Sunderland are riding the crest of a wave as they look to secure a return to the Premier League. Head of Goalkeeping Alessandro Barcherini sat down to discuss his journey to date.
Anyone who has watched the smash Netflix documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die will be familiar with Sunderland's descent into League One. But the club has a very different feel in 2024, as they look to sling-shot their way back into the top-flight. Two seasons of serious momentum saw them win promotion from League One and finish in the Championship Play-Off spots the following season. Following a difficult 2023/24 campaign where managers came and went, the Black Cats have come back swinging and sit top of the Championship.
Current Head of Goalkeeping, Alessandro Barcherini, joined the club in 2022, ahead of the season that saw them return to the Championship via the playoffs. Barcherini came to the Black Cats after a successful three years at Leeds United, where he had tasted the highs of promotion, the lows of relegation and everything in between. Goalkeeper.com recently caught up with him to discuss his rise through the ranks as a coach.
Barcherini took a different route into football to other coaches, having navigated a path through academia and university football, working as Head of Football at Nottingham Trent University, after completing a Master of Research in Sports Science.
He explained how his route into coaching helped him to appreciate the importance of relationships: “When I first started out, I kind of coached the way that I was coached. I quickly realised that it was more about relationships and creating trust and just seeing people grow and become better people as well as better footballers.
“I started to realise how much of an impact I could have on people's lives, not just as footballers, but as people. It's something that I'd never really ever thought about until it was happening, and I probably learned that for the first time coaching the university team at Nottingham Trent Uni, and you get people from all different walks of life.
“I just found it was giving them an experience that they probably never thought that they would have and just created a closeness between them as teammates. But with me as a coach, I started to think way beyond football and how it was impacting their lives positively.”
As Barcherini has worked his way up through the football pyramid, the expectations on him and his players have grown. However, he explained that, at Sunderland, the environment created at the club helps to protect their players from the growing pressure that comes at the top level.
Barcherini said: “The feeling inside [the club] is that the players enjoy it. So whether that's them feeling the extra pressure, but actually embracing it, or whether they don't necessarily feel the pressure and they just enjoy coming to work every day. It's hard to put your finger on,”
He continued: “The environment that's been created, and this project at Sunderland started before I arrived, is really clear that it is a project. They want to bring young players in and ensure that the environment is really, really good.
“That's set right the way from the owner, right the way through to the academy, that they want to ensure that the players are enjoying the journey and they know that it's not the fastest route to get to the top.
“There's a clear plan in place and I think the players that come into that feel that straight away.”
It is clear from speaking to Barcherini that he wants to put human relationships at the heart of his work, and that he values having strong relationships with his goalkeeping group. This influences how he uses data to inform his coaching, always trying to tailor what information he gives to his players.
He stated: “If there's one thing taking the academic route taught me, I had to work incredibly hard to ensure I went and did what I do today. And so as much as I value academia and the research, what you can't ever replace, I don't think, is the feeling. I would say that is a lot of how I coach.
“I love research. I love working on projects and we produce data with our data department at the club for the goalkeepers and their benefit all the time. But I always say if the data has to be tangible, it has to make sense.
“In terms of what I show the goalkeepers, I feel like it's only showing the really really important bits that I feel would mean something to them and make them feel, not always good, but actually spark a feeling.”
Barcherini wants to allow his goalkeepers to make the best decisions possible on the field, with empowerment and collaboration valued highly at Sunderland. This is typified with the way the club restarts their phases of play from the goalkeeper. Barcherini has been given the opportunity to determine how the goalkeeper restarts play by head coach, Regis Le Bris, which, in turn, allows him to encourage his players to think independently.
He explained: “I actually lead on [goalkeeper restarts] with the team and we have a real clear process of what we're going to do going into the game and then the game we’ll play.
“Then every game they'll do a review with me and the other coaches to offer their thoughts and opinions, but I'll lead on that.
“It is very much a learning process, where we have that plan and there is an expectation on the goalkeeper to do certain things and I always say just play what you see.
“We can give you an idea, but you're the one who's out there on the pitch. Listen, it’s not FIFA, we're not controlling you, and there's been times where we get wrapped up in that. There's times where we only think about the pattern and we don't actually exploit the space that's been left by the opponent.
“And so what we're trying to create here is an environment where they can make decisions for themselves.”
Having worked at every level of English football, Barcherini has an appreciation that things can quickly change in the game. He has taken lessons from every stage of his journey, helping him to keep perspective when things are not going to plan.
Barcherini explained: “When I played non-league football, one of my coaches - his name's Tommy Brooks - he always used to say, ‘Good times are just around the corner.’ So you could feel terrible on a Saturday and losing is the worst.
“Marcelo [Bielsa] used to say, the feeling of winning only suppresses the feeling of losing until you lose again. And it's so true, the wins don't feel anywhere near as high as the lows you feel when you lose. And they're the things that always stick with me, which is why I try and just remain pretty calm.”
With Sunderland riding high in the table, it would be easy to get carried away. However, Barcherini is only focused on self-improvement, knowing that the results will take care of themselves as long as the process is right.
He concluded: “When I was younger I wanted to win a World Cup or I wanted to win a Champions League. And don't get me wrong, I'd love to do all those things, but I think what I've learned to do really well over the last few years is just be better tomorrow than I was today. And just try to become excellent at my craft.
“If that takes me somewhere where I can experience incredible things and win trophies, then great. And if it doesn't, my biggest pride and joy is watching players develop and get better. And that's become at the real forefront of what I want to do: just help people have an amazing career.”
