Arthur Rodrigues (May 4, 1928 – June 19, 2015) was a Portuguese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager who primarily coached in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

, and

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

Career

Rodrigues played football as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

in Portugal for Benfica, and also was employed by Fonsecas Burnay Bank. In 1956, he played with Sportivo Montijo, and later moved to Canada where he originally was employed as a

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. In 1958, he played in the

with Toronto White Eagles, and spent time in the Toronto and District League.

Managerial career

He managed Hellenic in the National Soccer League, and also Lusitano SC in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was one of the founders and later president of the First Portuguese Cultural Centre. After the formation of Toronto First Portuguese SC he managed the club in the

. In 1970, he initially managed First Portuguese, but later signed with

Toronto Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

. In his debut season with Croatia he secured the regular season title for the club. The following year he was appointed the director for player personal for the

Toronto Metros Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

in the

. The Metros later named him the head coach in 1972. In 1973, he clinched the team's first piece of silverware by securing the division title. In 1975, he was the head coach for the Ontario Selects in the Second Division of the National Soccer League. For the 1976 season he briefly coached

Toronto Italia The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

. In 1976, he resumed his duties as head coach for the Ontario Selects. In 1980, he served as the head coach for Toronto Panhellenic, and secured the NSL Championship. He was later elected as the Provincial Senior Coach of the

Ontario Soccer Association The Ontario Soccer Association, founded in 1901, is one of the oldest and largest sport organizations in Canada. The OSA currently has more than 500,000 registered participants and provides development opportunities for players, coaches, refere ...

. He died in Toronto on June 19, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodrigues, Arthur 1928 births 2015 deaths Portuguese men's footballers Portuguese football managers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) coaches Toronto Croatia coaches Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) coaches Men's association football goalkeepers Canadian National Soccer League players Canadian National Soccer League coaches Footballers from Lisbon