Spanish coach Ricardo Rodriguez is understood to be a serious contender to become the next Aberdeen manager.
The 48-year-old has most recently been working in Japan where he guided Urawa Red Diamonds to the Asian Champions League final as well as Emperor’s Cup and Japanese Super Cup triumphs.
The Dons are set to take their time to find the right manager to succeed Jim Goodwin and are yet to interview candidates for the job.
The club revealed on Sunday evening that chairman Dave Cormack is set to undergo major heart surgery this week.
New chief executive Alan Burrows is set to join the Dons from Motherwell later this month and will play a pivotal role in the recruitment process.
One man he could turn to is Rodriguez who is a free agent after leaving Japanese football.
Rodriguez cut his teeth as a manager in his homeland at Girona before a succession of jobs in Thailand at Ratchaburi Mitr Phol, Bangkok Glass and Suphanburi.
He also worked in Mexico as Real Madrid’s academy director there and as Frank Rijkaard’s assistant at Saudi Arabia.
He moved to Japanese side Tokushima Vortis in November 2016 and led them to their first ever J2 title.
That helped him land the head coach job at Urawa Reds in December 2020. He was named as the best coach in Japan in his first season after guiding Urawa to the 2021 Emperor’s Cup – an award which alluded Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou during his time in the J League .
Rodriguez went on to win the Japanese Super Cup in 2022.
Asian Champions League finalist
Despite leading Urawa to the Asian Champions League final – due to take place in April – he decided to leave the club at the end of his contract in October to seek a new challenge in Europe.
The success enjoyed by Ange Postecoglou at Celtic since swapping Japan for Scotland may encourage the Dons to opt for Rodriguez, who is understood to be interested in the Dons job.
In an interview with Sky Sports last month, Rodriguez said he was keen to land a job in England at a Championship or League One side, if the right project became available.
He said: “I am watching Championship and League One games now to understand the profile. The most important thing in my opinion is to create an identity in a club. It is not about finding good players, it is about finding the right players. The profile is everything.”
He said he takes inspiration from Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, saying: “I identify with Guardiola’s idea because I prefer positional play.
“It is very logical to me because you are creating numerical superiorities on the pitch. If you can implement that idea well then you have more chances to play through and be successful.
“What I like is to create an attacking football identity, select the right players for the football that we want and then work together to strengthen all the areas of the club.
“I did it in Tokushima. I did it in Urawa. And this is the thing that I would like to do in England.”
Strachan understood not to be in contention
Meanwhile, reports suggesting Gordon Strachan is set to become the next Aberdeen manager are understood to be wide of the mark.
The Gothenburg Great became the favourite with the bookmakers following a flurry of bets last week.
But the Dons are yet to start interviewing candidates and are waiting for new chief executive Burrows to join the club from Motherwell on February 27 before moving to the next stage of their recruitment process.
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