Landing Ricardo Rodriguez as Aberdeen manager would be an ambitious, forward thinking appointment that jumps the Reds off the tired Scottish managerial merry-go-round.
Rodriquez is understood to be a serious contender for the vacant managerial position at Pittodrie.
Aberdeen are right to spread their net wide in the search for a manager as there are no outstanding candidates within Scotland capable of taking the club to the next level.
There is no doubt there are potential managers in the Scottish game that can bring slight improvement and stability to the Dons.
Aberdeen shouldn’t be looking for slight improvements – they should be targeting a manager that can rocket the club upwards both on and off the pitch.
Rodriguez could be the candidate to deliver that.
The 48-year-old has a consistent track record of delivering success and guided Urawa Red Diamonds to the Asian Champions League final.
That final is not until April but Rodriguez opted to leave the Japanese club at the end of the J1 season in November last year.
Urawa beat Johor Darul Ta’zim (Malaysia), BG Pathum United (Thailand) and former champions Jeonbuk Motors (South Korea) to advance to the final.
Rodriguez is now a free agent and Aberdeen are expected to ramp up their managerial search next week.
New chief executive Alan Burrows will take up his new position at Pittodrie on Monday.
Burrows will take over the hunt for a successor to Jim Goodwin as chairman Dave Cormack is set to undergo heart surgery.
Securing Rodriguez would be a major coup for Aberdeen as he is a highly regarded manager renowned for bringing an attacking identity to clubs… and success.
His football is focused on proactive positional play and executing a high press.
Rodriguez has previously claimed he identifies with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s footballing philosophy.
A former academy director in Mexico for Real Madrid, Rodriquez prefers positional play to create numerical superiorities on the pitch.
Rodriguez also has a reputation for developing young talent and giving them a chance to shine in his first team.
Some critics may believe jumping off the Scottish managerial merry-go-round to appoint an overseas manager is a gamble.
It is not.
There is nothing on the hackneyed merry-go-round to keep Aberdeen on it.
And the definition of merry-go-round is that it endlessly repeats as it slowly, but inevitably grinds to a halt.
Time for Aberdeen to jump off.
Moving for Rodriguez would not constitute a gamble for Aberdeen because Scottish football is not an unknown quantity to the Spaniard.
Having left Malaga in 2010, where he was assistant coach and then sporting director, Rodriguez relocated to London to study the British game.
He has continued that scrutiny of the British style since leaving Urawa Red Diamonds four months ago.
Rodriguez has built up an impressive CV within Japanese football.
He moved to then second tier Tokushima Vortis in 2017 having previously managed in Thailand.
Rodriguez led them to the J2 league title in 2020 and promotion to the top flight.
That success led to a big move to Urawa Red Diamonds where he won the prestigious Emperor’s Cup in his first season.
He was also named manager of the year in the J League in a season when now Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou bossed Yokohama F. Marinos in the same division.
Rodriguez followed up that initial success by leading Urawa to the Japanese Super Cup title, beating J League winners Kawasaki Frontale in the final.
He then delivered an Asian Champions League final spot before leaving the club.
A young manager with a proven track record of success, an attacking philosophy that delivers wins and a reputation for building clubs on and off the pitch.
Rodriguez ticks all the boxes for Aberdeen.
However he will also meet the criteria for other clubs, so there will no doubt be competition to land him.
If Aberdeen can secure Rodriguez it would constitute a major coup – and could be the catalyst to haul them out of the current slump.
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