English Premier League club West Ham has announced the appointment of former Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui as its first-team head coach.
“West Ham United is delighted to announce the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as the Club’s new men’s Head Coach.”
The club revealed that Julen will officially begin his duties on 1 July.
“The former Spain, Porto, Real Madrid, Sevilla, and Wolverhampton Wanderers coach will officially begin work with the Hammers on 1 July.”
Lopetegui has put together an impressive coaching CV over the past two decades, leading Sevilla to UEFA Europa League glory and Spain’s U21s and U19s to UEFA European Championship success. He is widely respected for his clear football philosophy, flexible tactical approach, competitive character, and man-management skills.
Lopetegui, speaking to West Ham TV, expressed his excitement about building on the strong foundations already in place and bringing his own style to London Stadium.
“I feel very happy, first of all, to be able to be part of the future of this big Club,” said Lopetegui. “We will try to put our stamp on the Club.
“I feel that we have a fantastic platform. I think the last few years have been very good years to have this base, of course, but my ambition as a coach is always to be better and better, to achieve more and bigger aims, and to encourage and improve the players, the team, and to compete because football is about this – to compete. We are very ambitious about this.
“I am where I want to be. I am here because I want to be here, and for us, it was a fantastic day when we closed our agreement here because our commitment is 100 percent to be here. We had other opportunities, but I am very happy that West Ham chose me because I chose West Ham too, so we are really happy about this.
“We came here with the idea and the thought to make a big, big noise. That’s why we came here, and we are excited by this challenge. Of course, we are going to do our best to help the Club and the team achieve the best level and to achieve our aims. I assure the fans that they are going to be key in all our achievements.”
Tim Steidten said: “We are very pleased to welcome Julen and his staff to our Club. He was a standout candidate to become our Head Coach, and I am personally delighted that we have chosen to work together. His career shows that, wherever he has coached, he has improved players and teams, and we are looking forward to seeing him work with our squad.
“Julen lives and breathes football. He thinks deeply about the game, he is tactically astute, and he has shown he can adapt to work in different leagues, in different countries, with national teams, and in each situation, he has shown his outstanding qualities. Julen is highly experienced in the way we will now work at West Ham United, and I am looking forward to working with him to grow a successful future for the Club.”
West Ham United Joint-Chair David Sullivan said: “I would like to welcome Julen to the Club and wish him every success in his new role. We believe this appointment will ensure a strong opportunity to build on the positive progress made in recent seasons, helping the Club to move forward in the direction that aligns with our ambitions.
“We have been working hard behind the scenes to continue shaping the right strategy for West Ham United’s future, and we are looking forward to bringing Julen’s coaching ability, experience, and personality to the Club.”
