Julen Lopetegui unveiled as new Wolves manager

Wolverhampton Wanderers have finally found their new head coach. Julen Lopetegui was announced as new boss of the club on Saturday. The 56-year-old coach has experience with Porto, Real Madrid, Sevilla, and the Spain national team manager.

 “Julen is a top coach, with excellent experience at an elite level of the game, and we are very pleased to have agreed a deal to bring him to Wolves,” stated club chairman Jeff Shi.

“Since the very beginning, Julen has been our number one choice to manage Wolves, and we look forward to welcoming him and his team when they join us in the coming weeks.”

Wolves had been without an official head coach for over a month. Bruno Lage was previously dismissed on October 2nd. Steve Davis has filled in as the team’s interim head coach while the club searched for a permanent replacement.

Davis will have to continue his role for a little while longer. Although Lopetegui has been hired, the Spaniard won’t take over at Wolves until November 14th. This means that the new head coach will not be on the sidelines for an official match until after the World Cup break on December 26th.

The West Midlands club has three games scheduled prior to the winter break, including a matchup at home against Brighton on Saturday.

spanish coach has impressive resume

Lopetegui previously worked his way up the ranks as manager of Spain’s youth setups. He recorded an impressive 81% win rate with the Spanish U19, U20, and U21s. His U19 and U21 teams both won European championships while he was in charge.

The Spanish coach also managed the senior Spain squad. Lopetegui never lost a match in the two years with the national team. Despite the impressive record, Spain dismissed their coach after he accepted the Real Madrid job in the summer of 2018. Things did not go as well in Madrid as he was sacked after just 14 games.

Nevertheless, Lopetegui did an excellent job at Sevilla. He managed to win the Europa League in his freshman season with the Rojiblancos. Wolves fans will hope that he can replicate these successes at his new club.

Photo credit: IMAGO / Pressinphoto