- Planet Sport writer
- 24 August 2024
Julen Lopetegui: Aaron Wan-Bissaka can reignite his career at West Ham
West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has backed Aaron Wan-Bissaka to rediscover his best form this season and earn an England cap.
Lopetegui played over a hundred games for both Logrones and Rayo Vallecano, as well as a handful of games for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Las Palmas and Castilla.
He also gained one international cap for Spain in a friendly defeat to Croatia, and was selected for Spain's 1994 World Cup squad, but didn't play a match.
Since hanging up his gloves, Lopetegui has had somewhat of an unsettled managerial career, hopping between clubs and country. He has managed from the youth levels of the Spanish national team all the way to the European Giants of Real Madrid.
He started his managerial career with Rayo Vallecano although, he was sacked just 10 games into the season after a poor string of results. He then took a head coach hiatus for the next five years and became a TV commentator.
After his venture into journalism, he managed the majority of Spain's youth teams, until 2014 when he joined Porto, taking them to quarter finals of the Champions League.
He was handed the reins of the Spanish national team in July 2016, but despite qualifying for the 2018 World Cup he was sacked on the eve of the tournament after being named as the new Real Madrid boss.
His stay at Madrid was incredibly brief, but he returned to management with Sevilla and guided them to the Europa League title.
Lopetegui was sacked by Sevilla in October 2022 and moved to Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers in November.
However, Lopetegui's nine-month spell as Wolves head coach ended after reaching an "agreement to part ways" on the eve of the 2023/24 Premier League season.
In May 2024, Lopetegui was named as the new head coach of Premier League side West Ham. But he only lasted six months in the role and was sacked in early January 2025.
The start of Lopetegui's managerial career
In 2003, Lopetegui made his first steps in coaching as assistant manager for Spain's Under-17 team during the European Championship.
His first full time role as a manager came for his old club Rayo Vallecano who, at the time, were in the second division of Spanish football.
However, his stint at Rayo didn't last long as he was sacked just 10 games into the season. After Lopetegui left, the team were relegated to the third division.
Lopetegui decided to leave management and went into commentary for the next five years.
However, the Asteasu-born manager was lured back into a management in 2008 as head coach of Real Madrid B. He stayed in charge there for just a year and then moved to the Spanish youth team set-up from 2010-2014.
During his time coaching Spain's youth teams, he won two European Championships, one with the Under-19s in 2012 and the other with the Under-21s in 2013.
Lopetegui and Porto
In the summer of 2014, Lopetegui returned to club management with Portuguese giants Porto.
During his first transfer window, he signed seven Spanish players and was handed the largest transfer budget in the club's history.
He managed to lead Porto to the quarter-finals of the Champions League in his first season - but failed to win any silverware.
The Dragons finished runners-up in his first season in charge in 2014/15 and missed out on any domestic cups, which for a club the size of Porto is rare.
He was sacked in the January of the following season after losing to C.S. Maritimo in the Portuguese League Cup and with the club in third place in the league.
Return to international management
Lopetegui's good work the Spain youth teams helped him secure the role as head coach of the national team in July 2016, replacing the retired World Cup and European Championship winner Vicente Del Bosque. Lopetegui had huge shoes to fill.
He helped the national team qualify for the 2018 World Cup after going unbeaten in all 10 group games.
As the team arrived in Russia, there was a surprising announcement that Lopetegui would take over as Real Madrid manager after Spain's World Cup campaign.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation were not best pleased with the news so close to the start of the World Cup and promptly sacked Lopetegui, replacing him with caretaker manager Fernando Hierro who took them as far as the round of 16.
Lopetegui's move to Real Madrid
Lopetegui arrived at Real Madrid under a cloud, and it didn't get much better after that.
He lost his first match in charge 4-2 to their arch-rivals Atletico Madrid in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup, and won only six of the next 14 games.
A 5-1 away defeat to Barcelona in El Clasico in October 2018, sealed his fate and he was sacked the next day.
It was the shortest stint of Lopetegui's managerial career.
Staying close in Sevilla
Almost a year after his disastrous spell at Real Madrid, Lopetegui was appointed as the manager of Sevilla, signing an initial three-year contract.
His first season was much more successful than anticipated as Sevilla claimed a fourth placed finish, 10 points ahead Villareal and lifted his first major honour.
Lopetegui, "Mis resultados en el Sevilla son extraordinarios si te fijas en el 98 por ciento del tiempo, y no en el último dos por ciento. Conseguimos una Europa League y, para mi, los tres cuartos puestos en Liga que nunca se habían conseguido en la historia del Sevilla". pic.twitter.com/C6hPwKzlEJ
— Eterno Capitán, Reyes 10 (@SevillistasU) December 13, 2022
The Covid-19 delayed Europa League final saw Sevilla beat Inter Milan 3-2 in Cologne, returning the trophy to club who had won it three times in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Sevilla finished fourth again in Lopetegui's second season in 2020/21, but despite signing a new two-year extension to his contract in January he was sacked in October after a bad run of results.
Wolves finally get their man
Lopetegui was linked with Wolves back in 2016, before taking the Spain national job.
With Bruno Lage getting the boot from Wolves in October, Lopetegui finally took the Molineux hot seat in November 2022 and won his first match in charge - a Carabao Cup tie over League Two Gillingham.
Lopetegui guided Wolves away from the bottom of the table to a 13th-placed finish. He won nine league games, beating Liverpool and Tottenham at Molineux, as the club finished safely in mid-table to extend their top-flight stay into a sixth season.
But his time at Wolves only lasted nine months, after he reached an "agreement to part ways" with the club on the eve of the 2023/24 Premier League season.
"The head coach and club acknowledged and accepted their differences of opinion on certain issues and agreed that an amicable end to his contract was the best solution for all parties," said a statement from the club.
"Talks have been ongoing in recent weeks, held with the utmost respect and cordiality, affording the club time and space to begin work on finding a successor, while also ensuring that Julen and his backroom staff could continue their planned preparation to ensure the playing squad would be in the best possible condition for the start of the Premier League season."
Flop at West Ham
After a year out of management, Lopetegui was named as the new West Ham head coach on May 23, 2024, replacing David Moyes.
“I feel very happy, first of all, to be able to be part of the future of this big Club,” Lopetegui told West Ham TV.
“We will try to put our stamp on the club.
“I feel that we have a fantastic platform. I think the last few years have been very good years to have this base, of course, but my ambition as a coach is always to be better and better, to achieve more and bigger aims and to encourage and improve the players, the team, and to compete because football is about this – to compete. We are very ambitious about this.”
West Ham technical director Tim Steidten said: “We are very pleased to welcome Julen and his staff to our club.
“He was a stand-out candidate to become our head coach and I am personally delighted that we have chosen to work together.”
But the 58-year-old only lasted six months in charge and was sacked on January 8, 2025, after winning just six Premier League games.
The 4-1 defeat to Manchester City, Lopetegui's last game in charge, was the ninth loss in 20 league games this season and left the club 14th - seven points above the relegation zone.
West Ham said in a statement: "The first half of the 2024/25 season has not aligned with the club's ambitions, and the club has therefore taken action in line with its objectives.
"The board would like to thank Julen and his staff for their hard work during their time with the Hammers and wish them every success for the future."
Personal life
Lopetegui is married to Rosa Maqueda and the couple have three children.
Net worth
Lopetegui's net worth is estimated to be around $45m.
