Nine Stripes Add Former Las Vegas Boss Isidro Sanchez To Coaching Staff

The midseason roster updates for York United aren’t just limited to the pitch, with the Nine Stripes now confirming the addition of former Las Vegas Lights head coach Isidro Sanchez to Benjamin Mora’s coaching staff.

Assistant coaches Mauro Eustaquio and Camilo Benzi remain with the side amidst the coaching staff size-up.

Sanchez, who made a handful of appearance for Liga MX side Puebla FC at the start of his career, hung up his boots not long into things and has since developed an intriguing coaching dossier. He first became a technical assistant withe Chivas USA, but then returned to Mexico to coach with a variety of teams including his former side Puebla and even enjoyed his first head coach role with lower division side Real Cuautitlan.

2017 saw him join the Las Vegas Lights in their inaugural campaign. He initially joined as an assistant coach to his father, who became technical directod, with Sanchez taking the lead role. The Lights went undefeated in their first four matches, with Isidro earning the coach of the month award before a tough second half of the season saw him finish with a record of 8-19-7.

Now accustomed to running the show, Sanchez’s next stop was as the head coach of Tlaxcala, and in 2022 he would lead CD Proas. The Las Vegas Lights actually brought him back in 2023, but after going 3-21-10 he was let go after the Lights were acquired by former Jays icon Jose Bautista.

Sanchez most recently coached in the Americas Kings League, Gerrard Pique’s North America-based seven-a-side league, with York United marking his first coaching stint north of the border.

“It’s very clear that the future for soccer is here and the biggest reason for the growth is the competitiveness of this league and the amount of Canadians that play here. You measure the level of the league by the native players,” says Sanchez. “I’m very honoured to arrive at a project that is already working. I come here to work and adapt. The nearest goal is first place in the standings and qualification for CONCACAF.”

Sanchez has also featured for Canada at the U-23 level, qualifying for Canadian papers through his mother and making his debut under Nick Dasovic. He made a sole appearance in the 2008 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying tournament, coming off the bench and scoring in a shootout as Les Rouges took third place in Tennessee.

“It’s part of my origin story,” explains Sanchez, “and it’s why my favourite NFL team is the Tennessee Titans because I scored my only goal for Canada in that stadium.”

York United looks to be flourishing on the pitch in its early days under the Pasquel Brothers, who have the club contending directly for a regular season championship – though they’re haven’t slowed down in making moves: the club loaned Jorge Guzman and Santiago Marquez, while loosing Brem Soumaoro to make room for the latter. We’ve also speculated that Canadian Premier League side is bringing in Bulgarian youth international Marsel Bibishkov, too.

“For us, the objective is very clear: to build the best organization we can, and the appointment of Isidro is another example of our commitment to that,” adds YUFC President Ricardo Pasquel.

“He brings plenty of experience and will contribute greatly to our technical staff. There’s strength in numbers and, particularly as we approach such a crucial time of our season, every single advantage we can glean is potentially lucrative. Helping our coaching group as much as possible is integral to this club succeeding and we feel Isidro is another jigsaw piece that we need as we look to complete the puzzle.”

The strength in numbers approach isn’t a new concept to the side, with former head coach Nash also once having Barry Smith alongside Eustaqio and Benzi.

Sanchez’s first Nine Stripes match in the technical area will be tomorrow against league rivals Forge FC – a grand introduction to things.