Julen Lopetegui has reflected on the responsibility he feels as Spain Under-21 Coach to maintain the senior side’s style of play.
The former goalkeeper took over the U-21 position in August, following Luis Milla’s departure, and is now halfway to taking the team to the European Under-21 Championships in Israel.
After Thursday’s 5-0 first-leg play-off win over Denmark and ahead of the second leg away on Tuesday, Lopetegui sat down with Marca to discuss his role and his aims with the youngsters.
“It is pretty challenging and demanding. Here there is a lot of quality both in footballing and human terms,” the 46-year-old mused today.
“I want to be respectful to and conscientious of the current style of Spanish football. We look for players who respect or mark that style of play, knowing also that we always try to win.
“We have to know what has taken us to win so much, what style has allowed us to make history and we must continue in that quest. Many teams have one, but not all have marked an era such as Spain has.”
One pressure Lopetegui is facing is providing replacement options to senior side Coach Vicente del Bosque for the likes of Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez.
“There are alternatives in all positions. The expectations are many and are great. But, it is not easy to perform for many years at the level these great players you speak of have done.
“There is great health in our football, so we must look to the values they represent as players – goodness, wisdom, balance and the talent that has taken them so high. It is not only these players’ talent that must be replicated.
“No comparison with the world champions is fair, the Under-21s are still kids and they are a generation of a certain age only. Our responsibility is to respect values, a style of play and to try to convey the challenge.
“Every senior player is a prime example for my players, in their football and behaviour. Although they may face difficulty at club level, sanity returns rapidly with the national team.”
The Coach discussed a number of topics, from his past as a player under Del Bosque in the Real Madrid Castilla, to Javier Clemente’s recent claims that the Spain side he was in charge of in the 1990s would defeat the current senior outfit.
“That is an unfair comparison. You cannot tell, but what is certain is that this team are the world and European champions. I was lucky enough [as reserve goalkeeper] to go to the 1994 World Cup, but the current generation is undoubtedly the best generation of Spanish footballers.”
