Latest news with #technicaldirector
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dan Ashworth leading search for new FA women's technical director
Dan Ashworth is leading a panel that includes Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman, as the Football Association (FA) search for their next women's technical director. Kay Cossington left her role as the FA's women's technical director last month. Cossington had led the FA's women's technical team since 2016 but departed to become head of women's football at the investment firm Sixth Street and chief executive of Bay Collective, a multi-club organisation launched by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) side Bay FC. The search for a replacement is underway, with Ashworth — who returned to the FA as chief football officer in May — leading the process to hire a new candidate. Ashworth was previously the FA's director of elite development, and has returned to the organisation following stints at Brighton, Newcastle and Manchester United, where he lasted just five months as sporting director. The FA's chief executive, Mark Bullingham, explained on Friday that England manager Wiegman is also a member of the panel that will decide on Cossington's successor. 'Sarina is on the interview panel for that role,' Bullingham said. 'It is important that the chemistry is really good between those roles and those individuals. Sarina and Kay have a good relationship and we want to replicate that. 'Dan Ashworth is now leading that search. We had already got it down to a longlist and he is now refining it down to a shortlist. We would like to make an appointment, but it's more important for us to make the right appointment, so we won't rush it through. It will probably still take a little bit of time.' Wiegman's contract runs until after the 2027 World Cup, as does those of her coaching staff, but trusted assistant manager Arjan Veurink will depart after Euro 2025 to become Netherlands head coach. 'She is the most successful coach in women's international football today with two Euros wins and two World Cup runners-up medals,' Bullingham said of Wiegman. 'It's worth pointing out that no other coach in the men's or women's game has won a Euros or World Cup with two different nations, so she has a unique achievement in that.' Asked whether Wiegman would consider staying beyond 2027, Bullingham replied: 'We haven't looked beyond that timescale yet or engaged in those conversations.' He was similarly unwilling to discuss the possibility of Wiegman's contract being terminated early if, for example, the Lionesses produced a Euro 2025 campaign the FA deemed to have fallen below standards. 'We're delighted that Sarina's in place until 2027 and I don't see any scenario changing that,' Bullingham said. 'We did get a small compensation fee [from the Dutch FA for Veurink's exit], but that was not a big factor in the decision. It was relatively small. I won't go into too many more details. 'It wasn't really about that, it was more about allowing someone who had been a really good operator for us, to achieve a dream that they wanted to do. 'We've agreed the [performance-related] bonuses with the players. We locked that down a few weeks ago. The way that works is that it is a percentage of the prize money we get from UEFA. But that has all been agreed.'
New York Times
24-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
‘Suds' Gopaladesikan: Newcastle's Microsoft graduate who found value in Lookman and Hojlund
Newcastle unveiled a new signing this week. It was not Bryan Mbeumo holding up a club scarf, nor was it Hugo Ekitike holding up a Brown Ale at The Strawberry. It was Sudarshan Gopaladesikan, a name so long the club shop will have to order new letters for its name and number printing should anyone want it on the back of a jersey. Except Gopaladesikan — 'Suds' for short — isn't an Alexander Isak replacement or a strike partner. He is Newcastle's new technical director. If you can't pronounce his name, don't know who he is and want to know what he does, look no further. Reports of Atalanta's decline were premature. An eighth-place finish in 2022, the lowest in Gian Piero Gasperini's near-decade-long tenure at the club, has since been forgotten. But at the time, some wondered if Atalanta were coming back down to earth, having flown so close to the sun that only shines on Serie A's elite. Advertisement The Milan clubs, a shambles when Gasperini pitched up in Lombardy, weren't missing out on the top four anymore. On the contrary, they were qualifying for the Champions League and winning things. Roma had appointed Jose Mourinho and he had delivered a trophy in his first year after The Friedkin Group backed him with a transfer spend in excess of €100m. Paul Pogba, meanwhile, was back for a second spell at Juventus, inspiring their fans, fleetingly, that the good times were around the corner again. In the end, Napoli were the ones quietly going about a tilt for the title under Luciano Spalletti. The overall picture was of a league with a renewed and widespread sense of competitiveness. For Atalanta, the loss of sporting director Giovanni Sartori did not augur well. He had built the Chievo teams that rose up the leagues and qualified for the Champions League. The business Sartori