The Beginning Of A New End: Julen Lopetegui Argote

Julen Lopetegui Argote


Birthdate: august 28, 1966 (51 years old) in Asteasu (Spain, Basque Country).
Height: 187 cm (6 ft 2 in).
Playing position before becoming coach: Goalkeeper.​

_______________________________________________​

Playing career

Born in Asteasu, Gipuzkoa, Lopetegui started his professional career at local Real Sociedad, where he was barred by legendary Luis Arconada. In 1985, he accepted an offer from Real Madrid, which immediately incorporated the 19-year-old to its B-team.

After a loan spell at UD Las Palmas Lopetegui returned, but could never dislodge another veteran, Francisco Buyo, only managing one La Liga appearance during two seasons, a 3–3 away draw against Atlético Madrid as Real was already crowned league champions. He subsequently signed with CD Logroñés, being instrumental as the modest Riojan club consistently managed to retain its top flight status.

Lopetegui's stellar performances at Logroñés earned him his sole cap with Spain, coming on as a substitute for Andoni Zubizarreta for the final 30 minutes of a 0–2 friendly loss with Croatia in Valencia, on 23 March 1994. He was subsequently picked for the squad at that year's FIFA World Cup.

As Zubizarreta left for Valencia CF, Lopetegui joined FC Barcelona, battling – and losing – for first-choice status with longtime understudy Carles Busquets. After the Catalans bought FC Porto's Vítor Baía he was further demoted to third-string, and returned to Madrid with Rayo Vallecano, being a starter in two of his five seasons (although he still managed 36 league appearances from 1999 to 2002, with Rayo always in the top division, as he retired subsequently).

Coaching career

In 2003, Lopetegui was one of Spain coach Juan Santisteban's assistants at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship. After the tournament, he had his first head coaching spell at Rayo, with the club in the second level, being sacked after the tenth match of the 2003–04 campaign, which ended in relegation to division three; after working as a sports commentator, including for laSexta in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he returned to coaching, with a side he represented in the 1980s, Real Madrid Castilla, now in the third tier.
From 2010 to 2014, Lopetegui worked with the Spanish youth teams, winning the 2012 European Under-19 Championship and the 2013 Under-21 Championship. He left the Royal Spanish Football Federation on 30 April 2014, following the expiration of his contract.

Lopetegui returned to club duties on 6 May 2014, being appointed at Portugal's FC Porto. He signed seven Spanish players to the club that summer.

In his first season at the Estádio do Dragão, with the club's biggest budget ever, Lopetegui led them to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, where they equalized the club's biggest defeat in European competitions (6–1 against AEK Athens FC) and suffered their biggest defeat in the competition (6–1 against FC Bayern Munich). He failed to conquer any silverware, contributing to the biggest hiatus during Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa's presidency.

On 8 January 2016, after a 1–3 home loss to C.S. Marítimo in the Taça da Liga, as Porto had already been eliminated from the Champions League and was ranked third in the domestic league after an away loss and a home draw, Lopetegui was relieved of his duties, being replaced by Rui Barros. One week later, the club announced that it had terminated the former's contract unilaterally.

On 21 July 2016, after being strongly linked to English side Wolverhampton Wanderers which had fallen under new ownership, Lopetegui was announced as the new manager of the Spain national team following Vicente del Bosque's retirement. In his first match in charge, on 1 September, he led them to a 2–0 friendly victory over Belgium at the King Baudouin Stadium.

On 12 June 2018, it was announced that he would take over as the head coach of Real Madrid for the 2018.

(Description, and biography from Wikipedia)

_______________________________________________​

Links for more information

TransferMarkt: https://www.transfermarkt.com/julen-lopetegui/profil/trainer/6615
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julen_Lopetegui
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/julenlopetegui

_______________________________________________​

Statistics

Code:

Player career

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Years         Club                League Appearances

1985-1988     Castilla                    61
1988-1991     Real Madrid                  1
1988-1989     Last Palmas (Loan)          31
1991-1994     Logroñés                   107
1994-1997     Barcelona                    5
1997-2002     Rayo Vallecano             112

​

 

Thanks guys. A bit in a hurry, so I made some mistakes.

I'll update the OP with more details, and images.