Sunderland have confirmed the arrival of former Leeds United goalkeeping coach Alessandro Barcherini. The Italian will be the club's new Head of Goalkeeping working alongside Mark Prudhoe at the Stadium of Light.
The 36-year-old spent the last three years at Elland Road working with the first team and academy goalkeepers. He joined Leeds United as part of Marcelo Bielsa's coaching team that won the Championship title. Barcherini played for Notts County as a player before spending time with Nottingham Forest and Stoke City in a backroom staff role.
Speaking after joining the Black Cats he told safc.com: "I’m very excited to be joining Sunderland AFC and I can’t wait to get started. 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.
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"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 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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