Hierro leaves job as Spain coach

Spain’s World Cup coach Fernando Hierro has left the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), they said yesterday.Hierro had been director of football at the RFEF since November 2017 but when Julen Lopetegui was sacked on the eve of the World Cup, he stepped in temporarily to take charge of the team as coach.It was expected that Hierro, 50, would go back to his old job, where he was still in contract, but in a statement RFEF said that Hierro had left “to seek new horizons and new professional challenges.”Spain performed poorly at the World Cup in losing to Russia in the last-16 and are actively searching for a long-term replacement for the sacked Lopetegui.Hierro had previously served the Spanish Federation as director of football from 2007 until 2011. In that four year period Spain won the 2008 Euros and the 2010 World Cup. RFEF made reference to his long service in their statement adding: “After many kilometres walked together RFEF and Fernando Hierro bring to end our working relationship.“The most recent Spain coach has declined the opportunity to return to his old position as director of football.”Hierro played 89 times for Spain, scoring 23 goals, and was a popular choice to take the team through the tournament after Lopetegui was sacked for the way he had signed with Real Madrid two days before the World Cup began.Hierro had previously worked as an assistant coach at Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti and endured an unsuccessful season as head coach of second tier Oviedo in the 2016-17 season.Spain put in their best World Cup performance in Hierro’s first game in charge against Portugal. But subsequent showings against Iran and Morocco were less convincing and elimination at the hands of Russia left Spain out of the tournament and looking for a new coach.Spanish media have linked Luis Enrique, Michel, Quique Sanchez-Flores and Belgium coach Roberto Martinez to the job. Hierro would have been involved in picking the new boss. Instead Spain must now find a new director of football as well as a new coach.