MOSCOW, Jun 13 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid's announcement that Spain coach Julen Lopetegui will replace Zinedine Zidane in the dugout at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium is no doubt the major surprise ahead of the 2018 World Cup.
Real Madrid's announcement was a shock, not just because Lopetegui had not been on the radar of possible candidates for to replace Zidane, but also because of its timing, just three days before the Spanish kick off their World Cup campaign against Portugal in Sochi.
The Spanish press has reacted to the news with TV network Tele 5 showing a tense conversation between Fernando Hierro, the Director of Sport at the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and Lopetegui holding at the Spanish training camp.
Even the usually pro-Real Madrid newspaper Marca writes that Lopetegui's continuity at the head of the Spanish side for World Cup "hangs by a thread," reporting that new RFEF President, Luis Rubiales feels "betrayed" by the coach, who less than a month ago extended his contract to lead the Spanish national team into the 2020 European Championships, and refusing to rule out that Lopetegui could even be sacked in the coming hours.
The editor of sports paper 'Diario AS' Alfredo Relano published an editorial criticizing both Madrid and Lopetegui, for the move saying Madrid were "a factory for making people hate Real Madrid," while the pro-Barca 'El Mundo Deportivo' writes that Lopetegui had long been a candidate to take over at the Bernabeu.
The general press have also criticized the move with the "El Correo" reporting that "Real Madrid agitate the Spain team by signing Lopetegui," and the respected El Pais, which usually attempts to remain neutral in sporting issues saying the decision was "bad from Madrid and worse from Lopetegui," who "cannot risk being a pyromaniac in what is still his 'home' just two days before the World Cup starts."
