Ashley Cole, with 107 England caps, felt discouraged in England's football system regarding head coaching roles. He has now accepted his first senior head coach position at Italian club Cesena after gaining experience assisting various managers.
Key points
Ashley Cole won 107 caps for England.
He felt discouraged in England's football system.
Cole is now the head coach of Cesena in Italy.
He has nearly seven years of coaching experience.
Cole assisted managers at Chelsea, Everton, and the England national team.
Mentioned in this story
Ashley Cole
CesenaEnglandChelseaEverton
Ashley Cole won 107 caps for England, seventh on the allâtime list, but felt "discouraged" within the football pyramid from breaking out as a head coach.
Now in his first senior head coach role at Italian secondâdivision side Cesena, Cole has taken the first exciting opportunity offered to him, having previously assisted other managers while building his coaching education.
After completing his badges at Derby County under Frank Lampard, Cole went on to work in Chelsea's academy before further spells assisting managers at Everton, Birmingham City under Wayne Rooney, and within the England national team setâup under Lee Carsley. He has built up nearly seven years of coaching experience.
However, a lack of head coach opportunities in England has led him back to Italy - where he played towards the end of his career with Roma - to take the reins at Cesena.
"I was getting kind of discouraged by a lack of opportunities, from some clubs in England I spoke to," Cole told BBC Sport.
"They like to throw the 'you don't have experience' line. And I'm like, I get what you're saying, I agree - but how am I going to get experience?
"That's the battle you have to fight as a number two for six or seven years - you have to take a leap of faith, but a club also has to take a leap of faith.
"I don't think there are too many black English coaches working in Italy, so yes, it is a massive leap of faith from them and I'm very proud to be here.
"It is a great place to be and to start. I'm glad I'm back. We're going to do something different - a bit special."
Q&A
Why did Ashley Cole choose to coach in Italy instead of England?
Ashley Cole chose to coach in Italy due to a lack of head coach opportunities in England, feeling discouraged within the football pyramid.
What coaching experience does Ashley Cole have before joining Cesena?
Before joining Cesena, Ashley Cole built nearly seven years of coaching experience, assisting managers at Chelsea, Everton, Birmingham City, and the England national team.
How many caps did Ashley Cole earn while playing for England?
Ashley Cole earned 107 caps for England, making him seventh on the all-time list.
What is Ashley Cole's first senior head coaching position?
Ashley Cole's first senior head coaching position is with Cesena, a club in the Italian second division.
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Piadinas, a legendary former referee and speaking Italian
Arriving at his training session, Cole was all business, talking mostly in English while throwing in Italian phrases.
One local staff member was impressed by his willingness to tidy up the equipment, which he said was uncommon for a player who had enjoyed such a successful playing career.
To Cole, a former schoolboy from east London, that behaviour is normal. Even his new title - 'Mister', bestowed on all managers in Italy - is something he is still getting used to.
"I don't see myself above anyone at this club," he said. "Of course I have to be the leader of the group, but I'll pick up a cone."
Cole had some awareness of what he was arriving into in EmiliaâRomagna - nicknamed Italy's 'food valley' and famous for parmigiano reggiano, balsamic vinegar from Modena and prosciutto di parma - with his wife Sharon Canu an important sounding board.
"I certainly didn't go looking for an Italian wife [when he joined Roma in 2014], but I came back with one," he joked.
"Sharon has been great for me. She's from Rome, but she understands that people in smaller cities really love the club where they live. I have to embrace that."
One example is Cole's routine of buying a five euro 'piadina' - an Italian flatbread sandwich - from a stall outside Cesena's stadium before his media conferences. The food stand also regularly feeds the squad after home matches.
In this workingâclass town of fewer than 100,000 people, Cole's side are underdogs in Serie B - something he identifies with.
"I liked that the owners have a similar background to me - hard work, graft, underdogs nobody believed in - but they created a really successful business," he said.
"They also wanted someone to believe in them and give them a chance."
Cesena, like most Italian clubs, rent their stadium and training facilities from the local authority, but Cole has innovated where he can.
He created a video analysis room and uses a high-angle tactical camera to film his sessions, which he watches back in full every day.
"I came here thinking something had to change," Cole said. "We hadn't won away from home for a long time, so that had to change - it wasn't working.
"We'd gone a number of games without a win, so that had to change too. We needed higher intensity in training and matches. The style of football had to change.
"We had to be more adaptable to the different styles we come up against, and we needed more control in games through possession."
In his first media conference, Cole also called out Italy's failure to qualify for three consecutive World Cups as a sign they needed to be open to new styles of football, which he is implementing before a trip to face Palermo on Saturday.
"Frank Lampard was so good - he was ahead of where I was after retiring," Cole admitted.
"You get that comparison with Frank and people ask why I didn't fall into a job. I wasn't ready. It's quite simple. I tried to put in the groundwork and make sure I was ready for this opportunity."
It has taken time for Cole to ready himself for the number one role. Calls with Thierry Henry, co-owner of high-flying Como in Serie A, are a regular occurrence.
Despite American backers of their own, Cesena are not as wealthy as Como and are taking a youth-led approach.
"The aim is to stay in the playâoffs now and get to Serie A in the long term," Cole said. "But if we got to Serie A now, in my opinion, we're not ready. We've got to push and believe, we need a better way of playing - but it won't happen overnight."
At Cole's former club Chelsea, Liam Rosenior - the first British black coach of a 'big six' club - has been labelled a trailblazer but Cole does not consider himself as one.
"It's clear there are a lot of exâblack players but not a lot of exâblack coaches. Are they doing their coaching badges? Yes, they are. Are they applying for jobs? Yes, they are," Cole said.
"That's clear - that's a fact. If that is the case, then for sure there is a problem. But I can't comment on things I don't know."
For now, Cole just wants to repay the faith rather than see Cesena as a stepping stone to home.
"I am not going to be a Jose Mourinho - I don't hold that stature or respect because I haven't won anything. Carlo Ancelotti is cool and calm - and a successful player and manager - so I can't be him. I can't be a Rafa Benitez.
"I have to take little bits from them, be myself and trust my process, and focus on Cesena. I want to work and hopefully, one day, I can win a trophy."
