MÁLAGA-BORN sports director for the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Fernando Hierro, will take over as national team coach today in place of outgoing Julen Lopetegui, who was sacked this lunchtime after Real Madrid leaked the news that he had been taken on as club manager.
He was due to give a press conference at 17.30 mainland Spain time at the Krasnodar Stadium, then hold the first training session with the national team ahead of their opening match on Friday against current European champions, Portugal.
Hierro was one of the names thought likely to take over from Lopetegui, who was fired after Real Madrid leaked his new appointment as manager taking over from outgoing 'Zizou' Zidane.
Another possibility was Albert Celades, current under-21 national team manager who had travelled with Lopetegui to Russia.
Hierro, 50 – a year younger than Lopetegui – is well known to the national squad both as sports director and former footballer.
The ex-Real Madrid player enjoyed huge success with the Spanish team as sports director during the 2007-2011 era under Luis Aragonés and later Vicente del Bosque, with its UEFA Euro win in 2008 and FIFA World Cup victory in 2010 in South Africa.
As an international player, Hierro has played for Spain 89 times himself, including four World Cups – Italy in 1990, the USA in 1994, France in 1998 and Korea and Japan in 2002 – and two UEFA Euro Cups, in the UK in 1996 and Belgium and The Netherlands in 2000.
