JULEN LOPETEGUI has been announced as West Ham manager.
The Spaniard will take over at the London Stadium next season.
He said: “I feel very happy, first of all, to be able to be part of the future of this big club.
“We will try to put our stamp on the Club. I feel that we have a fantastic platform.
“I think the last few years have been very good years to have this base, of course, but my ambition as a coach is always to be better and better, to achieve more and bigger aims and to encourage and improve the players, the team, and to compete because football is about this – to compete. We are very ambitious about this.
“I am where I want to be. I am here because I want to be here and for us it was a fantastic day when we closed our agreement here because we our commitment is 100 per cent to be here.
“We had other opportunities but I am very happy that West Ham chose me because I chose West Ham too, so we are really happy about this.
“We came here with the idea and the thought to make a big, big noise. That’s why we came here, and we are excited by this challenge.
“Of course, we are going to do our best to help the Club and the team to achieve to achieve the best level and to achieve our aims.
“I assure the fans that they are going to be key in all our achievements.”
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Lopetegui, 57, will have a tough act to follow as he replaces David Moyes.
The Scot led the Hammers to three top-half finishes and the Europa Conference League title during his second spell in charge.
Lopetegui agreed to take on the job at West Ham earlier this month.
He has already drawn up a list of potential summer arrivals including long-linked Sevilla star Youssef En-Nesyri.
The Spaniard will have full focus on the Premier League and domestic cup competitions as the Hammers finished 9th.
Lopetegui brings a wealth of managerial experience having enjoyed success in Spain and in England.
He won the Europa League with Sevilla in 2020 as he masterminded a 3-2 win over Inter Milan.
He was also the Real Madrid manager in 2018 but was sacked after a poor run of results.
His time at the Santiago Bernabeu was overshadowed by his exit from the Span job, of which he was relieved of his role after being announced as the Madrid manager.
Lopetegui has managed in England as he took charge of Wolverhampton Wanders in 2022.
He helped the club escape relegation and led them to a 13th-placed finish before leaving the following summer.
Moyes walked out of West Ham at the end of his contract.
He was given an emotional send-off by fans in the club’s last home game of the season.
However, he was not afforded the same after the defeat to Manchester City after the final game of the season.
He won’t be out of work long as he has been named as part of talkSPORT’s team for the Euros.
More to follow…
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Julen Lopetegui enjoyed a 17-year career as a goalkeeper for the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
He won the LaLiga title with Real Madrid in 1990 and two Spanish Super Cups with Barcelona, before stepping into management in 2003.
He began coaching as an assistant for Spain’s U17s side, before stints with Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid’s B team.
Lopetegui then returned to the Spain set-up to manage their various age group teams, leaving in 2014 for the Porto job.
He landed Spain’s top job in 2016 and spent two years at the helm of the national team, but was dismissed before the 2018 World Cup after it was announced he would become Real Madrid boss after the tournament.
The Spaniard was sacked after just two months at the Bernabeu following a dismal spell.
He joined Sevilla in 2019 and won the Europa League with them the following year.
Lopetegui departed Sevilla in 2022 and joined Wolves in the November, guiding them to a 13th place finish.
He left in August of last year, shortly before the start of the season, before Gary O’Neil replaced him.
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