Julen Lopetegui

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Lopetegui and the second or maternal family name is Argote.
Julen Lopetegui

Lopetegui with Porto in 2014
Personal information
Full name Julen Lopetegui Argote
Date of birth (1966-08-28) 28 August 1966
Place of birth Asteasu, Spain
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Spain (manager)
Youth career
Real Sociedad
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1988 Castilla 61 (0)
1988–1991 Real Madrid 1 (0)
1988–1989 → Las Palmas (loan) 31 (0)
1991–1994 Logroñés 107 (0)
1994–1997 Barcelona 5 (0)
1997–2002 Rayo Vallecano 112 (0)
Total 317 (0)
National team
1985 Spain U21 1 (0)
1994 Spain 1 (0)
Teams managed
2003 Spain U17 (assistant)
2003 Rayo Vallecano
2008–2009 Real Madrid B
2010–2013 Spain U19
2010–2013 Spain U20
2012–2014 Spain U21
2014–2016 Porto
2016– Spain

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Julen Lopetegui Argote (born 28 August 1966) is a former Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and the current manager of the Spain national team.

He played 149 games in La Liga over 11 seasons, appearing in the competition for Real Madrid, Logroñés, Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano. He added 168 matches in Segunda División, with three clubs, and represented Spain at the 1994 World Cup.

Lopetegui started working as a manager in 2003, and spent several years in charge of Spain's youth teams. He led the under-19 and under-21 sides to European titles.

Playing career

Born in Asteasu, Gipuzkoa, Lopetegui started his professional career at local Real Sociedad, where he was barred by legendary Luis Arconada. In 1985, he accepted an offer from Real Madrid, which immediately incorporated the 19-year-old to its B-team.

After a loan spell at UD Las Palmas Lopetegui returned, but could never dislodge another veteran, Francisco Buyo, only managing one La Liga appearance during two seasons, a 3–3 away draw against Atlético Madrid as Real was already crowned league champions.[1] He subsequently signed with CD Logroñés, being instrumental as the modest Riojan club consistently managed to retain its top flight status.[2][3][4]

Lopetegui's stellar performances at Logroñés earned him his sole cap with Spain, coming on as a substitute for Andoni Zubizarreta for the final 30 minutes of a 0–2 friendly loss with Croatia in Valencia, on 23 March 1994.[5] He was subsequently picked for the squad at that year's FIFA World Cup.

As Zubizarreta left for Valencia CF, Lopetegui joined FC Barcelona,[6] battling – and losing – for first-choice status with longtime understudy Carles Busquets.[7] After the Catalans bought FC Porto's Vítor Baía he was further demoted to third-string, and returned to Madrid with Rayo Vallecano, being a starter in two of his five seasons (although he still managed 36 league appearances from 1999 to 2002, with Rayo always in the top division, as he retired subsequently).

Managerial career

Lopetegui as manager of Porto in September 2014

In 2003, Lopetegui was one of Spain coach Juan Santisteban's assistants at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[8] After the tournament, he had his first head coaching spell at Rayo, with the club in the second level, being sacked after the tenth match of the 2003–04 campaign,[9] which ended in relegation to division three; after working as a sports commentator, including for laSexta in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he returned to coaching, with a side he represented in the 1980s, Real Madrid Castilla, now in the third tier.[10]

From 2010 to 2014, Lopetegui worked with the Spanish youth teams, winning the 2012 European Under-19 Championship[11] and the 2013 Under-21 Championship.[12] He left the Royal Spanish Football Federation on 30 April 2014, following the expiration of his contract.[13]

Lopetegui returned to club duties on 6 May 2014, being appointed at Portugal's FC Porto.[14] He signed seven Spanish players to the club that summer.[15]

In his first season at the Estádio do Dragão, with the club's biggest budget ever,[16] Lopetegui led them to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, where they equalized the club's biggest defeat in European competitions (6–1 against AEK Athens FC) and suffered their biggest defeat in the competition (6–1 against FC Bayern Munich).[17] He failed to conquer any silverware, contributing to the biggest hiatus (two years) during Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa's presidency.[18]

On 8 January 2016, after a 1–3 home loss to C.S. Marítimo in the Taça da Liga,[19] as Porto had already been eliminated from the Champions League and was ranked third in the domestic league after an away loss and a home draw, Lopetegui was relieved of his duties, being replaced by Rui Barros.[20] One week later, the club announced that it had terminated the former's contract unilaterally.[21]

