José Figueira

José Manuel Figueira (born 9 February 1982 in Crawley, England) is an English football coach of Spanish descent, who is the current manager of ISPS Handa Premiership club Auckland City.[2] Figueira previously held notable roles as the head coach of Team Wellington, assistant coach of the New Zealand national team, and head coach of the New Zealand under-17 national team.[3][4]

José Figueira
Personal information
Full name José Manuel Figueira
Date of birth (1982-02-09) 9 February 1982
Place of birth Crawley, England[1]
Youth career
Team
– Crawley Town
Teams managed
Years Team
2008–2011 Auckland City (youth)
2012–2013 New York Red Bulls (youth coach)
2014–2016 Central United
2014–2015 New Zealand U17
2015–2016 Auckland City (youth)
2016–2019 Team Wellington
2018–2019 New Zealand U17
2018–2019 New Zealand (assistant)
2019– Auckland City

In his short managerial career, Figueira has won multiple domestic and international competitions, including the New Zealand Football Championship, OFC Champions League, OFC U-17 Championship and the National Youth League.[4][5]

Career

Born in Crawley to Spanish parents. Figueira initially began his career as a player, playing for the youth side of local club Crawley Town, but quit at the age of 19 to pursue a career in coaching, arriving in New Zealand in 2003 following a short stint coaching at the academy of Brighton & Hove Albion.[4][6]

Figueira was announced as head coach of the New Zealand under-17 national team in preparation for the 2015 OFC U-17 Championship; however, after winning the tournament, he was controversially sacked despite winning all seven games and lifting the title.[6][7] He was reappointed in 2018, as well as being named assistant manager to Fritz Schmid for the New Zealand senior team.[8][3] Despite a shock 5–0 loss to the Solomon Islands, Figueira and New Zealand lifted the 2018 OFC U-16 Championship title.[9][10]

In 2016, Figueira was announced as the new manager of defending ISPS Handa Premiership champions Team Wellington;[6][11] he immediately led them to another title in the 2016–17 season at his first attempt.[12] This led to him being named New Zealand Football Coach of the Year in 2017.[13] Under Figueira, Team Wellington won the 2018 OFC Champions League, qualifying the club for their first ever FIFA Club World Cup;[5] the club was knocked out on penalties to Al-Ain in the playoff round after a 3–3 draw.[14]

Honours
Team Wellington
Auckland City
Central United F.C.
New Zealand U17

References
  1. by Shoot the Defence (16 November 2018). "From Crawley to Kiwi – FNX Network". Fnx.network. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  2. http://www.aucklandcityfc.com/news/993/12/Jose-Figueira-named-Auckland-City-FC-coach-//
  3. "New national under-17 coach Jose Figueira remains committed to Team Wellington". Stuff.co.nz. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  4. FIFA.com. "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018 – News – Multi-tasking Figueira living the dream ahead of Club World Cup bow". FIFA.com. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  5. "Sport: Team Wellington claim maiden OFC Champs League title | RNZ News". Radionz.co.nz. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  6. "Team Wellington's Spanish Englishman ready to implement attacking style". Stuff.co.nz. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  7. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11489388
  8. "NZ U-17 and U-20 Head Coaches confirmed". Nzfootball.co.nz. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  9. "Solo rejoice in breakthrough moment". FIFA.com. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  10. "Sport: NZ seal seventh OFC U16 title | RNZ News". Radionz.co.nz. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  11. "Jose Figueira confident he has Team Wellington squad capable of defending their title". Stuff.co.nz. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  12. "Stirling Sports Premiership GRAND FINAL 2016/17 Team Wellington 2–1 Auckland City". YouTube. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  13. http://www.nzfootball.co.nz/newsarticle/58030
  14. Hyslop, Liam (13 December 2018). "Team Wellington suffer Club World Cup heartbreak in penalty shootout loss to Al Ain". Stuff.co.nz.
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