Sports

Wolves Announce Lopetegui As New Manager

English Premier League side, Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday via their website and social media handles announced former Spain national team and Real Madrida coach, Julen Lopetegui as new manager

The club in a statement posted said the former Sevilla coach will take over the reigns of the managerial position at the club on 14 November, six days before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“We are delighted to announce Julen Lopetegui will take charge as our new head coach on Monday 14th November,” Wolves announced on Saturday.

The vastly experienced Spaniard, who has worked in coaching and management for nearly 20 years, will begin his first Premier League role on Monday 14th November when he officially takes charge of the men’s first-team squad.

The 56-year-old has been employed in some of Europe’s most prestigious roles in recent years, notably Porto, the Spanish national team, Real Madrid and Sevilla, who he led for the past three seasons.

Interestingly this was the second offer made to the Spaniard by Wolverhampton who rebuffed the advances of the club the first time due to family reasons.

Wolves chairman Jeff Shi said: “Julen is a top coach, with excellent experience at an elite level of the game, and we are very pleased to have agreed a deal to bring him to Wolves.

“Since the very beginning, Julen has been our number one choice to manage Wolves, and we look forward to welcoming him and his team when they join us in the coming weeks.”

Subject to being granted work permits, Lopetegui and his team will take over at Molineux following the club’s Premier League fixture against Arsenal, giving him the World Cup period to prepare for his first game in charge of Wolves in late December.

The club did not however disclose the terms and duration of the contract.

Wolves are currently 19th of the EPL log and will face inform Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening clash.

There have been managerial changes of late in the Premier League with former Arsenal head coach Unai Emery leaving Villarreal in the Spanish La Liga to become the new manager of Aston Villa.

Wolverhampton had Nigerian interest in the form of goalkeeper Carl Ikeme who was first choice goalkeeper at the club until his career was cut short when he was diagnosed of suffering from Luekemia.

Wolves also had former Super Eagles star Seyi Olofinjana in charge of the Loan and Pathway Manager before working as Sporting Director at Swiss club Grasshopper Club Zürich.

The Chemical Engineering graduate from the Ladoke Akintola University left his last job on 20 June 2022.

Izuchukwu Okosi

Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc. In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio. He worked there for 13 years until October 2017. Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch. He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations. Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line. Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.