Jay-Jay Okocha’s former Bolton Wanderers teammate, Fernando Hierro, will take charge of the Spanish national team for the World Cup in Russia, replacing Julen Lopetegui.
Okocha captained the Spaniard between 2004 and 2006 at the Reebok Stadium before the latter retired.
Following the announcement on Tuesday that Lopetegui would be taking over at Real Madrid, the Spanish FA moved swiftly to release him from his duties as their head coach.
Hierro will take over training immediately and on Friday will make his debut for Spain against Portugal in La Roja’s opening match in the tournament.
The decision to hand over the reigns to Hierro puts a full stop on what has proven to be a hectic last 24 hours for Spain.
Hierro is the current director of football at the Spanish FA and was one of the names mentioned as a potential successor to Lopetegui.
Obviously, the original plan was for this to happen much further down the line.
