Hulen Lopetegui (57, Spain) coach of Wolverhampton in the English Premier League (EPL), known to Korean fans as the teacher of Hwang Hee-chan (27), resigned voluntarily right before the start of the season.

Wolverhampton announced on the 안전놀이터 official website on the 9th (Korean time) that they had mutually agreed to part ways after nine months of companionship with Lopetegi.

The reason the club officially announced was ‘difference of opinion’. Wolverhampton said, “Lopetegi took charge of Wolverhampton in November last year and led the remainder of the Premier League, but acknowledged and accepted differences of opinion on certain issues.” “We have agreed that an amicable termination of the contract is the best solution for all parties,” he said.

Wolverhampton will play the first EPL match of the 2023-2024 season against Manchester United at 4 am on the 15th. Lopetegui stepped down from his position as coach just a week before the season opener. It is Wolverhampton that the command tower became vacant at an unexpected timing.

Lopetegi, who signed a three-year contract last year and took over as Wolverhampton’s command tower, finished the season in 13th place with 41 points (11 wins, 8 draws, 19 losses). Compared to the 2021-22 season (51 points, 10th place), this is a somewhat poor performance. Hwang Hee-chan left due to injury and was unable to play in many games

Here, at the end of the season, there was a conflict with the club. British media The Boot Room reported in June that “Lopetegi is feeling dissatisfied with his life at Wolverhampton,” and “I think some of the promises made to him when he took over as manager were not kept.” According to Reuters, Lopetegui complained about the club’s lack of investment.

In fact, the media recently supported it by listing the players who left from Wolverhampton. Ruben Neves (26) moved to Saudi Arabia Al Hilal, and Nathan Collins (22, Brantford), Raul Jimenez (32, Fulham), and Joao Moutinho (37) also left Wolverhampton in the past year. Compared to him, Wolverhampton’s investment is not crazy about this, and it seems that Lopetegi has been dissatisfied.

Lopetegi had a conflict with the team due to his fiery personality. The Boot Room argued that “Lo Pete Gi is a good coach, but he makes noise when things don’t go his way.” In the past, when he was coach of the Spanish national team, he went to Real Madrid right before the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Likewise in Wolverhampton, the emotional goal deepened.

Lopetegi is a person with extensive experience in coaching the national team of Spain by age group, including the A team, as well as clubs and national teams such as Real Madrid, FC Porto, and Sevilla. He took the helm of the EPL team for the first time through Wolverhampton, and he completed it in just nine months.