Alessandro Barcherini has joined Sunderland’s coaching team just days after announcing his departure from Leeds United. The Italian goalkeeping coach took to social media on Monday to reveal he would be leaving Leeds United after spending three years working under Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch.
Barcherini joined the Whites in 2019 and spent time working with the likes of Illan Meslier, Kristoffer Klaesson and Kiko Casilla, who was recently released by the Whites, as the club’s first-team assistant goalkeeping coach and head of academy goalkeeping. However, the 36-year-old has made the move to Championship side Sunderland to become the Black Cats’ new head of goalkeeping.
He’ll start work this week under Alex Neil and he’ll hope to play his part as Sunderland look to re-establish themselves in the second tier of English football following promotion from League One.
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“I’m very excited to be joining Sunderland AFC and I can’t wait to get started,” the former Leeds man said. “There’s a lot of similarities in the journey that Leeds United went on during my time at Elland Road and I’ve seen what the progression looks like, but more importantly I’ve seen what it looks like through the eyes of a young goalkeeper.
“There’s a lot of good people at SAFC and they have a proud tradition of producing top goalkeepers, so we want to continue that pathway and ensure our youngsters know they can progress through our Academy and play for their local club.”
Head of coaching at Sunderland, Stuart English, added: “Throughout a detailed recruitment process, it became clear that Alessandro was the standout candidate for this role. He’s gained valuable experience working in three category one academies and been part of a successful senior set-up in the Championship and Premier League.
“Alessandro, who’s role will be to ensure every goalkeeper at SAFC has the best individualised programme to maximise their potential, will bring fresh ideas and training methods to our existing goalkeeping programme by working alongside Mark Prudhoe to enhance our existing offering.”
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