Lopetegui: New Real Madrid boss gets down to work
The recently appointed Real Madrid head coach reported for his first day of work at Los Blancos' Valdebebas training ground on Monday.
Four days after being unveiled as Real Madrid's new head coach, Julen Lopetegui has got down to work at the club's Valdebebas base. Lopetegui's sacking as Spain boss has left him free to attack his Real in-tray right away, and the 51-year-old arrived at 09:30 this morning to begin planning for the 2018/19 season.
Will get planning underway for Real Madrid's pre-season
Alongside his assistants, Pablo Sanz and Óscar Caro, who have followed him to Real from the Spain set-up, Lopetegui will begin preparing Los Blancos' training programme for a pre-season in which their first friendly clash is against Puebla in Mexico on 28 July. Real then travel to the United States to take on Manchester United, Juventus and Roma in the International Champions Cup, before meeting city rivals Atlético Madrid in the Uefa Super Cup on 15 August.
Lopetegui faces decisions over signings, returning loanees...
Among the other pressing issues requiring Lopetegui's attention are whether or not to sign a goalkeeper, and what to do with the loanees arriving back at Real this summer. He has already given the green light to a new contract for Raúl de Tomás, who returns from a successful year-long spell at Rayo Vallecano that saw him score 24 goals as Los Franjirrojos secured promotion back to Primera División.
