Spanish football manager Julen Lopetegui has been announced as the new head coach of West Ham United following the departure of David Moyes at the end of the season.
The former Real Madrid head coach with over two decades experience in football management will have his contract with his new club take effect on July 1 when he takes the team through pre-season training, the Hammers said in a statement on Thursday.
“West Ham United is delighted to announce the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as the Club’s new men’s Head Coach,” it said in a statement without details about the contract.
The Club says the new coach fits into their new and growing football strategy, which gained pace in July 2023 with the arrival of Tim Steidten, the Technical Director.
Julen seeks to make his mark on the club and he plans to make use of the fan base to establish that, he told the media.
“We will try to put our stamp on the Club…I think the last few years have been very good years to have this base, of course, but my ambition as a coach is always to be better and better, to achieve more and bigger aims and to encourage and improve the players, the team, and to compete because football is about this – to compete. We are very ambitious about this.”
“We came here with the idea and the thought to make a big, big noise. That’s why we came here, and we are excited by this challenge. Of course, we are going to do our best to help the Club and the team to achieve to achieve the best level and to achieve our aims. I assure the fans that they are going to be key in all our achievements.”
The club’s Technical Director seeks to leverage on the rich experience of Julen for success.
“Julen lives and breathes football. He thinks deeply about the game, he is tactically astute and he has shown he can adapt to work in different leagues, in different countries, with national teams, and in each situation he has shown his outstanding qualities. Julen is highly experienced in the way we will now work at West Ham United and I am looking forward to working with him to grow a successful future for the Club.”