Real Madrid legend Fernando Hierro has been let go by the Spanish National team as the manager early this week. Here’s a look at what went wrong for the former Madrid man.
The 2018 Worl Cup has yet to conclude but Spain has decided to move quickly after a very disappointing campaign. Just 25 days after his appointment to the position the Spanish Federation has decided to part ways with Fernando Hierro.
OFICIAL | Fernando Hierro y la RFEF comunican que, pese a tener contrato en vigor como Director Deportivo, declina seguir en el cargo.
— RFEF (@rfef) July 8, 2018
🔗 https://t.co/Gm7PwfhqSO pic.twitter.com/Pkpi8Bgpwu
This World Cup did not by any means go to plan for Spain as they fired then-manager Julen Lopotegui two days before their first match. Unfortunately, the tournament had a similar theme. Before Hierro’s promotion to Manager, he was the Sporting Director and the shock promotion came as a surprise to many.
Julen Lopotegui Mess
Lopotegui was released from his duties as Federation President Luis Rubiales saw Julen’s actions as unethical. Lopotegui made an agreement with Real Madrid in the days leading up to the World Cup that he would take over as manager. New President Rubiales felt that the federation should have been given notice by Julen and due to his lack thereof, he was released. Many fans saw this more as a show of power than a calculated decision.
On June 13 the announcement of Julen being sacked from his position was made. Despite having his team on a 20 game no losing streak he was sent back to Spain. Julen had a great relationship with many of the players and of course a game plan for all the matches in the group stage. Sending him home truly hurt Spain’s chances as they were favorites before the incident occurred.
Fernando Hierro
Hierro himself mentioned that he and Julen are two different managers with different styles. In a press conference after taking over, he said that “I’ve got my hands full. We’re not sending texts to each other. We each have our own identities and our own ideas.”
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But there is no doubting the fact that a quick change after months of preparation hindered the success of the squad. This World Cup could go down as the one that never was as other big teams failed to claim the top spot.
The statement by the Federation was quite ambiguous, with people wondering if Hierro stepped down or was let go. Some reports suggest the former while others suggest the latter. What happens now though will be interesting. Hierro was the Sporting Director for some time now. Fernando was a part of the Federation when Spain won the 2008 European Championship and 2010 World Cup.
Having been promoted and now demoted it is unclear of what his next move may be. Hierro has not made any mention of what his next move could be. With the quick announcement of Luis Enrique as the new manager by the Federation, this indicates that Hierro was never the long-term solution. Spain was swift in getting the former Barcelona manager to fill the empty slot.