Can you name a single English coach who has been in charge of a Champions League winning team? No, you can't because there has been none. But there has at least been one who played a pivotal part in the coaching team which guided Real Madrid to Champions League glory back in 2014.
His name is Paul Clement, who for a period followed Carlo Ancelotti around to clubs like PSG, Bayern Munich and not least Real Madrid. Almost 10 years on, what kind of feelings do triumphs like that stir in Clement these days?
“It was an amazing thing to be a part of, but I tend to look forward now rather than back. They were amazing experiences and something I can use in my career to help players and teams moving forward," Clement says when Tribalfootball.com hooked up with him for a thorough chat about his career.
Helping teams moving forward is exactly what still turns Clement on. He was last seen at Everton as part of Frank Lampard's coaching staff and he is very eager to once again get back into the dugout himself. It just has to be the right offer.
“That is the most important thing. I made a mistake in the past and accepted a job that probably wasn't right for me. I went in with the right intentions and thought I'd done the right amount of research. But it turned out very different and I think it put me back a little in my career," says Clement acknowledging it can't always be “an upward trajectory".
“Football is mostly about getting knocked down. And how you recover and improve from that. I think the difficult periods have made me a better well-rounded coach and leader as well as a person. But I'm very conscious of trying to make a good choice for the next job. One that I'm a good fit for."
Clement recently signed on with agent Nicola Giuliani, who has also managed names like Roberto Mancini and AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli. So is there an intention of entering the Italian Serie A?
“I very much see myself as an international coach. I think I am one of the few English coaches that have spent a significant amount of time abroad. I don't want to be just an English coach that always worked in England. That's not an ambition of mine," Clement says of his career which has already seen him work in Belgium, Germany, France and Spain. And mind you, not with the smallest of clubs.
“My ambition is to see different styles of football and at some point, I'd like to look back on my career having worked in all different parts of the world," says Clement while pointing to Italy but also “other parts of Europe and the Middle East". The Saudi league for instance?
“I'm open to it. I'm very interested to see how that league develops. Obviously, there's a big push at the moment to try and attract high level players and coaches. Not so long ago, China had a similar push and it didn't end up being particularly successful as a long-term project.
“I think Saudi Arabia will look at that and think 'how can we make sure that we don't make the same mistakes?' It'll be interesting to see how that develops, it's going to take time. It can't be done overnight, but yeah, I would be open to working in the Middle East region."
The former Swansea, Derby and Reading boss also worked three years with the Republic of Ireland under-21s which is a period Clement looks back on with very fond memories. Has he considered taking up the senior job for the Republic which is currently available?
“I had a really good time when I was working with Ireland. Don Givens was the head coach and he was a former teammate of my father. We had a fantastic relationship. In that period, we also stepped up to the senior team for three games while they were going through a process of finding a new manager. They had some really good players at that time in Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, Shay Givens to name a few," Clement says while reminiscing about one particularly great evening.
"We played Brazil in one game. It was amazing. A full house at Croke Park in Ireland. International football was exciting, so I don't rule out the next job being in international football. What an honour it would be to lead a nation in a European championship or a World Cup. That is something I would really like to do at some point."
Clement had some fantastic times as Carlo Ancelotti's right-hand man, and he still enjoys a close friendship with the charismatic Italian.
“I went to see him before Christmas and stayed with at his house. We had a nice couple of dinners," which Tribalfootball are all too willing to imagine, judging by the big smile on Clement's face as he recalls his latest visit to Madrid.
“I went into the training ground with him a couple of days and to a game as well. We built a good relationship over the seven years, I worked closely with him," says Clement who also had the pleasure of working alongside Zinedine Zidane.
“Zizou did an incredible job at Real Madrid, I mean, three Champions Leagues on the bounce was unbelievable. He's a legend at the club and also a very lovely person."
Like Zizou, like Ancelotti, Clement has laid his hands of some big trophies of the game and like them, he's not done yet.
“I was lucky at Chelsea, PSG, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to experience some great moments and winning silverware. But I still want more..."
