Can Fernando Hierro salvage something for Spain at this World Cup? Here's the lowdown on the new man and the task ahead of him... "We have no time to dwell," said Fernando Hierro as he sat down to greet a still bewildered media on Wednesday. It was not really a moment for comedy but as understatements go this was a big one. Hierro's first day in the job as Spain's new manager also happened to be the last day before the 2018 World Cup began. No time to dwell, indeed. His country's national team, one of the favourites to lift the trophy, have been plunged into crisis by Julen Lopetegui's appointment as Real Madrid's new manager and the subsequent decision of federation president Luis Rubiales to dispense with his services. It is, as Rubiales was kind enough to point out, an "extremely difficult situation". The rights and wrongs of this particular situation will no doubt be debated long after everyone has left Russia. Books will be written about this. But with Spain preparing to face European champions Portugal on Friday evening, there are more pressing matters now. Can Spain still win the World Cup? How Hierro handles the fall-out will be the key. He is well used to administrative roles. Hierro was appointed as the sporting director of Spain's federation in 2007 and remained in the role for the subsequent successes at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. But his managerial experience is less substantial with his only previous role in charge being a season in the second tier with Oviedo. 3:30 Hierro is unlikely to change much, says his former boss Sam Allardyce Of course, it is somewhat ironic that Lopetegui leaves because of his ties to Real Madrid when the man who has been chosen to replace him is a Bernabeu legend. Hierro made more than 600 appearances for the club during his 14 seasons in Madrid, winning the Champions League on three occasions, including captaining them to the trophy in 2002. Once one of the finest defenders in the world - he was equally comfortable in midfield, where he had a brief spell in the Premier League with Bolton Wanderers before retiring - Hierro will have no problem commanding the respect of the squad. Indeed, his appointment should assuage any annoyed Real Madrid players within the ranks. That will be important because finding some continuity amid the chaos could be crucial and Hierro has already made explicit his intentions. "The key will be to change as little as possible," he said in his opening address. That reflects the fact that prior to the shock events on the eve of this World Cup, Spain were regarded as arguably the strongest side in it. 2:34 Find out how Spain are doing after replacing manager Julen Lopetegui Many of the significant figures in the dressing room were believed to be happy for Lopetegui to remain in charge despite the announcement and with Spain having been unbeaten throughout his two-year reign there is little onus on Hierro to shake things up. The challenge instead will be to restore focus and maintain their previous good form. The hope will be that Hierro can prove a calming influence just as his old team-mate Zinedine Zidane did with such success at club level for Madrid. In a sense, his job will be to not get in the way. Spain have an abundance of world-class talent and if he can shift the focus back onto the pitch then the strains of the past few days could fade away. It could even prove a unifying factor. While some will point to the meltdowns once commonplace for countries such as France and Netherlands, World Cup history is also littered with tales of pre-tournament problems dissipating fast once the wins racked up. Italy have famously used such siege mentality to their advantage in the past. There were few gripes about Lopetegui's leadership, although one divisive factor, the continued selection of Diego Costa - a player with the same agent, Jorge Mendes, as the former coach - has been removed. If Hierro persists with the Atletico Madrid man, nobody can accuse him of such bias. If he goes for Iago Aspas, it's a change many called for anyway. Elsewhere, much of the Spain team picks itself. David de Gea finally gets to make his World Cup bow and he has a world-class defence in front of him, well protected by Sergio Busquets. In David Silva and Andres Iniesta there is proven quality in the final third, while it would be a major blow if Isco allows his bond with Lopetegui to ruin his Russia experience. Spain still have the players to do something special. What they do not have is time to adjust to this upheaval. "It is a challenge for everyone," admitted Hierro. How long his players now choose to dwell on this extraordinary drama could depend on how they fare against Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest in that first game against Portugal on Friday night.<doc-sep>Spain's sporting director Fernando Hierro will take over as Spain head coach for the World Cup, following Julen Lopetegui's sacking on Wednesday. Hierro will be in the dugout on Friday when Spain begin their campaign in the Group B opener against Portugal and will remain in charge throughout the World Cup in Russia. The former Spain and Real Madrid captain will be presented to the press at the Krasnodar Stadium later on Wednesday before settling in to his new role. "Fernando Hierro will assume the position of national coach in the World Championship of Russia and will appear before the media accompanied by the president RFEF, Luis Rubiales," a statement from the Spanish Football Federation read. "Next, he will direct his first training and on Friday he will debut in Sochi at the match of Spain against Portugal." Image: Ramos has issued a rallying cry towards his teammates following the shocking departure of Lopetegui Spain and Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has issued a rallying cry on his twitter account to his Spanish teammates saying: "We represent the badge, the colours, the fans, the country. "Responsibility and commitment are with you. Yesterday, today and tomorrow." The Spanish Football Federation announced the departure of their head coach Lopetegui around 11am on ahead of a press conference. President Luis Rubiales said they had been "forced into the decision". Somos la Selección, representamos un escudo, unos colores, una aficion, un país. La responsabilidad y el compromiso son con vosotros y por vosotros. Ayer, hoy y mañana, juntos: #VamosEspaña pic.twitter.com/rzy5D5lF8F — Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) June 13, 2018 On Tuesday, Real Madrid announced Lopetegui, who has been in charge of the national side for two years, signed a three-year deal to become their new head coach following the departure of Zinedine Zidane. Ramos and Lopetegui will work together at Real Madrid come the start of next season.