Ashley Cole learned his trade at Derby County, Everton, Chelsea, Birmingham City and various other teams in England and is now a head coach.
Premier League icon Ashley Cole takes job in Italy (Image: CESENA FC)
Ashley Cole has been appointed as the new manager of Italian club Cesena. Cole, 45, joins the Serie B club on a contract until the end of this season.
The move marks Cole’s first head coaching role, having gained experience at various clubs and in free agency. The England international, who has made 107 appearances in total, played alongside Frank Lampard at Chelsea and Everton, and alongside Wayne Rooney at Birmingham City.
Cole assisted Lee Carsley when he was England’s interim manager. In September 2024, the former Arsenal and Chelsea left-back was appointed full-time national team coach by the FA.
Cole has now signed a short-term deal with Cesena, who sit eighth in Italy’s second division and qualify for the league’s final play-offs. The club fired Michele Mignani on Saturday and announced Cole’s appointment on Sunday.
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A statement on Cesena’s website said: “The entire Cesena FC family is thrilled to welcome Director Ashley Cole to the Bianconeri’s first team and would like to extend a warm welcome to him and the Cesena staff and wish them all the best in this new adventure.”
His contract initially runs until the end of the campaign, but could be extended “if certain conditions are met”. Cole will be supported by former Chelsea academy coach Jacques Medjool.
The 45-year-old’s first game in the dugout could come as early as Tuesday. Cesena will face Mantua next Saturday before facing promotion-chasing Catanzaro.
Can Ashley Cole succeed as a manager? Let us know your predictions in the comments section.
Cesena are aiming for promotion to Serie A, but face a difficult task. The second division uses a playoff system, with teams ranked 5th through 8th competing in an eliminator round, with the winners facing the 3rd and 4th ranked teams in the semi-finals.
Fourth place Palermo are currently 17 points behind Cesena. Venice and Monza occupy the two spots for automatic promotion.
When Cole began his coaching career in 2019, he made his ambitions clear. He told Chelsea’s website: “Everyone has their own philosophy, but you also need to take ideas from different coaches that you like.”
“The first thing I learned when I saw the coaching badge was that all coaches are thieves! I would like to learn some of Jose Mourinho’s organizational management, Carlo Ancelotti’s man management and how he gave his players the belief to go out and express themselves within his system. And Arsene Wenger was definitely a great man manager who put a lot of trust in young players to figure things out on their own and learn quickly from their mistakes.”
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