There goes Julen!

[SSB]

You can tell where the Portuguese Wolves players live in Tettenhall. They all already have their Christmas trees up.

 

[Lupo]

You can tell where the Portuguese Wolves players live in Tettenhall. They all already have their Christmas trees up.

Do they feel as if Christmas has come early?

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

It's where Mrs DW grew up.

I'm her bit of rough, obviously.

I went to school at St Barts. I'm obviously a posh 'un.

 

[Johnny75]

I went to school at St Barts. I'm obviously a posh 'un.

Definitely. Penn Common is anything but.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Not really in a position to comment as I was schooled in a selection grammar darrn sarf. Had my dad not changed jobs in 1980 I guess I would have gone to Sandbach grammar.

 

[Lupo]

A ‘very intelligent coach’ who once became so enraged with his team that he kicked a tactics board - one of Julen Lopetegui’s former players insists Wolverhampton Wanderers are getting the real deal.

The revered former Spain and Real Madrid manager will take up dugout duties at Molineux next week after a brief break following a mentally taxing climax to his Sevilla tenure. He will bring with him two trusted allies in long-term number two Pablo Sanz and Juan Vicente Peinado as part of a backroom reshuffle.

But Lopetegui will lead on the training ground. “As a coach he is excellent,” former Spain under-21s defender Marc Muniesa tells BirminghamLive. “He is a very intelligent coach who likes to work a lot on tactics.

“He is intense as well - very intense. He always gives you the idea of what will happen in the game. For a player, he is perfect.

“It was kind of similar to how we were working at Barcelona with (Pep) Guardiola and Luis Enrique. The idea in Spain U21s was the same. He wanted to press very high after losing the ball.

“The team was very intense with and without the ball. Most of the trainings were with the ball; keeping the ball, how to attack the opponent - but we also saw a lot of videos of the other teams.”

Muniesa’s praise counts for a lot when you consider the coaches he worked under during his time at Barcelona. Guardiola gave Muniesa his first team debut for Barcelona, but the defender worked primarily under Luis Enrique - who succeeded Lopetegui as Spain manager - in the club’s B team.

“It was similar to what we did with Pep and Luis Enrique - more like Luis Enrique,” Muniesa adds of his time working under Lopetegui with Spain U21s’ richly-talented class of 2013. “Julen worked more with tactics and defensively.

“He likes to defend. At Sevilla, against Barcelona or Madrid, he accepted that he would have to defend and then attack with your weapons. I think most of the games he will try to have possession.

"OK, he likes to play, but he prefers to go quick to the goal - not like Pep. With Pep you can go from left to right maybe 20 times to score a goal, Julen likes to go straight forward."

“But English football is different," adds Muniesa, who played in the Premier League for Stoke City. "In one transition any team in the league can kill you. He will need to adapt to this kind of game.”

A core principle of Lopetegui’s philosophy is man-management. An extract taken from Lopetegui’s website says it is “essential that the players are motivated and convinced" by the coach's methods.

Muniesa played nine times for Spain’s under-21s, but he was a bit-part player during their European Championships victory in Israel nine years ago. He played a supporting role in a team captained by Thiago Alcantara, which included David de Gea, Koke, Isco and Alvaro Morata.

“His relationships with the players were brilliant,” Muniesa explained. “I didn’t play too much in the tournament - I think I just played 15, 20 minutes in the third game of the group - but during all the tournament he was talking to me.

“There are some football players who become a coach and the relationship is different, but with him it was perfect. He was very close to the players.

“Sometimes when he’s on the line during games he gets very nervous, you can see that. He is a stressful guy, but this is because he lives football with passion.”

The art of the team talk has never been more important in football. Managers must know exactly what to say and when to say it. Equally crucial to a manager’s success is how they convey that message to their players.

Muniesa recalls two contrasting team talks Lopetegui gave during his time working under him. The first was before Spain defeated Italy 4-2 in the final of the U21 European Championships.

