Cardiff City are set to appoint former Manchester City academy coach Imanol Etxeberria as their new first-team goalkeeping coach. Manager Brian Barry-Murphy is continuing to reshape his backroom staff ahead of the Championship campaign after the club parted ways with Gavin Ward following last season's promotion.
Background and experience
Etxeberria, who served as Manchester City's academy goalkeeping coordinator, joins after Cardiff initially identified Max Johnson as a leading candidate. Johnson was highly regarded by Barry-Murphy and assistant head coach Lee Riley, but it is Etxeberria who is now set to complete the move.
The Spanish coach brings considerable experience, having spent over a decade with Athletic Bilbao's academy before becoming first-team goalkeeping coach during the 2017-18 season under Cuco Ziganda. He also worked with Bilbao Athletic and other youth teams at the Basque club.
Coaching and playing career
Etxeberria began his coaching career in 2006 after an accomplished playing career. As a goalkeeper, he made 278 senior appearances, including 120 for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga between 1996 and 2001, and also played for Rayo Vallecano, Cultural Leonesa and Eibar. He earned four caps for the Basque Country representative side.
He joined Manchester City's academy in 2021 after a spell as academy goalkeeping coordinator at Luton Town. His arrival adds another coach with Manchester City academy philosophy to Cardiff's staff, alongside Barry-Murphy and Riley.
Other vacancies
Cardiff still have head coaching vacancies at under-18s and under-21s levels following the departures of Tom Hutton and Darren Purse respectively.
