On Julen Lopetegui’s personal website, a section entitled ‘Competitive Personality’ outlines the five pillars of the new West Ham United head coach’s philosophy.
The pillars form the basis of Lopetgui’s approach to his work, on and off the pitch, with an underlying theme of adaptability, hard work and willingness to learn from experiences and implement new approaches as the game continues to evolve.
The Spaniard describes football as ‘a living thing’ which has developed in different ways in his 20 years as a coach, whether that be by the introduction of technologies, the increased pressure on players and coaches, the resulting need for individual management, or the ever-growing relationship between the game, the media and supporters.
Lopetegui’s five pillars have provided the foundations on which he has built an impressive career that includes international caps and trophies as a player, international and European trophies, individual awards and victories in well over half of his 400-plus matches as a head coach.
In one of the five, ‘Playing Style’, the head coach writes ‘I aspire for my team to have a defined personality’, and about how performing well in four phases of the game – attack, attack-defence transition, defence and defence-attack transition – are key.
So what does Lopetegui mean by ‘a defined personality’?
“You ask me about what my idea is about football and always my answer is the same – I want it all as coach,” he told West Ham TV. “It’s not easy to achieve, but that’s why it’s a fantastic aim for us, because it makes us always want to try to improve.
“We are going to try to attack well, to defend well, to have a big commitment between us in helping with the team, thinking that all the quality and ability is in our team, and always trying to convince all the players that the better the team, the better the players.
“So, we are going to learn more between us, step by step. If you want to say it all in one day, it’s very difficult!”
At his previous clubs, and with the senior and age-group Spanish national teams, Lopetegui clearly convinced his players that his pillars would build successful teams – and they did.
The head coach is an advocate for possession-based football, but at the same time states ‘there are many other ways to win’, while his teams have also been synonymous with strong defence.
On his website, he writes that ‘we need to have a handle on all the concepts of the game, both offensive and defensive… to have a defined personality and clear tactics so that during the game we know how to come up with the best solutions’.
Lopetegui wants his players to go onto the pitch with clarity of thought as to their gameplan, but also, it is put to him, with the flexibility to alter that gameplan if necessary?
“I don’t know if the word is flexible, but each match is against a different opponent,” he continued. “We try to have our style there always, but in the same way each match has one key point which we have to understand and work in this area and we can change little things.
“The most important thing is your style and that your feeling as a team is always the same. After that, you can change from one match to the next depending on the opponent, but our style and to be natural in all the matches, we are going to try and do this for sure.”
Of course, implementing a philosophy and preparing players to think in the same way as their head coach takes time, which is why Lopetegui is relishing the opportunity to work with his players in pre-season, when they can work not only on building fitness, but on learning the way the former Sevilla and Spain head coach wants them to play, with and without the ball.
After working at Rush Green early in the summer, the Hammers will head to the United States, where they will take on Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers – where Lopetegui successfully implemented his philosophy in 2022/23 – and Crystal Palace on The Sunshine State Tour of Florida.
The Spaniard, his staff and players will then return to east London and, on the weekend of 17/18 August, kick off their 2024/25 Premier League campaign. Between now and then, the head coach is excited by what can be achieved.
“We try to take advantage of this time,” he confirmed. “For me it's important, this time. I think that to be here for this time is good for us, good for the team and good for the Club. I think it is good for all of us to prepare in the best way. First of all, the pre-season is a key moment for us and, of course, we're going to try to take advantage of this time. And after, of course to have more information to talk these things through.
“Always in pre-season the aim is to achieve your best level physically and tactically and to know all the details that we will translate to the team. And, of course, these kinds of matches help you to put the points across. Obviously, it is going to be important to have demanding matches in the pre-season to achieve these levels.”
