Rodolfo Zapata (born 1 May 1966) is an

Argentine Football Association The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Torn ...

coach and former player.

Career

Playing career

Rodolfo Zapata started out as a player in the Argentinian 2nd division. He played as goalkeeper in

Huracán Huracan (; es, Huracán; myn, Hunraqan, "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ people, Kʼicheʼ Maya mythology, Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in ...

Sportivo Italiano Club Sportivo Italiano is an Argentine football club located in Ciudad Evita, La Matanza Partido, Greater Buenos Aires. The team currently plays in the Primera B Metropolitana, the third division of the Argentine football league system. T ...

Racing de Olavarría Racing Athletic Club is an Argentine sports club located in Olavarría, Buenos Aires Province. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in Torneo Argentino A, the regionalised third division of Argentine footbal ...

Club Atlético San Miguel Club Atlético San Miguel is an Argentina, Argentine sports club from San Miguel, Buenos Aires The club's headquarters are located in San Miguel while its association football, football stadium is erected in Los Polvorines district of Malvinas Ar ...

and Cipolletti de Rio Negro. Due to consecutive knee injures, Zapata retired from playing and he started his coaching career.

Managerial career

Canada

In 2000, Zapata taught seminars for coaches and players development in the cities of Calgary and Edmonton that were promoted by

Alberta Soccer Association The Alberta Soccer Association (ASA) is the governing body for soccer in the Canadian province of Alberta. The association was formed in 1911 as the ''Alberta Football Association''. The ASA is a member of the national governing body, the Canadian ...

. He planned and coordinated activities of coaching staff. Also he provided recommendations that balance the needs of both recreational and competitive program design.

United States

In 2001–2002, he was Head Coach of

United Nations International School The United Nations International School (UNIS) is a private international school in New York City, established in 1947. Many members of the United Nations staff arriving with young families found unexpected difficulties with New York's school sys ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Also in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, he was Head Coach of USA Olympic Development Program (2001-2009). This is a national process for identifying and developing the best youth football players, which represent the United States in international competitions, such as the World Cup and the Olympics. In September 2012, Zapata returned to the United States as Head Coach of

United States Youth Soccer Association The United States Youth Soccer Association (US Youth Soccer) is the largest youth affiliate and member of U.S. Soccer, the governing body for soccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer includes 54 State Associations, one per state except for ...

and New Jersey Youth Soccer Association. His role was to concentrate on the identification and recruitment of the best young players. Many of them have gone on to represent the USA Youth National Teams in various age categories.

Sunshine Stars FC (Nigeria)

In January 2010, he was based in

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as at the 2006 population census. History Pre 1914 Rock engravings dating back to the Mesolithic period, hav ...

City, where he was Head Coach of

Nigeria Professional Football League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindl ...

side Sunshine Stars FC.

MP Black Aces (South Africa)

In 2011–2012 season, Rodolfo was appointed to be Head Coach of MP Black Aces FC in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Gaborone United (Botswana)

In 2016–2018, Zapata was Head Coach of

Gaborone United Gaborone United Sporting Club (GU) is a football club from Botswana based in Gaborone. It is the only professional sporting club in Botswana. Its official sponsor is Bank Gaborone, who signed a three-year deal at the beginning of the 2022-23 seaso ...

in the

Botswana Premier League The Botswana Premier League, currently known as the BTC Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level football league in Botswana. Organised by the Botswana Football Association, the league was formed in 1978 to replace the pre-indep ...

AFC Leopards (Kenya)

In May 2018,

AFC Leopards Abaluhya Football Club Leopards Sports Club, officially abbreviated as AFC Leopards, or simply known as AFC, Leopards or ''Ingwe'' (), is a Kenyan association football club based in Nairobi. It currently competes in the Kenyan Premier League, t ...

announced Rodolfo Zapata as their new head coach for the remainder of the

Kenyan Premier League The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League and as the BetKing Premier League (BPL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan ...

season.

Township Rollers FC (Botswana)

In 2019, he was appointed as the new head coach of Township Rollers FC in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

. Rodolfo Zapata won the 2018–2019 edition of the

with his club. As a result, Township Rollers qualified for the 2019–2020 Africa Champions League. As Head Coach of Township Rollers FC, Zapata has overseen a possession-based and attacking style of play. He has most consistently favored a 4-1-4-1 formation, but there have also been occasions when both a 4-3-2-1 and 4-3-3 have been used. Notably, represent subtle positional changes from Rollers' 4-1-4-1 tactic.

Mukura Victory Sports (Rwanda)

In March 2021, Zapata joined Mukura Victory Sports in the

Rwanda Premier League The Rwanda Premier League is the highest division of football in Rwanda. The league was formed in 1975. It was known as the Primus National Football League in 2004 and from 2009–10 to 2012–13, after which sponsorship was taken over by Turbo ...

References

External links