LIMPOPO – Black Leopards have named Alejandro Dorado Rodriguez as their head coach for the 2023/24 season.
This was recently announced by the team chairperson, Tshifhiwa Thidiela during a media briefing held at Meropa Casino and Entertainment World in Polokwane.
Rodriguez will be assisted by the former Leopards player, Peter Mponda as assistant coach. The new head coach took up his new role on July 4, preparing the team for the new season which will start next month.
You might also want to read: Black Leopards to play home matches at revamped Malamulele Stadium
The 38-year-old Spanish-born mentor‚ who has a strong record in Africa‚ joined Leopards on a three-year contract when the team bought the new status from Cape Town All Stars, after being relegated to the third division of the Safa ABC Motsepe League. They will now campaign in the same league they were relegated from, namely the Motsepe Foundation Championship League.
Rodriguez started his coaching career at Spanish giants, Real Madrid in 2012.
He was then appointed assistant coach at the Finnish side FC Honka in 2018 where he spent one season. In 2019, he moved to China where he was an assistant coach at Dalian Pro, a Chinese Super League club, and worked alongside former Liverpool and Real Madrid coach, Rafa Benitez.
Rodriguez currently holds a UEFA Pro licence. Before his move to South Africa, he served at the HFX Wanderers FC in the Canadian Premier League where he was also the assistant manager.
Commenting on his new position, Rodriguez said he had been given the mandate to ensure the team ends up at the top of the log come the end of the season. “I came here to turn their story into one of success, and the good thing is that the supporters can now sing every day because they are happy when the players win games”.
Thidiela expressed delight at the new appointment, saying he is convinced that they have employed “the right man for the job”.
