Lopetegui: From the saddest day of my life to the the happiest
The former Spain coach was presented as Madrid's new boss on Thursday
Julen Lopetegui said that being appointed on as Real Madrid coach on Thursday was the "happiest" days of his life following his dismissal as Spain coach on Wednesday, which was one of the "saddest" days of his life.
The coach agreed to take over as Madrid boss on Tuesday, a decision which angered Spanish FA chief Luis Rubiales, who decided to sack him as a result on the eve of the World Cup.
Lopetegui had hoped to be allowed to remain in charge of Spain for the finals, but Rubiales felt the lack of transparency and a conflict of interests meant it was best that he left before Friday's game against Portugal.
"Yesterday was the saddest day of my life, since the death of my mother, but this is the happiest day," Lopetegui said at his presentation on Thursday.
"I hope I don't get too emotional, but I want to thank the president [Florentino Perez] and Real Madrid for the trust and the responsibility that I assume with pride and great strength."
On Rubiales' decision, he added: "I would have liked him to have acted differently. Loyalty is telling the truth and, as soon as there was something to say, he was the first one to know.
"I wanted to give a press conference that same day, but I had to wait for him because he was far away. The agreement had to be made before, not during the World Cup.
"What happened during those hours, I don't know, but the reason for making it public was to be transparent. The players knew about it and there was no problem, they trained magnificently."
