Another Lopetegui in the same Krasnodar

"Julen is the best possible coach for Sevilla."

There is no public or private intervention in which Monchi, the club's sports director, does not repeat this thought about Julen Lopetegui, the coach of a team that visits the Russian Krasnodar (18.55, Movistar LC) with the possibility of winning and sealing their classification to the knockout stages of the Champions League two days before the end of the group stage.

It was precisely in this Russian city where the current coach of the Andalusian team experienced an event that marked his sports career.

Krasnodar was the headquarters of the concentration of the Spanish team that was going to play the 2018 World Cup and it was the scene where Lopetegui directed his last match as coach, a preparation friendly against Tunisia that ended with a 1-0 victory with a goal from Aspas.

On Wednesday, June 13, 2018, the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, dismissed Lopetegui two days before the World Cup debut against Portugal.

It had been leaked that the Basque coach had signed a contract with Madrid.

After this traumatic dismissal, Lopetegui accumulated a second failure on the Madrid bench, where he came as a substitute for a Zidane who had won three consecutive Champions League titles.

On October 29, 2018, after a 5-1 concession against Barcelona, ​​the Basque was also dismissed from his position at Madrid, which he led in 14 games with a balance of six wins, two draws and six losses.

Lopetegui's career as a coach had plummeted.

Hurt by the two blows received in just four months, Julen took refuge in himself and rejected several offers.

Lopetegui was rescued by Monchi in May 2019. The sports director had good references from the coach of his time in the Spanish Federation in lower categories.

Later, he moved guided by an instinct that dictates that it is usually positive to sign coaches or players who come from accumulating bad experiences and are hungry to regain their place in football.

He did so with countless players, such as Kanouté, Luis Fabiano or Banega, among others, and also with coaches, such as Unai Emery, who had just failed in Russian football.

“It has exceeded my expectations”, Monchi himself repeats.

The meeting between Sevilla and Lopetegui, always under the protective cloak of Monchi, has been a success.

“He is a tireless worker and makes good use of it.

He's doing a great job, ”says Pablo Blanco, coordinator of the lower echelons and one of the most experienced coaches in the club's structure.

"Monchi always maintained great confidence in Julen," they say at the club.

This support allowed the coach to overcome the suspicions of the fans when his signing was announced and, also, the whistles with which the stands criticized his defensive approaches in Nervión just before the league break due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I only think about the rival"

"From the moment I found out that I was coming to Krasnodar, I have only thought about studying the rival in front of us very well, who plays and trains in magnificent facilities that I already knew.

It is the only thing I have thought about when coming, ”Lopetegui himself affirmed when asked about his return to the city where he experienced one of the biggest disappointments of his career.

Now, at Sevilla, he has relaunched a career that was very touched.

He has won the Europa League, has been fourth in the League and has broken some historical records of unbeaten by the Andalusian team, one step away from the eighth of this Champions League.

His numbers at Sevilla are unquestionable.

He has directed 66 games, of which he has won 37, tied 17 and lost only 12. Obsessive to control every last detail in constant communication with Monchi, Lopetegui has learned to handle himself with total independence knowing that he is supported by the one in command.

In Sevilla, for example, Monchi has spent 50 million euros on two footballers who were expressly requested by him: Suso and En-Nesyri.

Sevilla faces the game against Krasnodar, ninth in their league, with the losses of Bono and Carlos Fernández with coronavirus, plus the injured Acuña and Suso and with Navas sanctioned after seeing the red in the first leg.

It will be the first match due to force majeure that Navas has been lost under the command of the Basque coach, who could use a new system in the modern Krasnodar stadium.

It is another of the evolutions of this Lopetegui who in certain circumstances chooses to play with three centrals (Koundé, Diego Carlos and Sergi Gómez) to place Lucas Ocampos as a lane on the right.

On the left would be Escudero, who will be the captain in Russia.