Key Takeaways
- Ashley Cole says English clubs kept telling him he lacked experience, so he took his first head-coach post at Italian Serie B side Cesena.
- The former Chelsea and England left-back has spent seven years as an assistant at Derby, Chelsea, Everton, Birmingham and with the national squad.
- Cole believes more black English coaches deserve chances and is proud to be a rare one working in Italy.
Ashley Cole is now the main man in the dug-out, but he had to leave England to get there.
The 107-cap former Three Lions defender has been appointed head coach of Cesena, a modest club in Italy’s second tier. Cole says several English teams turned him down, citing “no experience”, so when Cesena called he packed his bags for Emilia-Romagna.
“I spoke to clubs at home and kept hearing the same line: ‘You haven’t been a number one before,’” Cole told BBC Sport. “I asked them how I could get that experience if nobody gave me a shot. Cesena were brave enough to do it.”
Cole, 43, spent the past seven years earning his coaching stripes. He helped Frank Lampard at Derby County, returned to Chelsea to work with the academy, then assisted at Everton, Birmingham City under Wayne Rooney and most recently with Lee Carsley’s England U-21 group.
His playing days ended at Roma in 2018, and Italy now provides his second football life. “I know I’m one of very few black English coaches here,” he said. “That makes me even prouder to lead this team.”
Training sessions in Cesena are run mostly in English sprinkled with Italian. Staff say the new boss is happy to collect cones and carry balls, a habit forged in east London youth football. The locals have nicknamed him “Mister”, the traditional title for every manager in the country.
Cole’s wife Sharon, a Roman he met during his Roma spell, helped him settle. He now buys a five-euro piadina flatbread outside the stadium before every press conference and insists his players eat there after home matches. “People in small Italian cities live for their club,” he said. “I respect that passion.”
Cesena have not won an away league game for months and were sliding down the table. Cole has introduced video-analysis room, a high-angle camera to record every drill and daily reviews. “We needed higher tempo and smarter possession,” he explained. “The style had to change.”
He cites Italy’s failure to reach the last three World Cups as proof that fresh ideas are required. “We won’t reach Serie A this season,” he admitted. “The squad is young and the budget is tight, but the long-term plan is promotion.”
Cole speaks regularly to Thierry Henry, who co-owns Como, and watches how Carlo Ancelotti and José Mourinho operate, yet he refuses to label himself a pioneer like new Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior. “Lots of black ex-players finish their badges and apply for jobs,” he said. “If they still don’t get interviews, something is wrong.”
For now his focus is Cesena’s play-off push and a Saturday trip to Palermo. “I haven’t lifted any silverware as a coach, so I can’t act like a superstar,” he added. “I must trust my process, be myself and hope one day I can celebrate a trophy with these fans.”