Lopetegui: “De la Fuente got this opportunity”

Julen Lopeteguiformer Spanish coach, former coach of real Madrid Y Seville and current technical Wolverhampton Wanderers English, reviewed in an interview with EFE the role played by the Spanish team in Qatar World Cup, supports the assignment of Louis of Origin in exchange Luis Enrique and explains how he tackled the “exciting” challenge of saving under the premier.

LopeteguiWith so much preparation in this kind of preseason for the World Cup break, he hardly watched the games and joked about the bad weather in Malagathat “seems different England”, although he maintains that Spain is in good hands Louis of Origina colleague he thinks is “very prepared”.

He reached the Premier to save a team from relegation. Are you looking for such a challenging challenge?

We face it as a new illusion. It’s been a long time since I opened my eyes to it, but the times didn’t happen and now it’s a coincidence. The project convinced us. Today we need to be aware of poverty; We are late and we must convince the boys, improve the team and achieve survival.

What pieces will work for your outfit? What are the winter market priorities?

We will see. Before we have four games and we have to play those that are there. What matters is who they are. We will try to improve the team within our possibilities and depending on the circumstances and players that appear.

The World Cup, did you follow it? Do you think Luis Enrique is being treated unfairly?

I didn’t watch much of the World Cup. I didn’t see the one from Morocco because it went along with the training session and I only saw a summary. The choice effect we all know what it is. A lot of enthusiasm was felt and in the end, it was normal for this feeling of disappointment to be conveyed through the media. I think they did a great job, but a World Cup is that complicated. The great equality that exists, where any detail drives you home, shows you that football is the only sport where superiority can be defeated. I’m sorry for the omission, but that’s not why everything was so bad.

The arrival of Luis de la Fuente… do you think he is the ideal coach?

He is very well prepared, he has been working in the Federation for many years and knows very well all the footballers who have made the step from the lower ranks to the senior team. This is very important. In addition to being a great person, he is a great coach and he earned this opportunity. His fate will be with everyone.

Has the touch game, the tiki-taka typical of Spain, died as the best way to win?

Frankly, this is an empty debate. Those who started the debate are no longer developing it. Soccer has many sides. When a team is behind you, one of the ways to attack them is by having the ball and knowing how to use it. Spain also went vertical in many games. Sometimes rivals play too and you have to come up with offensive solutions. Difficult for all teams. Look at Germany, Portugal, Brazil, they are gone. Every coach who was in the national team, and also Luis Enrique, tried to be as complete as possible in all aspects of the game. Another thing is the qualities of your players: we have to see if there are players with that quality in attack in Spain or not.

Are there young players you can trust to be decisive? Are there references for a future Spanish champion?

Spain always has very high football talent, but they always forget to see the reality of world football. It is not yet fully accepted that there used to be six or seven countries and now there are 20 with footballers in all the most important categories in the world. That equality, in a short competition like the World Cup, is more complicated. In the regular league, we all know who will be first or second, but it’s different here.

In Seville he achieved a lot, but his cycle ended due to poor results. What didn’t make it to that goodbye?

My results in Sevilla are extraordinary if you look at 98 percent of the time, and not the last two percent. We got the Europa League and, for me, on top of that are the three fourth places in the Liga that have never been achieved in the history of Sevilla. That’s the memory I have, in addition to the whole city, its people, the players. I keep 98 percent of the time I spent in Seville.

Back in England… he will wait to find out if it is true that the Premier is “the best league in the world”.

It’s an exciting league, very attractive. At the level of internal organization it is extraordinary. The economic capacity of the teams also makes them 20 highly valued places for coaches. It’s a fantastic challenge and an honor to be able to work for Wolves, a club with a very clear identity in England. We will try to get him out of there.

Now, in Wolverhampton, what was found and what is the project?

I found a club with a very good structure. With significant agility and a city that is all Wolves, very dedicated. With the flavor that our stadium and the sports city have. In that aspect we are pleased and look forward to the official competition starting on the 20th in the Carabao Cup against Gillingham and the following against Everton, already in the Premier League.

English football never stops acquiring talent. Jude Bellingham is on everyone’s lips. Which player from the English team would you sign for your team? And from the Spaniard… will he take Isco?

That is a utopia (laughs). In the English team everyone will have the capacity to be in my team, so any player. Isco? I will not go into the analysis of that correct name, because now those who are interested in me are mine. In the open market, we find the best options.