The agent of Julen Lopetegui has denied reports suggesting the former Real Madrid manager offered to become the new United States head coach.
Lopetegui, 52, is presently unemployed following his brief spell in charge of the 13-time European champions.
The rise and fall of Lopetegui. Five things you need to know…
- Lopetegui guided Spain’s U19 (2012) and U21 (2013) sides to European glory before joining FC Porto in 2014.
- He’d last a season and a half in the job before a poor run of performances saw his exit in January 2016.
- A few months later Lopetegui was named as Spain’s national team boss succeeding their World Cup-winning manager Vicente del Bosque.
- On the eve of the 2018 finals in Russia he’d suddenly stepped down after being approached from Real Madrid.
- Lopetegui took over from Zinedine Zidane but would last 14 matches before his contract was terminated.
His name was recently linked with the vacant United States manager’s job which is temporarily being filled by Dave Sarachan.
A report suggested the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) had turned him down something Lopetegui’s agent Carlos Bucero says is wrong.
“That is not correct,” he said (via ESPN).
“Julen has not offered his services for any position. It has only been a few days since his exit from Real Madrid and now is the time to recover, rest and later study new objectives.”
Where did it all go wrong?
Lopetegui’s bombshell days before Spain played their opening 2018 World Cup fixture against Iberian rivals and European champions Portugal shook Spanish football to the core.
He was seen as betraying the national team and in the process losing a lot of goodwill. However, from a purely selfish point of view, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the club’s former goalkeeper.
Lopetegui, though, had big shoes to fill. He was stepping in after Zinedine Zidane, on his own terms, left after guiding Los Blancos to three consecutive Champions League triumphs. The prospect was made even more daunting as Real’s record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus ultimately citing a breakdown in relationship with club president Florentino Perez being the motivating factor.
The odds were seemingly stacked against Lopetegui, more so after Real’s beating at the hands of city rivals Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, but their 2018/19 campaign started on the right footing.
Real would secure five victories from their opening six outings, across La Liga and Champions League, before the problems began. A five-match winless run, with four of those ending in defeat, increased the pressure on Lopetegui’s shoulders. A narrow 2-1 victory over FC Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League didn’t bring any respite as they’d be humbled 5-1 by Barcelona a few days later which proved to be his final act as Real manager.
QUIZ: Can you name the Real Madrid managers under Perez?
Lopetegui isn’t alone. He’s not the first and nor will be the last Real Madrid manager to be hired and let go by Florentino Perez.
With that being said, do you know every Real boss to work under Perez? Let us know how you got on below in the comments or through Twitter (@Squawka).
The post Julen Lopetegui’s agent denies offer to take over USA national team appeared first on Squawka News.
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