“For the final they made a video for us from our families. Our families were talking and there were pictures of all of us when we were young kids. It was a short speech before he showed us the video and told us we had to do it for them.

“‘In football everybody criticises you and nobody suffers, just the family and you.’ It was quite emotional and people were very motivated after that video.”

The second was more of a dressing down. “Angry, angry, angry,” replied Muniesa when asked how Lopetegui responded to a bad performance.

He added: “When things were not going well he was quite angry. He kicked a board where you put the players. He kicked this and started to shout.

“I like it. I like a coach with personality and he was one of them. Sometimes players are sleeping and you need a coach like that. If he needs to step up and shout in front of you, he will do it.”

Wolves’ players have deserved plenty of rollickings for their performances pre-Lopetegui this season. The new head coach will hope that he doesn’t have to put his foot through a tactics board again.

 

[Lupo]

And a bit more info about his backroom staff:

Julen Lopetegui is bringing three new coaches to Wolverhampton Wanderers - including long-term number two Pablo Sanz.

Sanz, 49, has worked under Lopetegui with Porto, Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla, and he will become assistant boss at Molineux. Technical coach Juan Vicente Peinado will also follow Lopetegui from Sevilla to Wolves.

There is also a role for Edu Rubio in Lopetegui’s new-look backroom team. Rubio, who has been working as West Ham United women’s assistant manager, will become a first team coach under Lopetegui.

Lopetegui is also due to bring two fitness coaches to Wolves with him, while it remains to be seen what will happen to goalkeeping chief Tony Roberts. Roberts’ position will be reviewed by Lopetegui before the new Wolves head coach takes a decision.

Here is the lowdown on Lopetegui’s incoming coaches…

Pablo Sanz
Sanz is Lopetegui’s closest and most trusted ally in football. The pair were both on Barcelona’s books in the 90s before moving to Rayo Vallecano together in 1997.

Lopetegui hung up his boots at Vallecano in 2002 and became their coach in 2003. Speaking about that experience, Lopetegui told The Coaches’ Voice: “It was a strange situation to suddenly be leading and managing friends, a lot of whom had been my teammates so recently.” One of those friends and teammates was Sanz, who remained with Vallecano until the summer of 2004.

Sanz has worked with Lopetegui in each of his last four senior management jobs, with Porto, Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla. Before joining Lopetegui in Portugal in 2014, Sanz enjoyed 18 months coaching in Costa Rica.

Juan Vicente Peinado
Peinado is a relatively new member of Lopetegui’s team having only joined him at Sevilla in 2019. Before becoming a technical coach under Lopetegui, Peinado predominantly worked in youth football.

Like Lopetegui, Peinado can name Real Madrid among his former employers. He worked as Lopetegui’s assistant with Real Madrid Castilla in 2008/09 having managed in their youth set-up beforehand.

Peinado, 49, has previous experience as a goalkeeping coach too. Champions League winners Nacho Fernandez and Marcos Alonso were among the players Peinado coached in Real Madrid’s academy.

Rubio will become the youngest member of Lopetegui’s immediate coaching staff. He joined West Ham women in July as assistant manager to Paul Konchesky, but Rubio has been headhunted by Lopetegui for his Wolves project.

Spanish coach Rubio boasts over 10 years experience of English football having done the rounds within the youth set-ups of Chelsea, MK Dons and Crystal Palace. Rubio enjoyed a stint as assistant head coach at Crawley Town in 2019.

He boasts a master’s degree in sports psychology and his LinkedIn profile says he is “experienced in team management and coaching to develop players’ individual needs and team performance.”

I like the bit about Rubio being headhunted for Lopetegui's Wolves project!

 

[WsWolf]

I might be in a minority, but wouldn't care if we only got 2 players in on loan in Jan (at least one striker) and then got the best out of the rest of the squad.

These players are far too good to be in the position they find themselves.

