In the aftermath of Real Madrid’s third consecutive Championship League win, few could have predicted the chain of events leading to what has emerged as the biggest crisis to hit the game in Spain in recent memory.

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane’s surprise decision to quit after the win against Liverpool in Kiev, sparked a search for a new manager.

In the meantime, the national team coach Julen Lopetegui had recently agreed to a new contract offered to him by new Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales on the back of his successful reformation of the Spanish national team following their disappointing performances at Brazil 2014 and Euro 2016. That contract was to keep Lopetegui in charge till 2020.

However the proverbial hit the fan when Real Madrid announced, just three days before Spain’s opening Group B match against Portugal, that Lopetegui was to be its new coach following the current World Cup campaign.

A blindsided Rubiales was informed five minutes before Real Madrid’s public announcement of the appointment, just three days out from the World Cup opener against Spain. The Spanish press went to town criticising the coach for causing a distraction, and for negotiating his Real contract when he should’ve been preparing the squad for the opener against Portugal.

An infuriated Rubiales immediately left a FIFA meeting and flew into the Spanish camp where he reportedly spoke to the players before calling a press conference and announced the shock decision to sack the national team coach Lopetegui just two days before the start of its opening World Cup group match against Portugal. Needless to say, the announcement has sent shock waves through the football world, and the decision threatens to derail the Spanish giant’s Russia campaign before it has started.

Said Rubiales: “The (Spanish federation) RFEF cannot stay on the margin of the contractual situation of one of its workers. We have been obliged to act.”

“The problem is how things have been done with the total absence of participation of the Spanish Football Federation, that is something we cannot ignore, Lopetegui is an impeccable professional but the process is important.”

While much of the Spanish press have criticised the coach’s behaviour and Real Madrid’s actions as potentially undermining the Spanish World Cup campaign, others have described Rubiales’ decision as impetuous and based upon emotion.

There can be little doubt that Spain’s opponents in Group B, Portugal, Morocco, and even Iran will fancy their chances of getting some result against the Spanish, who, under Lopetegui, had a formidable record of being undefeated in 20 games.

Rubiales announced that Fernando Hierro, the technical director at the Spanish federation, will take over as the head coach of the Spanish team at the World Cup. As an inexperienced coach at this level, one can only assume he’ll be trying to provide as much continuity as possible.