Spain name Del Bosque’s replacement

The Spanish federation has officially appointed Julen Lopetegui as the Spain coach and the succesor to Vicente del Bosque.

Del Bosque recently announced he would not seek to prolong his tenure at the helm of La Furia Roja following a lackluster Euro 2016 campaign and a disasterous World Cup defense in 2014.

New coach Lopetegui, a former Real Madrid and FC Barcelona goalkeeper, will now step into the role. Lopetegui is the former manager of Porto in Portugal and has also previoulsy coached youth divisions in the Spanish setup.

Lopetegui has also spent tome in charge of Real Madrid’s Castilla academy, while he also worked as a talent scout for Los Blancos.

The 49-year-old nevertheless has minimal top flight coaching experience. Aside from Porto, the coach’s only other club as been Rayo Vallecano, first as an assistant and them as manager.

Having never won a trophy Lopetegui is a bold choice for helping to revitalise the Spanish side.