Fernando Hierro and Carlos Queiroz need no reminders about the hazards of being a soccer coach. In his 14 years as a key player at Real Madrid, Hierro went through 14 coaching changes, and the final one cost him his spot with the club in 2003 — even though the incoming coach said he lobbied hard to keep Hierro around. That coach was Queiroz, a velvet-voiced Portuguese native who ended up lasting only one season in the bottom-line world of Real.
On Wednesday night in Kazan, Hierro and Querioz met again in much more improbable circumstances as Spain defeated Iran, 1-0, to take a share of the lead in Group B with Portugal. Queiroz has coached Iran for more than seven years; Hierro has coached Spain for just a week. Named to replace Julen Lopetegui just 48 hours before Spain’s opening match against Portugal in Russia, which ended in a 3-3 draw last Friday, he has been asked to lead one of the tournament’s leading contenders on a deep run toward a title. He was given almost no notice he would get the job. He has received plenty of advice on how to do it.