Julen Lopetegui Oficial website
I am Julen Lopetegui, a football coach and current manager of the Qatar national team.
Football is my way of understanding life. This is a place to share experience, learning, and a vision of the game built from passion and responsibility. Welcome!
Career
Catar
A historic achievement for the country, 54th in the FIFA ranking. First World Cup qualification after the tournament organized in 2022.
West Ham
Half a season with the team in the mid-table, creating a very interesting project for the future, but there was no continuity.
Wolverhampton
Arrived at Christmas to achieve a miraculous escape that few imagined, with 31 points in 23 Premier League matches.
Sevilla
Three and a half historic years. Europa League champion and qualification for the Champions League three seasons in a row for the first time in the club's history.
Real Madrid
Completed the circle at the Madrid club: first player, head of scouting, coach of the reserve team for one season, and of the first team for 14 matches.
Spain
Not a single defeat at the head of the senior team in 20 matches (won 14 of them), with qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. During his time in the youth ranks, he won the European U21 Championship and the U19 Championship.
Porto
An average of 2.24 in his 78 matches with the Dragons, a performance of 74.79%. League runner-up and reached the Champions League quarter-finals.
Rayo Vallecano
His first experience as a coach at the club where he had been a legend as a player, where he played more than 100 matches, and where he had retired just a year before.
Clubs
National team
UEFA Euro sub21
Spain (2013)
UEFA Europa League
Sevilla FC (2020)
UEFA Euro sub19
Spain (2012)
Staff
Football is a team sport. Let me introduce you to mine.
Pablo Sanz
Assistant coach
Oscar Caro
Head of performance and assistant
Alejandro Caro
Performance analyst and assistant
Borja de Alba
Fitness coach
Juan Cruz Ochoa
Assistant
Álvaro Reina
Head of analysts
José Luis Silva
Goalkeeping coach
My football
A way of understanding football from the perspective of high standards, reflection, and respect for the game: principles that guide every decision, on and off the field.
Work
I always want the players to understand the purpose of all types of exercises I propose.
I want them to appreciate the benefits of each one, so that they recognize how they help us on game day.
I believe much more in the effectiveness of a task rooted in conviction rather than imposition. It enhances the player’s responses and motivates his work. In order to achieve this, we must explain the purpose and the goal of every training.
Playing style
I understand football as a whole. I believe that in today’s football, systems are not as important as they used to be, but what is really decisive are styles and decision-making.
Football is something continuous, and there are four key moments that are directly related to each other: attack, attack-defense, defense, and defense-attack transition. To develop these four phases, we need to manage all the concepts of the game, both offensive and defensive. I believe that it is easier to control and win matches from the ball, but fortunately in football there are many ways to win.
Above all, I aspire for my team to have a defined personality, that is, clear game concepts so that during the match we know how to look for the best solutions. For that, the player’s commitment and understanding of the game are essential.
Group management
You manage a locker room with young people under great pressure, many of them still without the tools to handle these kinds of situations.
And as a coach, tactics, technique, and physical work are not sufficient, you also need to ensure that the player is balanced enough to be able to take advantage of his skills. In this process, the mental and emotional management of the player must be developed by the coach and the coaching staff, and even by a specialist at certain times.
Players are the main protagonists. If they are not emotionally balanced or do not have the peace of mind to foster all their skills, they will not be able to reach their potential and my team will be worse off.
My goal is to bring together both the management of the player and his commitment to an idea and its development. You have to feel like your players believe in your goals, and receive feedback that shows you the players are motivated and committed.
Modern coach
A coach has to be very attentive to how the profession evolves.
Technologies have advanced a lot, but they don’t win games. They give us more resources, they help us save time and know how to convey our ideas, but the essence and spirit of the game does not come from technology.
Having been a player in the past is an important asset, but it is not definitive or decisive for being a good coach.
I strongly believe in managing your own experiences to be self-critical about them in order to progress and continually improve.
Relationship with the community
The relationship with the media, managers, and fans is an important part of coaching.
A coach must be capable of always remembering where he is and what he represents, all the while, handling external pressures naturally and skillfully.
For this reason, it is essential to have a staff that complements the work of the coach and that allows the coordination of the appropriate messages at the right times among all the actors that make up the football industry.
Miguel Muñoz Prize
Best coach of the 2019-20 season, with Sevilla FC. Awarded by the MARCA newspaper.
I am an ambassador for Special Olympics because I believe in a sport that includes, educates, and gives real opportunities to all people.
Supporting this project is a way of defending, on and off the field, the values that give meaning to football and life.
Contact
- Relationship with media outlets
- Management of public and institutional agenda
- Activation of sponsors and commercial sponsorships
- Participation in charitable actions
- Generation of audiovisual content
comunicacion@julenlopetegui.com