Michael Essien Reflects on Coaching Journey and Managerial Insights

Michael Essien, who secured the Champions League, two Premier League titles, and four FA Cups during his time at Chelsea, experienced a notable 20-year playing career. This career featured stints with prominent clubs like Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan, where he was managed by some of football’s top figures. However, it was not an ambition to emulate managers such as Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, or Guus Hiddink that prompted the highly regarded midfielder to venture into coaching. Essien shared with BBC Sport his initial motivation, stating, “I just woke up one day and thought, ‘Let me start doing something.'” He explained, “I started coaching so I could learn how it is to be a coach. Now I talk to a few of [my former managers]. Just normal talk – nothing tactical.” Reflecting on his playing days, he added, “I had some great, great managers that I was lucky to work under. I learned a few things from Jose and from Ancelotti – his calmness and how he manages his players, the way he tried to put his arms around his players.” Essien concluded this thought by saying, “Now I understand a bit more why Jose would get angry.” Since 2020, Essien has held the position of assistant coach for FC Nordsjaelland (FCN), a team in Denmark’s top football division. This choice of club might appear unusual for a player of Essien’s stature to commence his coaching journey. Nevertheless, the former Ghana international was attracted to the Farum-based team, located in a small eastern Danish town, due to Nordsjaelland’s unique operational model. Nordsjaelland operates under an uncommon structure, functioning as a professional club that is owned and managed by a youth academy. The Right to Dream academy, established in Ghana in 1999 by Tom Vernon, a former scout for Manchester United, is marking its 25th anniversary this year. This academy employs a comprehensive strategy for nurturing its young talents both athletically and academically, having developed numerous elite players and offering pathways to higher education for its students. Among the most prominent alumni of Right to Dream are Mohammed Kudus of West Ham, Kamaldeen Sulemana of Southampton, and Mikkel Damsgaard of Brentford. In 2019, Right to Dream acquired Nordsjaelland with the aim of creating a route to European football for its most promising prospects. Furthermore, its new American enterprise, San Diego FC, is set to enter MLS as an expansion club next year. Essien elaborated on his connection to the organization, stating, “I’ve known the founder, Tom Vernon, for a very long time, since I was 17 or 18.” He continued, “I always kept in contact with him and he followed my football career. When I stopped playing, he just messaged me and said, ‘What are you doing?'” Essien recounted his response: “I said, ‘I think I’m done playing.’ And he said, ‘OK, maybe you should come and look around the place.’ He told me about the whole project. I came and it was a nice environment. So I said, ‘Yeah, I’d love work here.'” He expressed his admiration, saying, “I love how they develop their boys here, giving very young boys the opportunity to experience professional football.” Essien cited this as a key factor in his decision: “That was one of the reasons I chose to be here. It’s calmer; the environment is very nice and very healthy. Everyone is ready to help whenever you need.” Essien is not the sole individual recognizable to Premier League enthusiasts who has been involved with the Right to Dream organization. Djimi Traore, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, previously coached at the academy’s Ghana facility before assuming leadership of AS Monaco’s youth team this year. The development of coaches ranks as a significant priority within the academy’s multi-club structure, second only to player development. Flemming Pedersen, Right to Dream’s technical director and former Brentford B team manager, commented on their approach: “We are happy when coaches leave us.” He elaborated, “It’s the same with our players. Then we hope our best coaches will one day come back home again.” Pedersen shared his own experience: “I was away for a year and a half at Brentford. You always learn something new when you meet a new culture. That’s important for us.” He added, “We will be stronger if some of our coaches leave for big clubs in other countries. Our philosophy is: when we help each other, we will get a lot of good things back.” Pedersen defined their success criteria: “Success for us is the integration of players from our academies. If we don’t get that, we will never get results.” He concluded by outlining their evaluation methods: “We are measuring the development of our style of play. That will give us better results. We are also measuring our coaches and how we educate our coaches.” Currently, Essien indicates no intention of departing Nordsjaelland to pursue head coaching roles. He stated, “I’m not thinking about being a head coach. Not yet.” However, he added, “But when I get there, I will develop my style of play around the FCN model of what we’re doing here. I have a few more years to go. Let’s see. Maybe I will get there.” Essien reflected on his career transition: “When I was playing, I never thought I would jump into this journey. But coming to the end of my career, I was thinking one day, ‘I’ve done football my whole life and I think that’s what I do best. I should start doing something just to keep my routine going.'” He further explained his motivation: “I also wanted to get the ideas and strategies of how to be a coach, to learn how to be a coach. That’s how it all came about.” He also cited his passion: “And also because I love the game. I’m always going to be in and around the game.” Essien expressed his commitment to nurturing talent: “I try and do my best to help the young boys coming up so they can do something with their careers.” Addressing the current generation of players, Essien observed, “This generation, sometimes they can be quite difficult. Sometimes they think they know the world, but actually they don’t know anything.” He highlighted his role: “To have me around, it’s easy for them to come and ask me a few questions and I give them a few guidelines and some advice.” Despite his current disclaimers, it appears Essien is indeed laying the groundwork for a future in management. Similar to how he once excelled in midfield, he is now accumulating knowledge and strategies for a successful coaching career. Essien confirmed his ongoing development, stating, “I’ve just finished one football management course.” He added, “It’s given me some ideas on how football clubs are run, the organisation and everything.” He concluded, “I’m just collecting some knowledge about the game because football goes beyond the pitch.”