Dismay in Spain as undefeated coach is fired before start of World Cup

Moscow.

The surprise sacking of Spain’s undefeated coach Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday, just two days before their opening World Cup game, was met with dismay and worry in the football-mad country.
The Spanish Football Federation’s announcement that it had replaced Lopetegui with sporting director Fernando Hierro dominated headlines, bumping a court order giving Spanish King Felipe VI’s brother-in-law five days to enter jail to serve a sentence for graft from the front pages of the online editions of most newspapers.
Spain, the winners of the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, were among the favourites to win the tournament this year in Russia, but many Spaniards expressed fears that Lopetegui’s departure would derail the team’s chances.
“On the one hand, sacking Lopetegui is bad, on the other it is bad as well,” Juan Jose Borrego, a 23-year-old IT administrator and Real Madrid supporter, told AFP near Real’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
“Even though things were done badly now I think Lopetegui should have stayed on. We still have great chances because we have really good players but...I don’t see us winning the World Cup after this issue.”
Lopetegui’s dismissal came in response to the news announced Tuesday that he had agreed to take over coaching duties at Real Madrid after the World Cup, replacing Zinedine Zidane who announced his surprise resignation on May 31.