Sunderland AFC is delighted to announce Alessandro Barcherini as the Club’s new Head of Goalkeeping.
The 36-year-old arrives at the Stadium of Light following a three-year spell at Leeds United, during which he was part of Marcelo Bielsa’s backroom team that earned promotion to the Premier League in 2020 before working with Jesse Marsch last season.
As First-Team Assistant Goalkeeping Coach and Head of Academy Goalkeeping, Barcherini worked alongside senior and youth players during his time at Elland Road.
He spent time at Notts County as a player and Nottingham Forest as a Performance Analyst before undertaking several roles at Nottingham Trent University, including Head of Football.
Barcherini returned to Meadow Lane in 2015 as Head of Academy Goalkeeping before joining Stoke City as Lead Academy Goalkeeping Coach in August 2018.
The Italian-born Coach will commence work at the Academy of Light on Thursday, linking up with Alex Neil’s backroom team ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bristol City.
Upon joining SAFC, Barcherini said: “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. 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.”