Ex-Ghana and Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has said being a great professional player doesn’t mean one would automatically become a great coach.
Essien recently completed his UEFA A and UEFA Elite Youth A licenses and has been working as an assistant coach at the Danish club Nordsjaelland.
There’s a long list of professional footballs who became successful managers after retiring from the sport, including Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti.
Some of Essien’s contemporaries have also taken to coaching in recent years, with Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Xavi Alonso and Vincent Kompany all having managed top clubs.
Although Essien wants to carve a niche for himself in the managerial dugout, the Ghanaian said he is not in a rush yet.
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“People think that because you’ve been a professional player at the highest levels, it is easy to get into coaching, but it’s totally different. That’s why I have managed to take my time and take it day by day,” he told DW Sport.
The former midfielder believes, though, that it’s only a matter of time before more professional footballers become coaches after hanging their boots.
“I think it’s just a matter of time before you start seeing our generation of footballers becoming top-level coaches [in Europe],” he added.
Meanwhile, Essien further disclosed that he hates politics and will never take up any political role in his life.
According to the ex-Lyon man, he prefers to impart knowledge into young footballers on the pitch rather than running affairs from an office.
“What I hate in my life is politics. I don’t think I will ever get involved at the political level,” Essien told DW Sport.
“I’m doing my badges because I love being around the players on the pitch, and I stay very close to them, talking to them, giving them advice and stuff like that. It makes me happy, rather than sitting in the office or on the phone talking to people.”
Essien immediately undertook coaching badges when he stepped back from professional football after a brief stint with Azerbaijani side Sabail FK in 2020.
SOURCE: PULSE
