Arthur Rodrigues


Arthur Rodrigues 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, 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. In 1958, he played in the National Soccer League with Toronto White Eagles, and spent time in the Toronto and District League.

Managerial career

He managed Hellenic in the National Soccer League, and also Lusitano SC in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was one of the founders and later president of the First Portuguese Cultural Centre. After the formation of Toronto First Portuguese SC he managed the club in the National Soccer League. In 1971, he was appointed the head coach of Toronto Croatia, and secured the team the regular season title.
The following season he was named the manager for Toronto Metros in the North American Soccer League. In 1973, he clinched the team's first piece of silverware by securing the division title. In 1975, he returned to the National Soccer League to manage Toronto Italia. He was later elected as the Provincial Senior Coach of the Ontario Soccer Association.
He died in Toronto on June 19, 2015.