Julien Lopetegui spoke at a press conference today ahead of Sevilla’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund as the teams gear up for face-off at Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in the third group stage match tomorrow night.
It is going to be a strange affair for Lopetegui as the 56-year-old has been widely reported to be on the brink of leaving the club after having endured a poor start to the season. The report is that Lopetegui would take charge of this game, as the Sevilla officials are said to be not keen to disrupt preparations for the team.
However the expectation is that Lopetegui will depart in the days after the game, with Jorge Sampaoli ready to succeed him.
Lopetegui’s press conference today was one expected to have a bit of intrigue what with all kinds of things having been written about it.
As for whether he would be shedding some light on the situation if he were to be asked about Wolves, it would be anybody’s guess.
As it turned out, the former Spain and Real Madrid boss would not be drawn on the speculation, but AS noted that he was ‘visibly upset’ when he was apparently questioned multiple times about whether he would be continuing at Sevilla.
He responded (via AS): “Out of respect for my main responsibility I’m not going to talk about what has happened these last few months.
“You have to win a lot to be 169 games, tomorrow is the 170th. I will be faithful to what I have done because I have to rise to the occasion of this club and its fans, who deserve the best of those responsible for this team.
“Situations are what they are and one must give the best version of oneself. Tomorrow we have a war, a hard battle and the war does not go with melancholy. I’m going to treat this with the responsibility we all have towards our fans. And I’m not going to move from there, because I think that’s what he can bring to my team and we’ve been at this beloved club for more than three years. I’m not going to say what I think of what happened.”
It does appear as it Lopetegui is indeed set to take charge of one final game for Sevilla although his comments aren’t giving much away as the rumor is that Lopetugui is claimed to have a pre-agreement with Wolves.