Julen Lopetegui reflects on his Real Madrid dismissal: ‘I had the dressing room’s confidence’ | OneFootball

Few managerial careers have taken a turn as dramatic as Julen Lopetegui’s in the summer of 2018.

One moment, he was leading Spain into the World Cup as one of the tournament favourites. Days later, he was out of a job before a single ball had been kicked. 

Then came the opportunity to manage Real Madrid, a dream appointment that ultimately lasted just four months.

Now, eight years later, Lopetegui has reflected on one of the most turbulent periods of his career, insisting that circumstances beyond football played a major role in how events unfolded.

A trip down the memory lane

By the time Spain arrived in Russia for the 2018 World Cup, optimism around the national team was growing.

Lopetegui had overseen an impressive rebuilding process, guiding Spain through qualification without defeat and restoring confidence after a difficult period following the country’s golden generation.

Looking back on that time in an interview with El Mundo, the current Qatar manager believes the team were in an excellent position heading into the tournament.

“A sabbatical wasn’t part of my plans (laughs). That’s how I see it, and I’ve tried to explain it before. 

“I was coming off two wonderful years with the national team, with extraordinary results, beating most of the big sides and playing very well. 

Julen Lopetegui never got the chance to manage the Spanish team at the World Cup. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

“We managed to win over a group of players again, because when we arrived, the style was being questioned, but we went into the tournament in top form. 

“We were very well prepared, but due to the circumstances we all know about, we had to leave. It wasn’t up to us and it wasn’t down to football.”

Spain’s decision to dismiss Lopetegui after it emerged that he had agreed to become Real Madrid manager remains one of the most controversial moments in the country’s recent football history.

For the coach himself, it is clearly an episode that still lingers years later.

Lopetegui feels he never got a fair chance

Following his departure from Spain, Lopetegui immediately turned his attention to Real Madrid.

It was one of the most challenging moments imaginable to take charge of the club. 

Cristiano Ronaldo had left for Juventus, several key players returned late after deep World Cup runs and expectations remained as high as ever.

The Spaniard believes those circumstances made the job far more difficult than many appreciated at the time.

“From there, the challenge at Madrid began. The start was a challenge because many players were at the World Cup, their return was delayed, and it was the year Cristiano left. 

Real Madrid dismissed Lopetegui after just 14 matches. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

“It wasn’t easy for many reasons. Despite that, we started well. I had the dressing room’s confidence and we were on the right track, building something.”

Despite a promising start, the situation quickly unravelled. A poor run of results led to mounting pressure and eventually his dismissal in October after just 14 matches in charge.

Reflecting on the difficult run that ultimately cost him his position, he explained,

“And we had two weeks where everything that could go wrong went wrong. Football has those moments. 

“An own goal in Moscow, Isco’s appendicitis… And we fell seven points behind Barça and I left the team in October.”

The former Real Madrid coach then pointed to what happened after his departure as evidence that the problems ran deeper than many initially thought.

“I think the impact of the World Cup was starting to fade. Modric, for example, came back tired from the tournament 

“We would have liked to have seen that through. We were seven points behind Barça and then the team finished more than 20 points adrift and were knocked out by Ajax in the Champions League,” he concluded.