MADRID, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Julen Lopetegui replied to Monday night's decision by Real Madrid to sack him as head coach by issuing in a communique in which he expressed his gratitude to the club.
Real Madrid confirmed Lopetegui's sacking, which came a day after his side lost 5-1 to Barcelona at the Camp Nou stadium, at around 9 p.m. local time and the now former coach wasted little time in responding.
"Following the decision taken by the Real Madrid board of directors today, I want to thank the club for the opportunity they gave me," he said.
Lopetegui thanked the players "for their efforts and hard work, as well as every one of the club employees for the treatment they gave me during this period, and of course for the fans for their support," before wishing the club "the best for what is left of the season."
Lopetegui's communique contrasts with that issued by the club to announce his dismissal which included a particularly damning assessment: "The board considers there to be a large disparity between the quality within the Real Madrid squad, which boasts eight nominees for the next Ballon d'Or award - an unprecedented number in the club's history - and the team's results to date."
Real Madrid have never openly criticized a coach in such a manner and the remarks in the communique seem to be an attempt by the club to shift the blame for their poor start to the season entirely onto the former coach's shoulders, while avoiding any criticism of club president Florentino Perez or their season planning.
When Lopetegui signed for Real Madrid in June, Cristiano Ronaldo was still a Real Madrid player. Ronaldo joined Juventus in July and Lopetegui asked for a replacement for a man who scored 26 league goals and 15 more in the Champions League last season.
The only replacements he got were 18-year-old Vinicius Jr, who cost 45 million euros and for all his talent needs time to mature, and Mariano Diaz, who returned at a cost of 20 million euros after one good season at Olympique Lyonnais, whom he had joined from Madrid a year earlier for just eight million euros.
The club had hoped that Ronaldo's departure would allow for greater teamwork, and for Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio to be more prolific in front of goal. At the start of the season, those hopes seemed to be borne out, with Bale scoring in each of Madrid's first three La Liga games, and Benzema netting twice in both of their first two matches.
But despite a promising start, neither has scored since, while despite a wonderful strike against Roma in the Champions League, Mariano has yet to score in domestic competition.
It was not just in attack where Madrid failed to do their job this summer either. Lopetegui is also reported to have asked for a new central defender, but none came.
This season Raphael Varane, who won the World Cup with France, looks to be feeling the effects of a busy summer, while club captain Sergio Ramos, for all his posturing, looks increasingly vulnerable and error-prone. The talented Jesus Vallejo has once again struggled with injuries, leaving Lopetegui to call upon B-team player Sergio Reguilon to complete his squad, while injuries to Marcelo and Dani Carvajal also left the former coach short-handed.
It is also interesting to note that in his final two games in charge, Lopetegui preferred to use winger Lucas Vazquez ahead of 40-million-euro signing Alvaro Odriozola at right back. Indeed, the only summer arrival who is playing regularly is goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who is Madrid's first choice in La Liga, with Keylor Navas so far playing in European matches.
Lopetegui also struggled to get the best out of his midfield, with last season's trio of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro all currently playing below par.
Modric was decisive last season, but the 33-year-old is another suffering the effects of a long season followed by a short summer, while Casemiro, usually so effective in front of the defense, on Sunday admitted he is playing well below his best.
Mateo Kovacic, who would have been the natural replacement for Modric, was allowed to join Chelsea on loan for the season and is currently playing a key role in the London side's positive start to their season.
So Lopetegui was left with a midfield that is both a man shorter and a year older than last season, and whose main components went a long way in the World Cup and didn't rest until the middle of July.
Is it therefore any surprise they are not playing as well as last season?
The Real Madrid board appears to think so - or at least wants the fans to think so - but they seem to forget that although Real Madrid won the Champions League last season, that triumph covered up a dreadful domestic campaign in which they finished 17 points behind La Liga winners FC Barcelona and were effectively out of the title race by Christmas.
For all that the club and fans might wish differently, without Ronaldo and Kovacic this current squad is weaker than last season's, and although Lopetegui may have made mistakes during his brief spell in charge, no words in a press release can hide the fact that the seeds for his failure were sown by the club over the summer.
