Is Lopetegui A Good Coach For Real Madrid?

Real Madrid announced the hire of Julen Lopetegui literally out of nowhere. Lopetegui will be managing the Spanish National Team during the 2018 FIFA World Cup and then will join Real Madrid as soon as the World Cup ends for Ramos and Co. Is he a good coach for Real Madrid?

The current squad fits his playing style

Isco, Modric, Kroos or Marco Asensio like to play with the ball at their feet and that’s precisely how Lopetegui wants his teams to play. Isco in particular has been playing under Lopetegui since he was with Spain U21, so it’s clear that he will have a pivotal role for Real Madrid next season.

Lopetegui has completed a seamless rebuild with the Spanish National Team. Players and legends like Casillas, Villa or Xavi left the team and yet Lopetegui managed to find success with new guys like Thiago or Isco. He will most likely be required to do the exact same thing for Madrid fairly soon, given that the current core is aging and some players could also leave.

Lopetegui struggled a bit with Porto in his first job as a club coach

He completed some questionable signings and it will be interesting to hear his plans for Real Madrid in terms of signings and departures. It might be safer for Los Blancos to ask him about signings instead of giving him unlimited power with the transfers.

All in all, it seems that Real Madrid think that their dynasty is about to end. They took a look at what Lopetegui did with Spain right after the 2014 fiasco and thought that he was the right man to do the same thing over the next few seasons in the Spanish capital. Hiring Lopetegui was the right decision but one which actually provides more questions than answers.