draw the game 2-2 in 90 minutes thanks to goals from Brazilian midfield-Maestro Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen, before eventually pulling through with a 6-5 penalty shoot-out victory to retain the Betway Cup.
Next up for Lopetegui would be the Irons’ first Premier League game of the season, a test at home to newly qualified Champions League side Aston Villa.
West Ham would go on to lose the game to Villa 2-1, with Hammers’ transfer target Jhon Duran scoring the winner to show the hammers what they missed out on.
West Ham then travelled to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace, who had already picked up a win against Lopetegui’s side in pre-season.
Lopetegui would secure his first victory with West Ham, after an impressive second half performance saw goals from Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek.
Overall, Lopetegui has been a disastrous appointment from the West Ham board. After the Crystal Palace game in mid-August, West Ham would only go on to win three more games out of a possible eight.
Spending over a hundred million pounds this transfer window and only winning three games all season represents a colossal failure for a Premier League side who showed so much potential with their summer signings.
The West Ham hierarchy have made it clear that results and performances must improve for Lopetegui if he wants to keep his job “Have they? List a source.” but will honour his and give him more time to turn things around. That being said, things are not looking good for West Ham with a tough winter ahead of them, with daunting fixtures against pace-setters Liverpool and European hopefuls Brighton on the calendar for December.
