Leganes head coach Borja Jimenez reveals background with Milan Academy | OneFootball

AC Milan fans would be forgiven for not knowing the name of Borja Jimenez Saez, but he has a past with the club and is now shining as a head coach in LaLiga.

Borja Jimenez Saez is the current coach of Leganes who were promoted last season to the top flight in Spain, and a rather interesting background has emerged. It turns out the coach plied his trade early on in one of Milan’s academies.

He actually made it known himself in a piece for Coaches’ Voice in which he spoke about his journey to the present day, which sees him as a head coach in LaLiga at the age of just 39.

“I started coaching very early, at the age of 21. It was 2006, and I was in charge of nine and 10-year-old kids in my home city, Ávila,” he began.

“When I took that first step, I didn’t do it with the desire to say: ‘I’m going to do this professionally’. I did it because my passion for football led me to want to become a coach. Teaching – I have a degree in education – led me to start with young children.

“Then I spent several years in youth football. First, with the Milan Academy Avila – AC Milan has a school there – and then with the Under-12 Ávila province team and the Real Ávila cadets. I combined the latter with the position of assistant coach in the first team.

More Stories / Features

Webcams, contradictions, politics and precedents: Why Bologna-Milan farce leaves a sour taste

26 October 2024, 20:05

A challenge after autonomy: Why Fonseca’s management could get the best out of Leao

24 October 2024, 15:20

The controversies, the tactics and the man: What we learned from Fonseca’s first 100 days

16 October 2024, 20:30

“After leaving Real Ávila, it seemed that my options as a head coach had gone. I didn’t receive any offers, so I decided to focus my future on the family business and finished my training for it.

“Then something happened that I couldn’t have imagined, but which changed everything. It was a call from Cata (José Antonio Prieto) and Braulio Vázquez, who were in charge of the academy and the sports department at Real Valladolid.”

From there, Jimenez coached Valladolid B, Izarra , Rapido Bouzas and Mirandes. At that point, after an initial part of his career spent in Spain, he had his first assignment abroad at Asteras Tripolis in Greece.

He returned to his homeland, with stints at Cartagena, Deportivo La Coruña and now with Leganes. Many tipped them for relegation, but they sit on 11 points from 11 games and their most recent match was a 3-0 win over Celta Vigo.