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The technical director of the capital’s CSKA Alan Pardew gave an interview for the Football Daily program of the radio section of bbc – Radio 5.
The Englishman talks about his new job and his life in Sofia, about his tasks in our country and what attracted him to the invitation of the “Bulgarian Army”. Pardew, 59, also commented on the challenge for British mentors to work away from the island.
Hi Alan how are you? How is life in Sofia?
– Very well thanks. A week ago it was very cold, but now it has warmed up to 4 degrees so everything is fine.
And in terms of life and culture, how is your time there, do you get used to it?
– Sofia is undoubtedly a great city with traditional places for this type of settlement. Here, as in England, there is a blockage: restaurants and bars are closed, which makes adaptation and integration a bit difficult, but the hotel I stay in is great. Also, the club is well organized, the people are wonderful and made me feel welcome.
Last season you were in Holland, now you are in Bulgaria. Have you thought about taking this step before or do you think the time is right?
– It was a conscious decision on my part, I wanted to open my horizons a bit to European football. So, so to speak, I told my agent to look for job opportunities on the continent as well, to gain experience in different cultures and championships. I took a job in The Hague and my assistant Chris Powell and I enjoyed being there, but unfortunately COVID-19 ended our stay and the championship was canceled. It’s just another kind of football, a different experience. My time and my tasks at the moment are related to monitoring the market in the Balkans and how things are done here.
In English football, there was strong opposition to the idea of appointing a manager in the clubs. Now that you are in this role, has your thinking changed on the subject and are you not afraid of becoming a prisoner in such a structure?
– I don’t think “prisoner” is the right word. The game definitely needs them. It is very important for clubs to have a strategy that weighs on the shoulders of the coaches. It often happens that the coach is replaced by poor results, but the club must have a foundation, a philosophy on how to advance. Have a plan, style, and strategy for selecting the players to guide you in the right direction. Many teams, even in the Premier League, don’t have it.
You mentioned that you wanted to open up your perceptions of European football. After your stay in Holland and the brief time in Bulgaria, do you accept your experience as complete for now?
– First of all, I wanted to show that British coaches can work abroad. And that the language barrier is not a problem in football. He had no experience in Dutch football, not even here, but most nations in Europe have a basic knowledge of English. And in this sport you will be able to deal with the messages that you want to transmit and show your way of working. Of course, they don’t look alike day after day. But English mentors need not fear this problem. The rest is just about adapting to the culture. I am very happy and I appreciate the contacts I made in the Netherlands, as well as those I will make here. And the information about the players, sometimes the transfer amounts that are paid in the Premiership, speak of a great contrast. And some of the quality players, for example in my current club, don’t even come close in terms of salaries to the Premier League teams. This will help me when I return to management, who is not excluded, or assume this role elsewhere.
Can this make him an even better coach if he returns to England one day or would he really go back to being a manager?
– Maybe. In my coaching career, I’ve always been on teams struggling to survive; In both West Ham and Newcastle, finances have never been competitive with the leaders, even though we finished fifth with the Magpies a year. So he couldn’t have a team to control the ball. It happened in a few games, but … One of the reasons I wanted to come to CSKA was that this is a dominant team. There is only one club that is probably as good as we are: Ludogorets. Now they lead the ranking. So I see how we can develop the team and try to improve the game, the possession of the ball, to impose a winning formula. This is wonderful, especially in my case, when I have always struggled not to fall for the last 15 years. The feeling is really nice.
In England, however, young coaches do not seem to need to go abroad, because “the foreigner” comes alone: foreign mentors bring new ideas and approaches to the game. Do you think the coaching culture of young English professionals has increased as a result?
– You are absolutely right, foreign mentors have completely changed the landscape of coaching and management in our country. You can’t help being influenced by the work of people like Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Pep, etc., etc. We can count to infinity. But the big picture for British coaches working on fuel is not always colorful. We have specialists with great qualities, both in League 1 and in the Championship, who really deserve a promotion if they do not get a date in the Premier League. Otherwise, why not try to be second in Serie A or win the League? I speak a bit preaching, but the English market is not the only one you have to look at. Even if our championship is at its highest at the moment, abroad there are also excellent options with which to progress your career as a coach or manager.
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