Rodolfo Zapata

For the Argentine singer and musician, see Rodolfo Zapata (singer).

Rodolfo Zapata (born 1 May 1966) is an Argentine Football Association and CONMEBOL PRO license coach. He is a dual citizen of Argentina and the US.

Rodolfo Zapata

Personal information
Full name	Rodolfo Zapata
Date of birth	(1966-05-01) 1 May 1966 (age 59)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Managerial career
Years	Team
2000	Alberta Soccer Association
2001–2009	US Olympic Development Program
2010	Sunshine Stars FC
2011–2012	MP Black Aces FC
2012–2015	USA Youth Soccer Association
2016–2017	Gaborone United
2018	AFC Leopards
2019	Township Rollers
2021	Mukura Victory Sports
2022-2023	Fiji National Team
2024-2025	Montego Bay United

Rodolfo "Rolo" Zapata has a good track record as a coach in United States, Canada, Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, Fiji and Jamaica.

Playing Career

Rodolfo Zapata started out as a player in the Argentinian 2nd division. He played as goalkeeper in Huracán, Sportivo Italiano, Racing de Olavarría, Club Atlético San Miguel and Cipolletti de Rio Negro. He suffered a knee injury that would end his career as a player, and then began his coaching career.^[1]

Coaching 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. He planned and coordinated activities of coaching staff. He also provided recommendations that balance the needs of both recreational and competitive program design.^[2]

United States

In 2001–2002, he was Head Coach of United Nations International School in New York City.^[3]

Also in New York and New Jersey, 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.^[4][5]

In September 2012, Zapata returned to the United States as Head Coach of United States Youth Soccer Association 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.^[6]

Sunshine Stars FC (Nigeria)

In January 2010, he was based in Akure City, where he was Head Coach of Nigeria Professional Football League side Sunshine Stars FC.^[7][8][9]

MP Black Aces (South Africa)

In 2011–2012 season, Rodolfo was appointed to be Head Coach of MP Black Aces FC in South Africa.^[10][11]

Gaborone United (Botswana)

In 2016–2018, Zapata was Head Coach of Gaborone United in the Botswana Premier League.

Gaborone United was a young team looking to establish its own identity. This identity will be built on Rodolfo Zapata's attacking style.

His job has not been easy because of the club's financial and internal politics troubles. He contributed to the progress of fifteen U23 players into the first team, while ensuring survival without on a minimal budget.^[12][13]

AFC Leopards (Kenya)

In May 2018, AFC Leopards announced Rodolfo Zapata as their new head coach for the remainder of the Kenyan Premier League season.^[14][15]

Township Rollers FC (Botswana)

In 2019, he was appointed as the new head coach of Township Rollers FC in Botswana.^[16]

Rodolfo Zapata won the 2018–2019 edition of the Botswana Premier League with his club. As a result, Township Rollers qualified for the 2019–2020 Africa Champions League.^[17][18]

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.^[19][20]

Mukura Victory Sports (Rwanda)

In March 2021, Zapata joined Mukura Victory Sports in the Rwanda Premier League.^{[21] [22]}

Fiji National Team (Fiji)

After his experience in Rwanda, Zapata signed as Head Coach of Fiji U20 National Team.^{[23][24][25][26]}

Montego Bay United (Jamaica)

Rodolfo Zapata joined Montego Bay United for the 2024-2025 season, and his team played the famous tiki-taka football.^[27][28]

His coaching style was applauded by all of the footballing supporters in the Jamaica Premier League. He favors a shifting formation, that at its core can be described as a 3-4-3. In attack, the outside middlefielders push up to play like wing-forwards.^[29][30][31]