The correspondent in Spain for La Gazzetta dello Sport Filippo Maria Ricci yesterday reported the state of mind of Julen Lopetegui, a coach who was one step away from signing to sit on the Milan bench from next season, but who was, in fact, and in fact, ousted by the resounding protest of the AC Milan fans (including the Curva Sud); the Basque coach says he is amazed, incredulous and struck by what his candidacy has sparked, but there are some clarifications to be made…
The facts about Lopetegui
First of all, there is nothing personal in most fans’ opinions against Lopetegui. It is simply by scrolling through his career and his way of playing that one realizes that, in all likelihood, even if only on paper, he may not be the right coach for the post-Pioli era:
– resigns surprisingly during the qualifiers with Spain U21;
– with Porto he does well in Europe, but poorly at national borders and is sacked after a year and a half;
– despite this, Spain entrusted him with the bench for Russia 2018 and, after an exhilarating qualifying journey, he was fired for having signed with Real Madrid without notifying the Federation in time, with which, among other things, he had signed a contract shortly before extension;
– in three months at Real Madrid he made the Blancos suffer more humiliations than in three quarters of their history, including a 5-1 against Barcelona which cost him his dismissal;
– wins the Europa League with Sevilla in the anomalous Covid season, then being sacked at the start after two seasons with Sevilla out of the Champions League groups after three games and in fourth-to-last place in La Liga;
– at Wolves, after having achieved safety, he leaves 6 days before the start of the Premier League citing the Club’s financial problems.
In short, a CV with interesting teams for sure, but in which he often failed or, in any case, had big problems with the management.
And now…
And now, logically, Milan fans don’t expect another Lopetegui. Here, an important point: the protest was not only against Julen Lopetegui, but against ‘the Lopetegui’; a contrary opinion was expressed, that is, to all those coaches with little status, with little drive, of limited depth, with a career that has already shown its limits or that is still too immature to deal with the pressures of the Rossoneri bench. #Nopetegui understands the legitimate request for a coach who raises Milan’s level: the reference to Antonio Conte is very clear, just as profiles with great potential such as Thiago Motta or Roberto De Zerbi would be welcome. The rest will most likely result in a dispute. So there will be no need to remain incredulous, possibly.