Madrid: As expected Julen Lopetegui was sacked Monday as Real Madrid head coach just three months into his first season in charge following a dismal show, the latest being the 1-5 hammering at hands of arch-rivals Barcelona in the Clasico. Reserve team boss Santiago Solari took charge with his first training session, Tuesday.
The European champions who lost talismanic striker Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus just before the start of the season have failed to win in La Liga since beating Espanyol September 22, losing to Sevilla, Alaves, Levante and drawing with Atletico Madrid before Sunday’s thrashing by Barca.
“The Real Madrid board met today and decided to renounce coach Julen Lopetegui’s contract with the club,” the club said in a statement. “The board feels there has been a disproportionate difference between the squad Real Madrid possesses… and the results obtained until now.”
This was Lopetegui’s second job, which he lost under five months as he was also fired by the Spanish Football Federation as coach of the national team the day before the World Cup started in June for announcing his move to Real behind the organisation’s back, throwing Spain’s tournament preparations into chaos.
The Spanish coach replaced Zinedine Zidane as Real coach after the Frenchman decided to step down from the role having guided the club to three successive Champions League titles in May. However, Spanish media reported Sunday former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is in line to replace Lopetegui.
During his 10 La Liga games in charge, Lopetegui won four, drew two and lost four, leaving Real floundering in ninth place in the table.
According to Spanish Federation, the rules allow clubs 14 days to name a permanent successor, meaning that Argentine Solari, who played for Real between 2000 and 2005, could potentially be in charge of four first team games.