Toronto FC announced today that Eric Tenlado, Simon Eadie, Robin Gayle and Alex Dodgshaw will join coach John Herdman’s first-team staff.
“This group of people have seen victory multiple times at BMO Field in Canada’s biggest moments in front of many of these fans, and they are very excited to experience that feeling with Toronto FC,” Herdman said. He added: “We feel proud to be able to work for the people of this city, and we will, as always, do everything we have to achieve the success that our fans deserve.”
Tenlado joins the Toronto FC coaching staff as Assistant Coach and Performance Leader, and brings extensive coaching experience at both club and national team levels. Prior to joining TFC, Tenlado spent over five years with Canada Soccer, where he served as an assistant coach at the FIFA World Cup (2022 Qatar), FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (2021, 2022), and two CONCACAF Gold Cups (2021, 2023). And once in the CONCACAF Nations League (2022-2023). He was also part of the coaching staff at the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, served as an assistant coach at the U-17 World Cup (Brazil 2019) and head coach of the Canadian national team at the CONCACAF U-15 Championship (USA 2019). . Tenlado moved to Toronto in 2016 and served as Director of Coaching and Director of Coach Development at Toronto High Park Academy (2016-2019). He began his coaching career as an academy coach at Espanyol Barcelona, where he spent more than seven years (2009-2016) developing young players. The Barcelona, Spain native holds a UEFA PRO License (Barcelona, Spain) and holds a degree in Physical Education and Sports Science (University of Barcelona, Spain).
Eddie joins Toronto FC as the club’s new Technical Coordinator and Goalkeeper Coach, bringing over 17 years’ experience in international soccer to Herdman’s coaching staff. Prior to joining Toronto FC, Eddie spent time serving as a goalkeeping coach for the New Zealand U20 and Women’s National Teams (2005-2011), the Canadian Women’s National Team (2012-2019) and the Canadian Men’s National Team (2018-2023). ). Edie has also served as National Development Director for New Zealand Football for over three years since joining in 2009. Between the two countries, Edie has coached at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (Russia 2006, Chile 2008), and three Summer Olympics. (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016), four FIFA Women’s World Cups (China 2007, Germany 2011, Canada 2015, France 2019), two CONCACAF Nations Leagues (2019-2020, 2022-2023), one FIFA World Cup (Qatar) ) 2022) and most recently the CONCACAF Gold Cup (2023). Throughout his career, he has also served as a goalkeeping coach at club level with Auckland City FC and was part of the coaching staff at the FIFA Club World Cup (Abu Dhabi, 2009). The New Plymouth, New Zealand native holds a Level 3 New Zealand Football Coaching Certificate and an Oceania Football Confederation Coaching License. As a player, Eddie spent time playing as a goalkeeper for Football Kingz FC [Australian National Soccer League]Ottawa Wizards [Canadian Professional Soccer League] Waitakere United and Auckland City are from the New Zealand Football Championship and represented Waitakere United in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.
Gayle joins Toronto FC’s first team as Performance and Health Coach after spending the past eight years working with the men’s and women’s national team programs. With TFC, you will focus on developing, delivering and monitoring the team’s cultural framework and performance plans for first-team players. Prior to joining TFC, Gayle served as Canada Soccer’s Mentality and Culture Director and was part of Herdman’s coaching staff at a Summer Olympic Games (Rio 2016), FIFA Women’s World Cup (France 2019), and FIFA World Cup (Qatar 2022). . In 2020, Gayle was on Beverly Priestman’s crew at the Summer Olympics (Tokyo 2020), where Canada won the gold medal with a 3-2 shootout victory over Sweden. During her 10-year professional career, the Toronto, Ontario native represented the Canadian Women’s National Team (CWNT) at two Summer Olympics (Beijing 2008, London 2012). The two-time Olympian was part of the team that won the Olympic bronze medal in 2012. She also competed in three FIFA Women’s World Cups (China 2007, Germany 2011, Canada 2015) and was part of the team that won gold at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara In Mexico.
Dodgechon joins the Toronto FC coaching staff as the club’s scouting and analytics coach. Prior to joining TFC, Dodgeshon spent over two years with Canada Soccer, serving as the lead competition analyst for the Canadian men’s national team during the CONCACAF Gold Cup (2021, 2023), the CONCACAF Nations League (2022-2023) and one FIFA Cup. World Cup (Qatar 2022). He began his coaching career as head coach of the U-15 and U-17 boys teams in the Fredericton District Soccer Association, where he spent two years (2018-2020) helping to develop young players. The Liverpool, England native holds a Master’s degree in Sports Science (University of New Brunswick, Canada) and a Master’s degree in Chemistry (University of St. Andrews, Scotland).
Additionally, Herdman retained Terry Dunfield as an assistant coach. He worked alongside Herdman with the Canadian men’s national team and served as a technical assistant and performance analyst for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
