West Ham United have confirmed the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as David Moyes’ successor.
Former Real Madrid and Spain coach Lopetegui will officially join West Ham from July 1 after finishing the 2023/24 season in ninth place with 52 points.
„First of all I am very happy to be part of the future of this great club,” said Lopetegui. West Ham TV. “We will try to put our stamp on the club.
„I feel that we have an amazing platform. I think the last few years have been the best years to have this platform, but my ambition as a coach is always to be better and better, to achieve bigger goals and to motivate and improve the players, the team, and to compete because football It’s about – to compete. We’re very ambitious about it.
„I am very excited to be part of the future of this great club”
Listen to Lopetegui’s first words as West Ham United manager 🗣️
— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 23, 2024
“I am where I am supposed to be. I’m here because I want to be here, and it’s an amazing day that we’re closing our deal here because we’re 100 percent here to be. We had other opportunities but I’m very happy that West Ham chose me because I chose West Ham too, so we’re very happy about this.
“We came here with the intention and intention to make a big, big noise. That’s why we’re here, and we’re excited by this challenge. Of course, we are going to do everything we can to help the club and the team to reach the best level and achieve our objectives. I assure you that the fans are going to play an important role in all our achievements.
Technical Director, Tim Steaden added, „Julan lives and breathes football. He thinks deeply about the game, he is tactically astute and has shown that he can adapt to working in different leagues, in different countries, with national teams, and in every situation he has shown his best qualities.
„Julan is very experienced in the way we work now at West Ham United and I look forward to working with him to develop a successful future for the club.”
Lopetequin’s return
It was the 57-year-old’s second spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers from November 2022 to August 2023 in the Premier League due to disagreements.
Wolves were bottom of the Premier League when Lopetegui joined, but the Spaniard won his first game at Everton and led them to 13th place.
Before his spell at Molineux, he was manager of Sevilla, leading them to the UEFA Champions League and winning the Europa League in 2019/20.
Before that he was head coach of Real Madrid and before that, he spent two years as manager of the Spanish national team, a position he held after impressing during a two-year spell at Porto.
As a player, the former Real Madrid and Barcelona goalkeeper was also capped once by Spain.
He is accompanied by Pablo Sanz (Art. Head Coach), Oscar Caro (Performance & Assistant. Coach), Juan Vicente Peinato (Analytical Head & Ass. Coach), Borja de Alba (Physical Coach) and Edu Rubio (Technical Coach). Xavi Valero will continue as the men’s first team goalkeeper coach.
Lopetegui will meet West Ham players for the first time in early July for pre-season training. He will take the Hammers to America for two pre-season matches later that month, meeting former club Wolves in his first game, followed by London rivals Crystal Palace.