Arthur Rodrigues

Arthur Rodrigues

Personal information
Date of birth	(1928-05-04)4 May 1928
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Date of death	19 June 2015(2015-06-19) (aged 87)
Place of death	Toronto, Canada
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1956–1957	Sportivo Montijo
1958–1959	Toronto White Eagles
Managerial career
1968–1970	Toronto First Portuguese
1970	Toronto Croatia
1972–1974	Toronto Metros
1975	Ontario Selects
1976	Toronto Italia
1980	Toronto Panhellenic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Arthur Rodrigues (May 4, 1928 – June 19, 2015) was a Portuguese football manager who primarily coached in the National Soccer League, and North American Soccer League.

Career

Rodrigues played football as a goalkeeper 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.^[1][2] In 1958, he played in the National Soccer League with Toronto White Eagles, and spent time in the Toronto and District League.^[2]

Managerial career

He managed Hellenic in the National Soccer League, and also Lusitano SC in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[2] He was one of the founders and later president of the First Portuguese Cultural Centre.^[2] After the formation of Toronto First Portuguese SC he managed the club in the National Soccer League.^[2] In 1970, he initially managed First Portuguese, but later signed with Toronto Croatia.^[3][4] In his debut season with Croatia he secured the regular season title for the club.^[5][6] The following year he was appointed the director for player personal for the Toronto Metros in the North American Soccer League.^[3]

The Metros later named him the head coach in 1972.^[7][8] 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.^[9] For the 1976 season he briefly coached Toronto Italia.^[10] In 1976, he resumed his duties as head coach for the Ontario Selects.^[11] In 1980, he served as the head coach for Toronto Panhellenic, and secured the NSL Championship.^[12] He was later elected as the Provincial Senior Coach of the Ontario Soccer Association.^[13]

He died in Toronto on June 19, 2015.^[14]

References

1. "globeandmail.com: RODRIGUES". 2017-10-08. Archived from the original on 2017-10-08. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
2. Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 229.
3. "Rodrigues takes post with new club". The Globe and Mail. January 13, 1971. p. 27.
4. Waring, Ed (27 April 1970). "White Eagles blanked in NSL opener". The Globe and Mail. p. 21.
5. Sopta, Marin. "Gradski vijećnik Toronta: Ova momčad je nešto najbolje što se moglo dogoditi našoj ligi. Svi žele pobijediti Croatiju!" (in Croatian). Retrieved 2017-10-08.
6. "C.N.S.C. TORONTO CROATIA". 2009-08-31. Archived from the original on 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
7. "NASL Toronto Metros-Croatia Rosters". www.nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
8. Bradburn, Jamie (2016-09-24). "Historicist: Toronto Metros-Croatia, 1976 Soccer Bowl Champions". Torontoist. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
9. Waring, Ed (August 19, 1975). "Players' services refused: Metro clubs hamper progress of Ontario's soccer selects". The Globe and Mail. p. 58.
10. Waring, Ed (June 8, 1976). "Italia beats White Eagles 1-0 on Roe's goal". The Globe and Mail. p. 37.
11. Knack, Marty (April 13, 1976). "More local youngsters get their kicks from soccer". Windsor Star. p. 25.
12. "Abascal a la National Soccer League". El Popular. April 30, 1980. p. 10.
13. News, OSA (2015-06-22). "OSA Sends Condolences To Friends And Family Of Artur Rodrigues". Ontario Soccer. Retrieved 2017-10-08. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
14. "Artur RODRIGUES Obituary (2015) - The Globe and Mail". www.legacy.com. Retrieved 2021-01-04.