Paul Giblin
MOSCOW, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Former FC Barcelona boss, Luis Enrique was named as the new coach of the Spanish national football team in a communique published by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Monday.
The 48-year-old has agreed to a two-year deal which will take him to the end of the 2020 European Championships. He replaces Fernando Hierro, who on Sunday stepped down from the post he occupied on a temporary basis in the wake of Julen Lopetegui's sacking on the eve of the World Cup finals.
Jose Molina has also been named as Hierro's replacement as sporting director at the RFEF after Hierro also renounced that post on Sunday, citing the need for "new horizons."
Enrique takes the Spain job after a year-long sabbatical after leaving Barcelona in June 2017 at the end of a three-year period during which he won two La Liga titles, three Copa's del Rey and the 2015 Champions League. He also won the Spanish and European Supercups and the World Club Championship.
His coaching career also saw spells at Barcelona's B-team, as well as AS Roma and Celta Vigo, while his 11-year playing career with the Spanish national team saw him score 12 goals in 62 appearances.
He was chosen ahead of other candidates, including former Getafe and Malaga boss, Michel Gonzalez and former Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Espanyol coach, Quique Sanchez Flores. Roberto Martinez was ruled out as he has a contract with Belgium until 2020.
"It was a unanimous decision to choose him as the new national team coach," commented RFEF President, Luis Rubiales.
Nevertheless, the decision to name Enrique can be seen as controversial. He began his playing career with his hometown club, Sporting Gijon and then joined Real Madrid, but the fact that he left to sign for their eternal rivals FC Barcelona, made him a hated figure for Real Madrid supporters.
The 48-year-old is also known for his strong personality and for having several clashes with the press during his time in the dugout at the Camp Nou Stadium.
During those three years Enrique adapted the pure passing style used by Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, introducing some more direct football into the mix; something that many have called for after Spain's disappointment in Russia in which their passing seemed to be an end in itself, rather than a means to scoring goals.
