Real Madrid to start their preseason against Puebla

Real Madrid will start their preseason on July 28 with an exhibition match against Puebla. The match will be heavily anticipated as it should be the first for new Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui, who was fired as Spain’s National Team coach two days before the World Cup for taking the Real Madrid job. It will also be a great opportunity to see some of Real Madrid’s stars, although it is still not clear who will be in the team considering this match will happen shortly after the World Cup. The news was announced by both Real Madrid and Club Puebla but details were sparse.

Real Madrid is, of course, one of the most historic clubs in all football. Not only are they the winningest team in European Cup/Champions League history, but they are currently the reigning three-time Champions League winners.

After coach Zinedine Zidane’s surprise departure at the end of the 2017/2018 season, Real Madrid decided that days before the World Cup they would announce Julen Lopetegui, then Spanish National team manager, as their next coach. The news wasn’t well received by most, and a lot of criticism came to both Real Madrid and Lopetegui. It was then a bigger surprise when the Spanish FA decided to fire Lopetegui two days before their first World Cup game, shocking the whole football world.

The day that the World Cup started, Real Madrid’s President, Florentino Perez, presented Lopetegui as the new head coach and went on a rant against the Spanish FA. Thus, what would be a friendly that would have generated some news outside of Mexico (and a lot of news in Mexico) will now be in the eyes of the world. Puebla will now be remembered as the first place where Lopetegui started his controversial tenure with Real Madrid.