After a topsy-turvy 2018, former Spain and Real Madrid head coach Julen Lopetegui has found a new home.

The 52-year-old head man inked a deal to become Sevilla FC’s manager next season.

The deal, in fact, will keep the Basque coach in Sevilla until the summer of 2022.

Lopetegui will get back on his feet with a team that finished in 6th place in La Liga last season, qualifying for a UEFA Europa League berth. Sevilla, one of the biggest teams in Spain, will look to win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League next season.

2018 was an extremely strange year for the coach, who started it off preparing to be the Spanish National Team’s Head Coach for the 2018 World Cup.

However, after agreeing to a deal to become Real Madrid’s coach just before the tournament, he was asked to leave the national team.

Things didn’t go well for him in Madrid, as he was sacked in October after a disappointing start to the year. It wasn’t the way he envisioned his exit from one of the most enticing international jobs on Earth going.

Now, Lopetegui will have the opportunity to coach Sevilla and re-establish both his name and reputation in the coaching world. If all goes well, he could find himself back in the conversation as one of the best coaches on the planet.

The post Former Real Madrid, Spain Coach Julen Lopetegui Signs for Sevilla appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The fact that Julen Lopetegui was undefeated while coaching Spain men’s national soccer team or that he was at the helm of La Liga giants Real Madrid wasn’t enough to convince the US Soccer Federation to consider him to take the vacant manager’s role with USMNT.

Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl reported that Lopetegui expressed interest in coaching the United States men’s national soccer team, but his approach was rejected. According to sources close to the team, the US Soccer’s reason was that they were “too far along in the process.”

The USMNT is without a permanent head coach since October 2017, when Bruce Arena stepped down after failing to qualify for World Cup. Arena’s former assistant Dave Sarachan is currently USMNT’s interim head coach.

US Soccer’s decision not to give Julen Lopetegui an opportunity to interview for the job is really odd considering his previous success. He coached both Spain U19 and Spain U21 team to European Championship in consecutive years and had a solid run with one of the most successful clubs in Portugal, FC Porto. Lopetegui took a head coaching job with Spain’s senior team in 2016 and went on 20-games undefeated run during which he won 14 games and had six draws.

Lopetegui was then appointed as manager of Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, but he couldn’t continue his successful run there and was sacked after coaching the team for only 14 games.

Julen Lopetegui’s unfortunate stint with Real doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the top managers available on the market and even if he wasn’t good enough for USMNT, there is no doubt that he will soon land another high-profile job.
US Soccer, on the other hand, continues their long search for a managerial solution, and it seems like they won’t wrap it up anytime soon.

The post Julen Lopetegui Was Interested in Coaching USMNT but Got Turned Down appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Julen Lopetegui took over Real Madrid only a few months ago, but he might not stick for much longer in Spain’s capital. According to Corriere dello Sport, Real’s president Florentino Perez is already looking for Lopetegui’s replacement after series of bad results, with former Juventus and Chelsea boss Antonio Conte being his primary target.

Sources close to Real reported that Perez already talked with Conte over the phone to check out his availability and that the 49-year-old manager is more than ready to come to Madrid.

Real Madrid has been struggling under Julen Lopetegui recently, with the team suffering three defeats and having one draw in the last four games while failing to score a single goal. What makes things worse for Lopetegui is that the two latest losses came in matches where Real was an overwhelming favorite. Corriere dello Sport reports that Lopetegui’s faith will be decided by the outcome of the next three games, with last of them being El Clasico against Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Antonio Conte was dismissed by Chelsea in July 2018 despite leading the team to English Premier League title in 2017 and FA Cup in 2018. Before coming to England, Conte successfully coached Bari and Juventus as well as Italy’s national team.

The post Real Madrid Reportedly Looking to Replace Coach Julen Lopetegui with Antonio Conte appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After a topsy-turvy 2018, former Spain and Real Madrid head coach Julen Lopetegui has found a new home.

The 52-year-old head man inked a deal to become Sevilla FC’s manager next season.

The deal, in fact, will keep the Basque coach in Sevilla until the summer of 2022.

Lopetegui will get back on his feet with a team that finished in 6th place in La Liga last season, qualifying for a UEFA Europa League berth. Sevilla, one of the biggest teams in Spain, will look to win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League next season.

2018 was an extremely strange year for the coach, who started it off preparing to be the Spanish National Team’s Head Coach for the 2018 World Cup.

However, after agreeing to a deal to become Real Madrid’s coach just before the tournament, he was asked to leave the national team.

Things didn’t go well for him in Madrid, as he was sacked in October after a disappointing start to the year. It wasn’t the way he envisioned his exit from one of the most enticing international jobs on Earth going.

Now, Lopetegui will have the opportunity to coach Sevilla and re-establish both his name and reputation in the coaching world. If all goes well, he could find himself back in the conversation as one of the best coaches on the planet.

The post Former Real Madrid, Spain Coach Julen Lopetegui Signs for Sevilla appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The fact that Julen Lopetegui was undefeated while coaching Spain men’s national soccer team or that he was at the helm of La Liga giants Real Madrid wasn’t enough to convince the US Soccer Federation to consider him to take the vacant manager’s role with USMNT.

Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl reported that Lopetegui expressed interest in coaching the United States men’s national soccer team, but his approach was rejected. According to sources close to the team, the US Soccer’s reason was that they were “too far along in the process.”

The USMNT is without a permanent head coach since October 2017, when Bruce Arena stepped down after failing to qualify for World Cup. Arena’s former assistant Dave Sarachan is currently USMNT’s interim head coach.

US Soccer’s decision not to give Julen Lopetegui an opportunity to interview for the job is really odd considering his previous success. He coached both Spain U19 and Spain U21 team to European Championship in consecutive years and had a solid run with one of the most successful clubs in Portugal, FC Porto. Lopetegui took a head coaching job with Spain’s senior team in 2016 and went on 20-games undefeated run during which he won 14 games and had six draws.

Lopetegui was then appointed as manager of Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, but he couldn’t continue his successful run there and was sacked after coaching the team for only 14 games.

Julen Lopetegui’s unfortunate stint with Real doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the top managers available on the market and even if he wasn’t good enough for USMNT, there is no doubt that he will soon land another high-profile job.
US Soccer, on the other hand, continues their long search for a managerial solution, and it seems like they won’t wrap it up anytime soon.

The post Julen Lopetegui Was Interested in Coaching USMNT but Got Turned Down appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Julen Lopetegui took over Real Madrid only a few months ago, but he might not stick for much longer in Spain’s capital. According to Corriere dello Sport, Real’s president Florentino Perez is already looking for Lopetegui’s replacement after series of bad results, with former Juventus and Chelsea boss Antonio Conte being his primary target.

Sources close to Real reported that Perez already talked with Conte over the phone to check out his availability and that the 49-year-old manager is more than ready to come to Madrid.

Real Madrid has been struggling under Julen Lopetegui recently, with the team suffering three defeats and having one draw in the last four games while failing to score a single goal. What makes things worse for Lopetegui is that the two latest losses came in matches where Real was an overwhelming favorite. Corriere dello Sport reports that Lopetegui’s faith will be decided by the outcome of the next three games, with last of them being El Clasico against Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Antonio Conte was dismissed by Chelsea in July 2018 despite leading the team to English Premier League title in 2017 and FA Cup in 2018. Before coming to England, Conte successfully coached Bari and Juventus as well as Italy’s national team.

The post Real Madrid Reportedly Looking to Replace Coach Julen Lopetegui with Antonio Conte appeared first on SportzBonanza.