wolves (opens in a new tab) have named the former Real Madrid (opens in a new tab) and Seville (opens in a new tab) boss Julen Lopetgui as the new head coach, more than a month after sacking Bruno Lage.
Lopetegui’s appointment was announced on Saturday, and the Spaniard will officially take over from Monday, November 14, meaning his first game in charge won’t come until after the World Cup; he had previously turned down the job due to his father’s poor health. Like Lage and his predecessor Nuno Espirito Santo, the 56-year-old is a client of super-agent Jorge Mendes – a big influence at Molineux.
For the past five games, Wolves have been under caretaker manager Steve Davis – Lage having been let go after a 2-0 loss to West Ham. (opens in a new tab) beginning of October.
It has been a miserable season so far for Wolves, who came second in the Premier League at the weekend with just 10 points from a possible 39.
But the arrival of Lopetegui – who lost his job at Sevilla just two days after Lage was sacked – should make fans more optimistic for the rest of the campaign: he brings his Porto coaching experience (opens in a new tab) and Sevilla in the Champions League – he guided the former to the quarter-finals and won the 2019/20 Europa League with the latter – as well as two years as manager of the Spanish national team.
Lopetegui’s spell at Real Madrid was considerably less successful – it lasted just over two months – but there’s no doubting his pedigree at the top level. Curiously, he’s also the third ex-goalkeeper to manage Wolves in recent times – following in the footsteps of Walter Zenga and Nuno Espirito Santo.