had done for Atalanta was every bit as good, even if it got little mainstream credit, such was Gasperini's lightning-rod association with the club's sudden reverse of fortunes from yo-yo club to contender. At his next club, Bologna, Sartori quickly showed what Atalanta might miss. Bologna followed Chievo and Atalanta in playing Champions League football for the first time in their history. Last season, they won the Coppa Italia after 51 years. But back to 2022. Atalanta's new majority shareholders, led by Steve Pagliuca of Bain Capital, had left the previous owners, the Percassi family, in place to manage the club on a day-to-day basis. The only surface change going on at Atalanta was the remodelling of the old Atleti Azzurri d'Italia into the brand spanking Gewiss Stadium. But, behind the scenes, the football department was undergoing a revamp. Tony D'Amico was hired as Sartori's replacement after assembling a Verona team that won promotion, finished in the top half of the Serie A table, and delivered major player-trading gains on a tiny budget. Lee Congerton, the former Leicester City and Celtic executive, was brought in to add international breadth to Atalanta's recruitment. Advertisement The owners, meanwhile, thought the time had come to build a data and analytics department. Being able to call upon supporting evidence to help with decision-making was what Pagliuca was used to not only in his day job at Bain, but as a co-owner of the Boston Celtics. Congerton knew just the person for the job. There was a kid at Benfica. Not a Seixal grad like Joao Felix or Ruben Dias. But still a wonderkid. He was a Microsoft graduate who, after rolling out a technical partnership with Real Madrid, was invited to found Benfica's first sports science department to the benefit of scouting, player-trading, tactical analysis, load-monitoring and player development. The kid was Sudarshan Gopaladesikan. 'I personally brought him from Benfica to Atalanta,' Congerton says. 'He had a good football education during his time at Benfica, and he helped me bring a 360 degree view to various transfer-market ideas.' How did that manifest itself? At a conference this year, Gopaladesikan showed his work on the signing of Ademola Lookman that summer. Congerton knew Lookman from his time at Leicester and thought his positional flexibility made him a good fit for Gasperini's way of attacking. The name did not generate great excitement. Lookman had bounced around a few clubs; Charlton then Everton, who loaned him to RB Leipzig, who signed him then loaned him to Fulham and Leicester. It created a bias. The market didn't rate him and his value at Leipzig took more of a hit when he was not reported as the in-house successor to Christopher Nkunku. Instead, Leipzig were lining up Lois Openda from Lens to replace their Chelsea-bound striker. It meant Lookman, then only 24, was available for just €10m. This was a snip when Gopaladesikan ran the data, weighting the leagues to see how transferrable his performance levels would be within Atalanta's game model. Contrary to the received wisdom on Lookman, Gopaladesikan's modelling showed the Nigeria international was the best of the rest in his position when compared with outliers like Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka and Raphinha. Advertisement 'Suds was instrumental in developing a state-of-the-art statistical analytics program for Atalanta,' Pagliuca says. 'These analytics have enhanced our capabilities in evaluating players to acquire and in match-game preparation. Atalanta has benefited greatly from his efforts and we're thankful to Suds for the passion and drive he brought to the club every day.' In the event Atalanta were to sell Lookman to Inter for a multiple of five this summer (negotiations continue as Atalanta stand by a €50million asking price), he would leave Bergamo with 52 goal involvements in three seasons, a Europa League winners' medal and man of the match award from that historic game against Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen. As midnight approached at the Aviva stadium, Lookman proudly posed for photos in the afterglow of his hat-trick in the final in Dublin, a display that secured the club its first trophy in nearly 60 years. It was an achievement that led him to being voted African Player of the Year later in 2024. Another signing who arrived in the same summer as Lookman was an unknown Dane from Sturm Graz. Rasmus Hojlund had been identified by Congerton and chief scout Gabriele Zamagna. The €21million Sturm Graz wanted for the teenager was considered a high price to pay by Atalanta. By grace of multiple Champions League qualifications and player-trading successes, they had only recently started buying players in that price bracket; players such as Ederson, Jeremie Boga, Luis Muriel and Merih Demiral. All of them were Serie-A proven. Hojlund, on the other hand, wasn't. Gopaladesikan helped the owners make a value judgement. Hojlund's movements on the pitch were mapped and overlaid on a visual representation of how Atalanta attack. They neatly filled a gap like a missing piece, completing a puzzle. Gasperini's willingness to develop youth and his uncanny knack for maximising the potential of strikers hardened the conviction to write Sturm Graz a cheque. Barely