<doc-sep>Real Madrid-bound Julen Lopetegui was sacked as Spain coach two days before their first match, while Canada, USA and Mexico won the vote to host the 2026 tournament<doc-sep>SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Fernando Hierro stressed the importance of calm and continuity for Spain on the eve of their World Cup opener with Portugal after he was thrust into the spotlight as their new head coach following the shock departure of Julen Lopetegui. Soccer Football - World Cup - Spain Training - Fisht Stadium, Sochi, Russia - June 14, 2018 Spain coach Fernando Hierro during training REUTERS/Francois Lenoir Hierro was appointed in the wake of Lopetegui’s dismissal on Wednesday for agreeing to take over Real Madrid following the World Cup without informing the Spanish football association, a drama that threw the team’s preparations into disarray. “We are not going to deviate one iota from our footballing concepts and what we’ve been doing for a long time now,” the distinguished former Spain defender Hierro told a media conference in Sochi on Thursday. “You’re going to see the Spanish squad that you’re used to, the Spanish squad that likes to be the protagonist in the match, that likes to play beautifully, and we have a very clear strategy in mind. “We have a very clear goal in mind, we’ve worked for two solid weeks before the competition. “We still have a lot of the coaching staff from before, we have our principles very clearly in mind, and we are not going to change that reality overnight.” Flanked by Spain captain Sergio Ramos, a relaxed Hierro, once the national team skipper himself, seemed to have put the turbulence of the previous 36 hours behind him as he stressed that little would change with him at the helm. “We need to respect the work that has been carried out over the last two weeks in the run-up,” the 50-year-old said. “We respect the European champions (Portugal), we know that they have one of the best players in Ronaldo and a coach with experience, but we trust fully in our lads.” Describing their Group B games as “three finals”, Hierro said that all 23 players would need to give their all if Spain were to succeed in Russia. “To win this game we need to do our homework. We need to know that we are going in there fully fit and well-prepared. These last two weeks have been quite intense, but we have a clear idea of what we want to achieve tomorrow,” he explained. Even if he wanted to, Hierro is unlikely to have the time to change much about the Spanish style of play ahead of their first game. “It’s true we don’t have much time to work with, so we’re not going to change that much,” Hierro said.<doc-sep>
During 1989-2003 Fernando Hierro, as a footballer, made over 500 appearances and won five La Ligas with Real Madrid C.F. On June 13 last year, Fernando Hierro had resigned from a second-tier Spanish club after missing out on a promotion play-off spot. Exactly a year later, he has been named the manager of the Spanish World Cup team — one of the favourites for the trophy — after a tumultuous 24 hours that resulted in the firing of Julen Lopetegui as coach. Celebrated player Fernando Hierro had an illustrious career as a footballer, especially from 1989 to 2003 when he made over 500 appearances and won five La Ligas with Real Madrid C.F. During the period, he played in four World Cups — 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002. As the captain of the 2002 team, he guided the Spanish side to the fifth position which was the country’s all-time best performance until their World Cup win in 2010. Hierro is also the fifth on the list of Spain’s all-time top goal scorers, behind David Villa, Raul, Fernando Torres, and David Silva, and was named UEFA’s best defender in 1997-98. Short stint as the coach His coaching career, however, was brief and less impressive. After a successful stint as Malaga CF’s director of football for a year, Hierro spent a year as assistant manager — replacing Zinedine Zidane — at Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti. Hierro’s only previous experience as head coach comes from a season with Spanish second-tier side Real Oviedo in 2017 where he narrowly missed out on promotion to La Liga. The 50-year-old appeared confident of adapting to the current challenge. “I only have one year of experience with Oviedo and one year of experience as an assistant coach,” he said, reported the Associated Press. “[But] I’ve been near a ball for 30 years.” Speaking at a press conference alongside Spanish federation chief Luis Rubiales, Hierro added that there is not time to feel “sorry for ourselves”. “The objective is to fight for a World Cup. The players have been working towards this for two years,” said Hierro, who was already working for the Spanish federation as sporting director. “I’ve told the players that we have a wonderful, exciting challenge and we can’t let this be an excuse to distract us from our dream.” Acknowledging that one cannot change the work of two years in two days, Hierro said that his current plan is to make as few changes as possible to the team that was coached by Lopetegui. Players react Spanish captain and Real Madrid player Sergio Ramos, who reportedly rooted for Lopetegui to continue as the manager, was the first Spain player to speak up. “We are the national team. We represent this emblem, these colors, our fans, a country,” Ramos wrote on Twitter. “Our responsibility and commitment is to you. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, together.” Ramos’ partner in defence Gerard Pique, who plays for FC Barcelona, wrote “University of Michigan. Basketball. 1989. NCAA Champion. It wouldn’t be the first time it happened. Everyone united, more now than ever.” He was referring to the 1989 incident where Bill Frieder, coach of University of Michigan basketball team, was fired for announcing he would change schools the following season just before the NCAA tournament. The team went on to win the national title.