Penal Madrid

[El Gato]

All in all it is fair to blame RFEF for shooting themselves in the foot and defend Lopetegui's choice. But it is also fair to blame Real Madrid for their choices (especially if you are a national team fan).

Ok. In which case, as a Spain fan, at the most what should matter to you is that he is leaving, which is a prerogative of any professional if they get another unique opportunity elsewhere. Sad, that's what you should feel at most. Not "betrayed". He is not leaving for a competitor.
This guy did everything in his power to keep his decision from influencing the team's focus and he gave no toss as to what his employers think of it, especially since they sanctioned the 2M release clause themselves. All that mattered to him was his team and what they can give the fans together as a unit.

What is ridiculous is that Spain fans think Madrid are being selfish and viewing their interests higher than Spain's.. How? Spain had the SAME exact shot whether they announced it or not assuming everyone remains professional. It is IN MADRID'S INTEREST that Spain do well if Lopetegui is your new coach. They would want him to be the World Cup winning manager.

I challenge anyone here to tell me why it would matter for non-Madrid players that their coach will be leaving for Real Madrid if he guides them to the World Cup trophy, potentially not losing a single game under his guidance.

 

[tacticvarium]

I don't see any fair points but a Madridista blindly defending his club.

 

[DonAK]

He shouldn't have rejected the offer. Why would he do that?

The only thing Lopetegui and Real Madrid should have done is informed them and all the players about the negotiations when it started, and coordinate when to announce it or go from there.

Lopetegui and Real Madrid kept it a secret and had only told Ramos or the only the Real Madrid players when someone opened their mouth so it would get leaked, which forced them to officially announce it on a 5 minute notice to the RFEF who had no clue about it.

Think about it. Did the press have any clue about it? NO. Even the press found it when Real Madrid announced it. Just a day before both AS and Marca were linking Vilas-Boas to the job.

He probably shouldn't have been sacked, but Rubiales got elected to clear up the mess and corruption in the federation and now he had to make the decision about putting the federation and the National Team first or let Real Madrid get away with doing everything as if they owned Spanish Football.

The only sad thing here is that if Lopetegui flops in Madrid he will have ruined his career. Flopped hard at Porto and turned them into a financial mess after he demanded some big money signings for them which were all really bad, flopped at Real Madrid and won't be allowed back in the Spanish NT setup I guess.

 

[Devils]

I mean Real Madrid and Lopetegui were only secretly signing agreements behind the curtain and keeping the Real Madrid players informed while the Federation and the rest of the Spanish nationals were completely left in the dark and assumed they would have Lopetegui representing the Country of Spain until 2022 after he just signed a new contract last month.

Completely professional, respectful to all parties involved, promotes unity among players and displays clear transparency of communication in the Roja camp.

 

[El Gato]

He shouldn't have rejected the offer. Why would he do that?

The only thing Lopetegui and Real Madrid should have done is informed them and all the players about the negotiations when it started, and coordinate when to announce it or go from there.

Lopetegui and Real Madrid kept it a secret and had only told Ramos or the only the Real Madrid players when someone opened their mouth so it would get leaked, which forced them to officially announce it on a 5 minute notice to the RFEF who had no clue about it.

Think about it. Did the press have any clue about it? NO. Even the press found it when Real Madrid announced it. Just a day before both AS and Marca were linking Vilas-Boas to the job.

He probably shouldn't have been sacked, but Rubiales got elected to clear up the mess and corruption in the federation and now he had to make the decision about putting the federation and the National Team first or let Real Madrid get away with doing everything as if they owned Spanish Football.

But I agree, he should have coordinated better. But like you say yourself, is sacking him supposed to be a solution? It's made it worse. Just air the dirty laundry after the fact.

 

[Sorin]

Man, imagine if it would be Guardiola in Lopetegui's place but he'd sign a contract with us 2 days before the start of the WC. Would be a blown out civil war against Catalunya and FC Barcelona.

Meanwhile, if Spain fails at the world cup they'll still blame Pique for being a distraction in the locker room.

 

[Joan]

I'm reading that Lopetegui prefers technical players like Isco, Asensio, Thiago over CR7, Benzema, Bale and similar and that he will get rid of these guys.



If true, this is gold.
Real won't win another CL in the next 20 years then.

Enjoying yourself?

 

[Vilarrubi]

Man, imagine if it would be Guardiola in Lopetegui's place but he'd sign a contract with us 2 days before the start of the WC. Would be a blown out civil war against Catalunya and FC Barcelona.

Meanwhile, if Spain fails at the world cup they'll still blame Pique for being a distraction in the locker room.

Agreed.

Anything but a WC win they’ll complain now... both decisions coming out of Madrid.. let them fight amongst themselves.

 

[Givenchy]

I'm reading that Lopetegui prefers technical players like Isco, Asensio, Thiago over CR7, Benzema, Bale and similar and that he will get rid of these guys.



If true, this is gold.
Real won't win another CL in the next 20 years then.

not so sure it is tbh. Ronaldo is aging and clearly declining, Benzema is trash and Bale 50/50. they would likely be on their way to leaving regardless who came in

 

[Luftstalag14]

Great news, I can't wait to see Spain getting demolished.

Spain always finds ways to fuck itself over. Great country.

 

[Joan]

He shouldn't have rejected the offer. Why would he do that?

The only thing Lopetegui and Real Madrid should have done is informed them and all the players about the negotiations when it started, and coordinate when to announce it or go from there.

DonAK, you seem informed. May I ask a question?

What did Lopetegui really fear? Why did they come out? That someone from the squad would leak the info?

 

[Sorin]

Agreed.

Anything but a WC win they’ll complain now... both decisions coming out of Madrid.. let them fight amongst themselves.

Hopefully, the Spanish fans of other teams can now realize who are the ones messing up in that locker room over and over again. When Spain's golden generation of 2010-2012 was in danger of self destructing, it was because the Real players almost went to war with our players out of pure jealousy fueled by Perez and Mourinho's bush league hate.

Spanish fans deserve whatever they'll get for misguided hate.

 

[El Gato]

What did Lopetegui really fear? Why did they come out? That someone from the squad would leak the info?

I know it's not directed at me, but to anyone it'd be pretty clear it's a trust thing. Whether it's trusting the rookie RFEF president, or any of the non-Madrid players to react in a professional manner.

 

[Joan]

I know it's not directed at me, but to anyone it'd be pretty clear it's a trust thing. Whether it's trusting the rookie RFEF president, or any of the non-Madrid players to react in a professional manner.

I just feel it's the worst possible way to handle the situation. If he informed the RFEF and the squad in time, think this could've been avoided.

Even more so if it's true he had the trust of the players. Would be for the best. Don't understand why they made it public?

 

[El Gato]

I just feel it's the worst possible way to handle the situation. If he informed the RFEF and the squad in time, think this could've been avoided.

Even more so if it's true he had the trust of the players. Would be for the best. Don't understand why they made it public?

Would you bet on everyone without exception keeping it private and not letting it get out to the media? We're talking ~25 individuals here, possibly coaching staff too. And if it did media would just end up asking the players questions about their manager before and after every match, right? If it wasn't made public and Spain crashed out early and then the announcement was made the narrative would be that Lopetegui was already thinking of his Madrid duties mid-tournament, which caused the Spain slump.

I can hardly see an ideal solution to this. I feel the only thing that was wrong on Julen's part was not telling Rubiales sooner.