a year later, Atalanta sold Hojlund to Manchester United for a record €77m. Without overstepping Gasperini or his superiors in the football department, Gopaladesikan worked one-on-one with some players, particularly signings who didn't speak Italian, to help their integration and progression. The bonds he struck up with those players were meaningful and long-lasting. Understandably, Atalanta were reluctant to let him go and Newcastle had to be patient. Gopaladesikan's appointment was led by Paul Mitchell, the sporting director who left in May, having been in position for less than a year. His intention had been to build up a football department that bore a resemblance to Liverpool's model with Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards. By the time Gopaladesikan's visa came through, however, Mitchell was gone. He will report to a new sporting director, likely to be Nottingham Forest's chief football officer Ross Wilson, as will Jack Ross, who has been promoted to head of football strategy. Advertisement The question, for now, then is: what exactly does a technical director do? When clubs say: 'Trust the process' it is assumed this means follow a philosophy. In Newcastle's case, it is about understanding how the team plays under Eddie Howe, what he is striving for in terms of performance and how to support that across a number of different areas. It isn't only a case of modelling how Newcastle play and coming up with algorithms and filters to identify players that correspond with what Howe wants in specific roles. It is about match preparation and analysis that never loses sight of Howe's end goal. It is about individualised training to help players maximise their potential within Howe's system. It is about loaning players out to clubs that match up with how Newcastle play, so they can either come back to St James' Park better able to contribute or to be sold for money that helps the squad get closer to Howe's ideal. It is about joining up departments with this common goal in mind in support of the manager and the club's aims. The appointment, months in the making, may have taken time and the sequencing (a technical director before a sporting director) looks out of whack after Mitchell's abrupt departure. But the new Newcastle is gradually, belatedly taking shape.
Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Newcastle appoint new technical director - but are still hunting for Paul Mitchell replacement - as Magpies continue rebuilding backroom team
Newcastle have appointed a new technical director as they look to continue rebuilding their backroom staff ahead of the new season. The Magpies have been in a transitional period off-the-field, with former sporting director Paul Mitchell leaving his role after just one year and without making a signing at the club. It was announced in May that Mitchell would be leaving by 'mutual consent' at the end of June. However Mail Sport reported in June that the 43-year-old had overseen a handover. Though no one has been directly appointed to replace him, and the search for his replacement is being led by Nolan Partners. As revealed in June, Nottingham Forest chief Ross Wilson has been among the candidates and former Arsenal assistant sporting director Jason Ayto was to be spoken to by Nolan. Mail Sport also revealed that Julian Ward, Liverpool 's technical director, was another name in the frame. But Sudarshan Gopaladesikan has been appointed as the club's new technical director, and will report to a new sporting director once they have been appointed. They are still on the hunt for a replacement for Paul Mitchell, however, who left the club after just a year Gopaladesikan formerly worked with Atalanta, where he was the director of football intelligence. Newcastle say he will 'lead football data operations for our men's, women's and academy teams'. He said upon the move: 'I'm delighted and honoured to be joining Newcastle United as technical director. Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working with clubs that have deeply passionate fanbases, and Newcastle stands out for its unique connection between the team, the city, and its supporters. 'I'm excited to work alongside the club's talented staff to identify what helps give us a competitive edge. Most of all, I'm looking forward to experiencing the incredible matchday atmosphere at St. James' Park and being part of this proud football family and community.' He joined Italian side Atalanta in 2022, having previously worked with Benfica in Portugal. There, he worked as head of sports data science. The Athletic report he had a key role in Atalanta's signing of Rasmus Hojlund from Sturn Graz - a player the club went onto make profit of more than £50millon on. Newcastle, meanwhile, asked Andy Howe to work with Nickson as they look to build a squad capable of challenging on a domestic and European front this season. Howe, the nephew of head coach Eddie Howe, joined the Magpies in 2021 as head of technical scouting before being promoted to assistant head of first-team recruitment. He has played a key role in the signings of Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento and is well thought of within the club. Nickson and Andy Howe had absorbed the tasks that would have been the responsibility of Mitchell.
