West Ham United unveiled Julen Lopetegui as the Club’s new Head Coach on Thursday, as the 57-year-old becomes the 18th man in Hammers history to hold the position as men’s first-team boss. Here’s everything you need to know about the new man in charge...
1. He was a goalkeeper as a player
Lopetegui’s playing career was spent between the sticks in his home country of Spain. He represented both of the country’s behemoth clubs – Real Madrid and Barcelona – during that time, winning a La Liga title with the former and two Supercopas de España with the latter. Most of his playing time came away from the Camp Nou and Santiago Bernabéu, however, during productive spells with Logroñés and Rayo Vallecano. He played an instrumental role in Riojan club Logroñés retaining their top-flight status in the early 1990s, before helping Vallecano win promotion to the top flight in the latter stages of his career.
2. He cut his managerial teeth with Vallecano
Having earned that promotion with Rayo Vallecano – in a play-off victory over Extremadura – he subsequently played second-fiddle to future Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham goalkeeper Kasey Keller, and then moved into management with the Madrid-based side in 2003. That first venture as a Head Coach was only to last eleven games, but set him on a road to glory both on the international and domestic scenes.
3. He was a double European champion with Spain’s development teams
After a spell in charge of the B side of another of his former teams – Real Madrid – Lopetegui took up a position with the Spanish FA in charge of the national team’s development sides. It was a period of great achievement too, as just two years after his appointment, he lifted his first piece of silverware as a manager, with the U19 side winning the 2012 UEFA U19 European Championship. His young charges won the tournament without losing a game, with the likes of Gerard Deulofeu and Jesé starring in Estonia. Then, the following year, he repeated the feat with the U21 side. Again, they went undefeated in the finals tournament – this time in Israel – with Álvaro Morata’s four goals propelling his team to the title.
4. He returned to club management with Porto
After that vastly successful time with the Spanish national team set-up, he returned to club management with Portuguese giants Porto, and lost only three league games during 18 months in the hot seat. The highlight of his time at the Estádio do Dragão was the team’s run to the quarter-finals of the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League, which saw them breeze through a group containing Athletic Bilbao and Shakhtar Donetsk, and thump Basel 5-1 on aggregate in the round of 16, before Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich proved too strong in the last eight.
5. Sevilla’s golden Europa League period continued under him
Lopetegui followed his time in Portugal with a period in charge of the Spanish senior men’s national team, then returned to the club scene with Real Madrid and serial UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla. Lopetegui won the club’s fourth continental title in six years in 2019/20, as the Rojiblancos embarked on a terrific run, seeing off Roma, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United en route to a final against Inter Milan in Cologne. There, a Luuk de Jong brace and Romelu Lukaku’s own goal gave the Spaniards a thrilling 3-2 win and their sixth Europa League crown.
6. Wolves eventually landed their man
Lopetegui then took his considerable skills to the Premier League as Wolverhampton Wanderers finally landed their man in November 2022 – six years after initially being linked with the Molineux job. He wasted little time in showing why they had held such longstanding interest in his services, as he led the Old Gold away from relegation danger. He took over the reins in the Black Country with the club bottom of the pile, but come the season’s end they were well clear of danger – and ahead of the Hammers – in 13th place. Thirty-one of Wolves’ 41 Premier League points in 2022/23 came after Lopetegui’s appointment – with the Spaniard taking only 23 league matches to turn their fortunes around.
7. He won two of his three career meetings with the Hammers
Julen has sat in the opposition dugout to West Ham United three times in his career – winning two of those historical meetings. The most recent came in January 2023, when Daniel Podence’s second-half goal gave Wolves a vital 1-0 victory over the Irons at Molineux – a result which accelerated the Midlanders’ climb away from relegation danger and made clear he had already made an impression at his new club. The first meeting was the 1-0 victory Sevilla enjoyed in the first leg of our 2021/22 UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie at Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, before the Irons unforgettably triumphed 2-0 after extra-time the following week in east London. However, had Youssef En-Nesyri converted a first-half chance, forcing an exceptional save from Alphonse Areola, Lopetegui’s record against the east Londoners could even have remained unblemished.
8. He is one of a group of Basque coaches operating at the highest level
Hailing from the tiny town of Asteasu in the autonomous Basque Country region in northern Spain, Lopetegui is one of a number of coaches from the area making a splash in the Premier League. Remarkably, Mikel Arteta of Arsenal, Aston Villa’s Unai Emery and AFC Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola all hail from the province of two million people. When you add in Xabi Alonso’s achievements this term at Bayer Leverkusen, it is fair to say the Basque Country is truly a hotbed of elite coaching talent in the modern era.
