The Firing of Julen Lopetegui: Brilliant or Brash?

Just hours before the kick off of the World Cup in Russia, one of the favorites to win the tournament have fired their national team head coach. That’s right, Spain have decided to part ways with Julen Lopetegui, in wake of his acceptance of the Real Madrid managerial vacancy, just 48 hours before they play their first game of the tournament.

The Spain soccer association cited that they cannot be left in the dark about the job status of one of their employees, and had no choice but to discipline Lopetegui. Granted, the man should have taken the proper pathways to inform his employers about his decisions, however to replace the coach just days before their first game is bold to say the least. Lopetegui had led Spain to Russia through a fantastic qualification period, and really helped the team grow from strength to strength. Now that he has gone, will Spain still have their mojo? Former Spain and Real Madrid defender Fernando Hierro will take over the national team for the duration of the tournament.

Hierro is a man who knows the players fairly well, having been sporting director for the last few months. A talented player in his day and master tactician both back then, and now, Hierro is a good appointment, especially so last minute. However, have Spain shot themselves in the foot for Russia? They were unquestionably one of the favorites to win the tournament. Led by a brilliant coach and with an exceptional squad, Spain breezed through qualifying, and had a fruitful spell of friendlies including putting 6 past Argentina. Spain really were on target to make up for their woeful 2014 tournament, and maybe even take the crown again. Now, who knows what will happen? Will the players be overwhelmed by the sudden shock to their system? Or will the new coach galvanize the team to rally for success? Only time will tell.

With the tournament kicking off tomorrow, Spain have just 48 hours to figure out how they want to matchup against what will likely be their toughest group stage opponent in Portugal. Despite experiencing their own drama in wake of the capitulation occurring in Lisbon, Portugal will relish the chance to take on their neighbors and bitter rivals given the current situation. A game that was always going to be exciting has just gone through the roof. Ronaldo and his teammates will be doing everything they can to shut Spain down, and they might just be successful. Morocco and Iran, the other members of Group B, will now be hoping that one of the big guns will succumb to the drama in their respective camps, allowing them to fulfill the dream of making it to the knockout stages. The atmosphere in Sochi for the Spain v Portugal match will be electric to say the least, and Group B matches are shaping up to be some of the most intriguing of the tournament.

It’s safe to say that the 2018 World Cup has been unpredictable, exciting, and extraordinarily competitive. And it hasn’t even started yet. The countdown is almost over. Bring on that opening whistle.

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