Real Madrid appoint Julen Lopetegui as their new manager

After nearly two weeks of confusion and skepticism from the media and Real Madrid fans around the world, the club has found their new gaffer. Former FC Porto and current Spanish National Team manager Julen Lopetegui will coach Los Blancos this upcoming season. Here are the details of the deal.

Over the last two years at the helm of La Roja, the former goalkeeper has found some success at the managerial level. Now, he will make the jump from the pressure of the nation to the pressure of fans around the world.

In an announcement Tuesday morning from the Real Madrid official website, fans were made aware of who the new boss would be.

"“Julen Lopetegui will be the Real Madrid coach after the celebration of the 2018 World Cup. Real Madrid C. F. announce that Julen Lopetegui will be the coach of the first team during the next three seasons. Julen Lopetegui will join the club after Spain’s participation in the World Cup, after two years leading the national team.”"

The 51-year-old’s appointment comes as a bit of a surprise to many as it looked for a stretch that the club would not be able to find a manager ahead of the World Cup which is set to begin Thursday.

However, President Florentino Perez works in mysterious ways and was quick to close the three-deal with Lopetegui and his representatives. Madridistas across social media came out in droves to voice their pleasure with the signing of the manager and provide some humor.

The good news about Lopetegui coming over from the Spanish National Team is that he has a good relationship with several of the Real players. As I wrote a couple weeks back, six Los Blancos players made the final roster for the biggest tournament in the world.

While at the helm of La Roja, Julen has formed a close bond with both Isco and Marco Asensio with the truly thriving. Isco especially has been fantastic, scoring multiple goals in multiple qualifying matches back in the fall.

One problem that could arise from this appointment of the man from Asteasu is that he is not a huge fan of Gareth Bale’s and even said that Lionel Messi was a better player than Cristiano Ronaldo.

In 2015, the new Madrid manager had this to say of Bale.

"“A player at Real Madrid has to give 100% all the time. If he doesn’t then he might as well leave. La Liga is totally different to the Premier League. A player like that wouldn’t get into my team.”"

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So, while there is considerable excitement around the fanbase, there is still some lingering doubt. He struggled at Porto and was fired halfway through the season after progressively getting worse and worse the longer he was there.

Yes, this move is a gamble by President Perez and Real Madrid, but signing any manager after the success Zinedine Zidane had is a gamble. I think this is a smart move by the club and one that I seriously hope works.

Stay tuned to The Real Champs for more great Real Madrid coverage!