In the main yes but our wingers are pathetic. None of them have ever scored a lot of goals, none of them consistently create chances. Right back is an absolute must and I think we need someone who's more comfortable playing ahead of a midfield 2 aswell.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

JL plays a flat 4-3-3 and always has so that last position wont happen

 

[WsWolf]

JL plays a flat 4-3-3 and always has so that last position wont happen

Then we need 2 midfielders. One to play either side of Neves or Nunes. None of them are set to play in a 433 where they are going to be expected to create heavily.

 

[Pastywolf]

And a bit more info about his backroom staff:



I like the bit about Rubio being headhunted for Lopetegui's Wolves project!

An old mate of mine replaced him as coach at MK Dons, asked him today what he knew of him and he said he wasn’t well thought of. I don’t know what they think of my mate though either so who knows!

 

[Tony Towner]

Then we need 2 midfielders. One to play either side of Neves or Nunes. None of them are set to play in a 433 where they are going to be expected to create heavily.

My worry and I'm happy for those who are better coaches than me to tell me I'm wrong is Neves and Nunes won't work together in a 433. Hence my 4231 preference. It is true that Lopetegui does play 433, but if he's the manager we hope he is hopefully he'll prioritise players over system at least until the Summer when Neves leaves

 

[PuntsWolf]

Fabio lives (lived) in the house at the end of the road with we’re garden centre on at the codsall end. Apparently always used to put the wrong bin out and not understand where cardboard went.

Raul lives on the road right by keepers lane off the Wergs road that backs onto the care home.

Rui used to live on that new build estate just up the road opposite the cemetery. Think I heard Sa had it off him but might just be a GK assumption.

Neves lives on wrottesley road with the red drive and goalposts in the back garden.

Adama alledgedly lives in the houses by Wodehouse island on the left as you if you were heading up towards the Springhill.

 

[PuntsWolf]

My worry and I'm happy for those who are better coaches than me to tell me I'm wrong is Neves and Nunes won't work together in a 433. Hence my 4231 preference. It is true that Lopetegui does play 433, but if he's the manager we hope he is hopefully he'll prioritise players over system at least until the Summer when Neves leaves

No reason why they can’t play together. Even if Neves left we wouldn’t play Nunes at the base.

 

[Tony Towner]

Fabio lives (lived) in the house at the end of the road with we’re garden centre on at the codsall end. Apparently always used to put the wrong bin out and not understand where cardboard went.

Raul lives on the road right by keepers lane off the Wergs road that backs onto the care home.

Rui used to live on that new build estate just up the road opposite the cemetery. Think I heard Sa had it off him but might just be a GK assumption.

Neves lives on wrottesley road with the red drive and goalposts in the back garden.

Adama alledgedly lives in the houses by Wodehouse island on the left as you if you were heading up towards the Springhill.

 

[Wolf Hunting]

(Julen) " Ruben (and anyone else of a similar mindset), give me the whole of next season and I will get us into Europe, if I fail, you're free to leave, but don't go in January...."
How much pull do you think a speech/plea/statement of that nature would have?

 

[WsWolf]

No reason why they can’t play together. Even if Neves left we wouldn’t play Nunes at the base.

Because they are both deep lying players. In a midfield 3 one of them has to play in a completely different role to what thry are best at.

 

[Deano]

(Julen) " Ruben (and anyone else of a similar mindset), give me the whole of next season and I will get us into Europe, if I fail, you're free to leave, but don't go in January...."
How much pull do you think a speech/plea/statement of that nature would have?

They shouldn't consider any offers in January anyway. We have got enough issues to fix without selling our best player, any fee we get pales into insignificance against the cost of relegation, which is much much more likely without Ruben Neves.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Because they are both deep lying players. In a midfield 3 one of them has to play in a completely different role to what thry are best at.

Disagree. He can easily play as an 8. Definitely more suited to that than a 6 in a 3.

Ideally you play them together in a double pivot.

 

[WsWolf]

Ideally you play them together in a double pivot.

That's what TT said initially.

This is what we should be doing.