New York Times
21-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Newcastle United appoint Sudarshan Gopaladesikan as new technical director
Newcastle United have appointed Atalanta's director of football intelligence Sudarshan Gopaladesikan as their new technical director. Gopaladesikan will report into a new sporting director following Paul Mitchell's exit from the club last month. His role will see him lead the club's football data operations, working closely with Eddie Howe and his coaching staff and the club's performance, medical, analysis, methodology and recruitment teams, the club say. Advertisement He will work across all sporting departments throughout the men's, women's and academy teams, they added. 'I'm delighted and honoured to be joining Newcastle United as technical director,' Gopaladesikan said. 'Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working with clubs that have deeply passionate fanbases, and Newcastle stands out for its unique connection between the team, the city, and its supporters. 'I'm excited to work alongside the club's talented staff to identify what helps give us a competitive edge. Most of all, I'm looking forward to experiencing the incredible matchday atmosphere at St. James' Park and being part of this proud football family and community.' Gopaladesikan joined Atalanta in 2022 from Benfica, where he had worked as head of sports data science. A data specialist, The Athletic reported Gopaladesikan played a role in recommending Rasmus Hojlund when he was a relative unknown with Sturm Graz. Atalanta signed the striker for €17million (£14m; $18.3m at current rates) in August 2022 before selling him to Manchester United for an initial €75m (£63.7m; $81m) the following summer. During his time with the Serie A club, Atalanta secured three successive top-five finishes and won the Europa League for the first time in their history. Former sporting director Mitchell left the club in June, less than 12 months into his role. Last September, Howe was forced to insist there was no 'civil war' at Newcastle after Mitchell publicly criticised the club's recruitment process and questioned whether elements were 'fit for purpose in the modern game'. The Athletic reported earlier this month that Jason Ayto and Ross Wilson had both held follow-up interviews to succeed Mitchell. A former scout, Ayto had been with Arsenal for a decade and rose through the ranks to become assistant sporting director under Edu, leading an overhaul and modernisation of the club's recruitment department. When the Brazilian left Arsenal in November 2024, Ayto stepped up to become interim sporting director until the appointment of Andrea Berta. He left the club voluntarily at the end of last season. Wilson has worked in senior positions at Southampton, Huddersfield Town, Watford, Falkirk and Rangers, who won their first league title for a decade during his tenure, and reached the Europa League final, before joining Forest in April 2023.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
🚨Breaking news: Karanka returns to the federation
As of today, he will take over as technical director of development and technical director of the absolute Selection. Movement in the Spanish Federation regarding the future of the development of the absolute Selection. Aitor Karanka will take command of this area as of today. A bet on a profile that has been seasoned both on the field as a player and on the benches as a coach. Advertisement This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. 📸 Alex Pantling - 2021 Getty Images
