#4 Julen Lopetegui
A certain Rafa Benitez would’ve been on this list and may have even been the strongest contender had he not decided to stay on at Newcastle. He was of course one of the names Del Bosque named to the press as ‘good Spanish managers’. The two other names were that of Roberto Martinez (who is probably trying to pick up the pieces of his reputation which was torn to shreds at Everton) and Julen Lopetegui, the now former FC Porto manager.
Many will remember him being handed rave reviews at FC Porto when he joined in and immediately embarked on a run that saw FC Porto play some great football with a very Spanish core. However, two years on his stint turned into somewhat of a disaster as he now represents a barren two year run sans silverware at Porto.
Yet, he seems to be a reasonable choice based on his exploits with the Spanish U-19 and U-21 sides he moulded, guiding them to Euro glory in successive years respectively. He knows this setup well and like Celades would represent a sort of continuity option.
Unlike Celades however, Lopetegui has now experienced Champions League football as a manager and one can only expect he will have come out of it a better manager.
Manager-Team Match Rating – 2.5/5
As a continuity option, Lopetegui ticks many boxes, but he seems to be an outside contender as much as anything if you consider the extent of the job at hand. His failure to adapt at Porto may be the beginning of a more far reaching problem than most would like to believe and Lopetegui would represent a risk.
Yet, he will represent much of the positives of Celades and as mentioned before will have experienced a lot more in the two years away. That Del Bosque considers him a good coach will stand for something and he could be an inspired choice.
Rumor Rating – 2.5/5
He’s available. Del Bosque rates him. Whether the Spanish Football Federation rates him or not is another matter altogether and that is what will matter in the end. It is possible that he will be considered but him getting the job is a little difficult to predict.
