On July 21, 2016, five years ago today, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as the new Spanish coach to replace Vicente del Bosque. In this way, the Gipuzkoan coach, at 49 years old, assumed the direction of the senior team after his prolific time in different categories of the national team, in which he won the European Under-19 in 2012 and the Under-21 category in 2013. As a club coach, he had been in charge of Rayo Vallecano (2003-04), Real Madrid Castilla (2008-09) and Porto (2014-January 2015).
Del Bosque, who had taken the reins of La Roja on July 17, 2008, closed his stage after being eliminated in the round of 16 of the European Championship in France against Italy. He was leaving office, yes, with a spectacular background having won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the Euro Cup in Poland and Ukraine 2012.
Lopetegui led the national team during the qualifying phase for the World Cup in Russia. A journey of almost two years, a period in which he led the national team in 20 games, including friendlies, in which the Asteasu coach did not know defeat (14 wins and 6 draws, with 61 goals in favor and 13 against) .
In May 2018, the RFEF renewed the coach's contract until Euro 2020, but in the absence of two days before the start of the World Cup, the debut against Portugal, in full concentration in Krasnodar, Real Madrid announced his signing to occupy the white bench, which led to his dismissal as Spanish coach for having negotiated his contract with the white club without Luis Rubiales, president of the RFEF, having proof of it. Lopetegui was replaced by Fernando Hierro, the sporting director of the RFEF, who made a technical tandem with Albert Celades.
Lopetegui would fail as a Madrid coach, as he was dismissed from his position after having led the team in 14 games, in which he only achieved 6 victories. The Red did not do much better in the World Cup in Russia, as they were eliminated in the round of 16 against the hosts in the penalty shootout after not going beyond the draw (1-1) neither in regular time nor in extra time.