On 21 July 2016, after being strongly linked to English side Wolverhampton Wanderers which had fallen under new ownership,[22] Lopetegui was announced as the new manager of the Spain national team following Vicente del Bosque's retirement.[23][24] In his first match in charge, on 1 September, he led them to a 2–0 friendly victory over Belgium at the King Baudouin Stadium.[25]

Honours

Player

Real Madrid
Barcelona
Spain U20

Manager

Spain U19
Spain U21

Managerial statistics

As of 15 November 2016[30][31]
Team From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Rayo Vallecano 2003 2003 11 2 2 7 10 17 −7 18.18
Real Madrid B 2008 2009 38 18 9 11 60 45 +15 47.37
Spain Spain U19 2010 2013 11 8 3 0 29 9 +20 72.73
Spain Spain U20 2010 2013 10 7 2 1 22 8 +14 70.00
Spain Spain U21 2012 2014 11 11 0 0 34 7 +27 100.000
Porto 2014 2016 77 53 15 9 157 52 +105 68.83
Spain Spain 2016 Present 6 4 2 0 19 3 +16 66.67
Career totals 165 103 34 28 333 144 +189 62.42

References

  1. ↑ "Toda la suerte de un campeón" [Champion's luck]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 29 April 1990. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "El Logroñés confirma su salvación a costa del Cádiz" [Logroñés confirms survival at the expense of Cádiz]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 21 June 1993. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "Oxígeno para el Logroñés" [Oxygen for Logroñés]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 4 April 1994. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Salenko hizo historia con dos goles" [Salenko made history with two goals]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 16 May 1994. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Baño croata en la noche de Valencia" [Croatian steamroll in Valencia night]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 24 March 1994. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Andoni y Julen, juntos" [Andoni and Julen, together]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 24 May 1994. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "No me doy por derrotado" [I will not surrender]. El País (in Spanish). 8 February 1995. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Spain earn fulsome praise". UEFA.com. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Julen Lopetegui fue destituido" [Julen Lopetegui was sacked]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 2 November 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "Lopetegui, nuevo técnico del Castilla" [Lopetegui, new Castilla manager]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 11 June 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "España sigue haciendo historia" [Spain still making history] (in Spanish). UEFA.com. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Thiago treble helps Spain retain Under-21 crown". UEFA.com. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "Lopetegui abandona el cargo de seleccionador Sub-21" [Lopetegui leaves Under-21 manager position] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "Lopetegui signs as new Porto manager". Marca. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  15. ↑ "City sign Mangala, Porto turn to Marcano". UEFA.com. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  16. ↑ "O maior teste do "formador" Lopetegui" [The biggest test of "former" Lopetegui]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 26 April 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "FC Porto iguala a pior derrota europeia da sua história" [FC Porto equals worst European defeat in its history] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  18. ↑ "O maior jejum da era Pinto da Costa" [The biggest fasting in Pinto da Costa era]. Record (in Portuguese). 17 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  19. ↑ "Marítimo vence no Dragão e Lopetegui vê lenços brancos" [Marítimo wins at the Dragão and Lopetegui sees white cloth]. Rádio Renascença (in Portuguese). 29 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  20. ↑ "Comunicado da FC Porto – Futebol, SAD" [FC Porto – Football, PLSC announcement] (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  21. ↑ "Rescisão unilateral com Lopetegui" [Unilateral rescision with Lopetegui]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 15 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "Julen Lopetegui: I'd be Wolves boss now if it wasn't for Spain". Express & Star. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  23. ↑ "Spain appoint Julen Lopetegui new coach to replace Vicente del Bosque". The Guardian. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  24. ↑ "Julen Lopetegui appointed Spain's new manager". Agence France-Presse. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "Belgium beaten 2–0 by Spain in Roberto Martínez's first match in charge". The Guardian. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  26. ↑ "1996/97: Ronaldo spot on for Barça". UEFA.com. 14 May 1997. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  27. ↑ "Barça de titanes" [Titanic Barça]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 29 June 1997. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  28. ↑ "El Barça paga un precio muy alto" [Barça pays a heavy price]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 31 August 1994. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  29. ↑ "Título con súper-susto" [Title with mega-scare]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 29 August 1996. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  30. ↑ "Julen Lopetegui". Zerozero. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  31. ↑ Julen Lopetegui manager stats at ForaDeJogo
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