Lopetegui sacked as Real Madrid coach, Solari put in temporary charge

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Lopetegui sacked as Real Madrid coach, Solari put in temporary charge
Lopetegui gestures as walks off the pitch after losing 5-1 during the Spanish La Liga soccer match. AP

Madrid - Lopetegui has now lost two jobs in under five months.

By Reuters/AFP

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Published: Tue 30 Oct 2018, 11:37 AM

Last updated: Tue 30 Oct 2018, 1:51 PM

Real Madrid sacked coach Julen Lopetegui three months into his first season in charge after the Spanish giants were beaten by arch rivals Barcelona over the weekend, the European champions said on Monday.
Real have failed to win in La Liga since beating Espanyol on Sept. 22, losing to Sevilla, Alaves, Levante and drawing with Atletico Madrid before Sunday's 5-1 thrashing by Barcelona.
Former player and reserve team boss Santiago Solari has been put in caretaker charge after negotiations between the club and former Chelsea, Italy and Juventus boss Antonio Conte broke down on Monday, the club added.
"The Real Madrid board met today and decided to renounce coach Julen Lopetegui's contract with the club," the club said in a statement.
"The board feels there has been a disproportionate difference between the squad Real Madrid possesses... and the results obtained until now."
Lopetegui has now lost two jobs in under five months as he was also fired by the Spanish Football Federation as coach of the national team the day before the World Cup started in June for announcing his move to Real behind the organisation's back, throwing Spain's tournament preparations into chaos.
The 52-year-old replaced Zinedine Zidane as Real coach after the Frenchman decided to step down from the role having guided the club to three successive Champions League titles in May.
After the club's all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo also departed for Juventus in July, Lopetegui's stint at Real got off to a difficult start as they were beaten 4-2 by city rivals Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.
His side then won four of their opening five La Liga games and a 3-0 win over AS Roma in their Champions League opener.
But things started to fall apart when they were thrashed 3-0 by Sevilla last month, a result that started a run of four defeats in five matches in all competitions. During that stint, they also failed to score a goal for eight hours.

Last Tuesday's 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League provided a brief respite but the team were still booed off the pitch after an unconvincing display.

Sunday's 5-1 hammering proved to be the final straw for Real president Florentino Perez.

During his 10 La Liga games in charge, Lopetegui won four, drew two and lost four, leaving Real floundering in ninth place in the table.

Spanish Federation rules allow clubs 14 days to name a permanent successor, meaning that Argentine Solari, who played for Real between 2000 and 2005, could potentially be in charge of four first team games.

5 things about Real Madrid's new coach

Santiago Solari has been put in temporary charge of Real Madrid after Julen Lopetegui was sacked on Monday.


Solari was the coach of Madrid's B team, Castilla, and is now expected to take Madrid for their Copa del Rey game against Melilla on Wednesday.

Take a closer at the Argentinian:

Santiago Hernan Solari played five seasons at Real (2000-2005) including four alongside Zidane, who arrived in 2001, during the 'Galactico' era. He began the move that resulted in Zidane scoring one of his finest goals, the famous volley against Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final. In total, Solari played 167 games and scored 16 goals for the club.

Born in Rosario, Argentina, Solari made his name at River Plate, winning the Libertadores Cup in 1996. In 1999 he crossed the Atlantic to join Atletico Madrid. The midfielder tasted the disappointment of being relegated to the second division before Real activated his release clause to sign him in 2000.

Santiago's father, Eduardo Solari, was a professional player in Argentina while his brothers David and Esteban also had a career in football, as did his cousin Augusto. His uncle, Jorge Solari, played in Mexico and was nicknamed "El Indio", which gave Santiago Solari his own nickname of "El Indiesito", the Little Indian.

In 2002, Solari received another trophy: the sexiest player of the year, which was presented to him by the subscribers of the Spanish channel Canal +. "I thank the people who voted for me, but I'm sure it's rigged," he said. "We'll see if I'm offered another career in the film industry when I leave."

Solari chose to stay in football after the end of his playing career. He coached Real Madrid's junior teams, before taking the reins of Castilla, the club's B team, in the summer of 2016. They finished 11th and eighth in Segunda B, the Spanish third tier, during his two completed seasons in charge.


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