Former Premier League star on the importance of relationships within coaching

Former Premier League player Sol Bamba spoke to UCFB about the different roles the importance of relationships within football coaching.

Throughout his career, Sol Bamba played for such clubs as Leicester City, Leeds United and Cardiff City, as well as European clubs including Palermo and Paris Saint-Germain.

He recently joined us as a guest speaker at our Wembley Campus for our sports coaching-related Premier Event.

He spoke to our students, networked with them and offered advice for their career within sports coaching.

When asked about the skills needed to be a successful coach, Sol said: “Things change very quickly. You need to know your players so you can adapt.

“Tactically as well, you have to be aware. But I think most importantly, you have to be able to adapt to any situation and that’s key for me.”

He went on to say how one of the most important things in the world of football coaching is the relationship between managers, coaches and players.

“The relationship between players and managers is key, it has to be spot on. If the manager wants something doing, you do it.

“Coaches sometimes have a different idea, a different view, but that doesn’t matter. You have to do what the manager wants.”

He added: : “I don’t think any coach can be a manager, because a manager is a completely different job altogether. You have to manage above and below. You have to manage the players, the coaching staff too.”

He finished, advising students wanting to go into a sports industry career: “Love what you do. I think with anything in life, if you love it you’ll do it better.

“If you have the passion to do it, I think you can go far. But nothing is easy, you need hard work, but passion for me is the most important thing.”