Juan Francisco Roldán finished the Master Degree in Football Management at the Real Madrid Graduate School – Universidad Europea last year. He is now sharing his experience with us as well as his professional expectations.
What did it mean to you to study at the Real Madrid Graduate School – Universidad Europea?
"Doing the Master in Football Management at the Real Madrid Graduate School – Universidad Europea has been a turning point in my life. When I was admitted, I came here with wide-eyed and willing to learn. Thanks to the well-structured and thoroughly prepared content of the master, I earned some of the most incredible experiences of my life, as it allows you to acquire an education at the highest level, with a very distinguished chair of professors as well as some of the most relevant professionals in the football world at an international level. You learn about the internal structure of the team, retention and talent development, as well as different work methodologies”.
Is there anything from your time at the School that you’d like to highlight?
"I was very impressed with the field trips to the Real Madrid Sports city to learn about the work that the club is doing. They are the current European champions, and it is truly an experience that you can never forget. I also enjoyed the international field trip to The Netherlands, where we visited the reserves teams from the Ajax, AZ and PSV. At the School you have several classes were y gain and experience with different software for analyzing data from your rival team, as well as performance management, that allow you to discover new professional opportunities in the current football world”.
"This, together with the chat with my classmates that are from nationalities from all over the world, allows you to do some international networking as well as sharing different points of view. Other key things were the support from the Master Director, David Viejo, who is also the coach and physical trainer at the Real Madrid reserves team, and the help and support from former students like Guillermo Hamdan, makes the master great and helps you to grow at both a professional and personal level”.
Thanks to this master I was lucky enough to be able to do an internship at the Real Madrid Reserves team within the Analysis and Image department, were I had Álvaro Gomar as a boss, who is currently working with the first team. This experience of being able to share my professional development with the top coaches in the football world, encouraged me to work hard and inspired me to the best”.
What has been your professional path after finishing the Master Degree in Football Management?
"I am currently working with the RC Deportivo La Coruña. I am very thankful to Alberto Gil, the current director of the reserves team, who kindly gave me this opportunity. I support the technical body at Deportivo Fabril, a team led by Gustavo Munua, that is currently in second B in the Spanish League. I also take care of all the written and visual information to make sure it is relevant and of good quality, in order to support the operational strategy of each week’s games, the player’s performance and manage to get collective support for the team. We work all together to make sure that the team members will one day be good enough to join the first team”.
“I always dreamed about working for a professional Spanish football club and the master helped me to reach these kind of opportunities, as it provides you with the tools that you need in order to develop your abilities to reach your professional goals, as well as strengthen your values. The effort that my family and my wife Megan did for me to be able to be part of this master, were the best support and this master was the best decision, and it inspires me to keep improving every day”.