Spain have confirmed the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as Vicente del Bosque’s successor.
Former Real Madrid and Barcelona goalkeeper Lopetegui was out of work after leaving Porto in January.
The 49-year-old had previously spent time in charge of Spain’s youth teams at a number of age levels, winning the European Under-19 Championship in 2012 and European Under-21 Championship in 2013.
A statement on the Spain national team’s official website read: “The RFEF has named the new national team coach as Julen Lopetegui. The coach will be presented today, Thursday July 21, at 18:30 [CEST] at Las Rozas.”
Lopetegui, who was linked with English Championship clubs Nottingham Forest and Wolves this summer, secured the role despite speculation that ex-Granada coach Joaquin Caparros was the favourite.
He replaces Del Bosque, who led the nation to success at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 but oversaw disappointing 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016 campaigns.
Del Bosque, whose departure was officially confirmed at the start of this month, said this week that the next manager must be allowed to implement his own philosophy.
