Sol Campbell ‘happy in different space’ as he turns back on football management

By Sports Desk November 14, 2023

Sol Campbell has turned his back on football management and says he is no longer applying for jobs.

The former Arsenal and Tottenham defender has tried to forge a career in the dugout and had spells at crisis clubs Macclesfield and Southend between 2018 and 2020.

He has not been able to find a job since and has spoken out in the past about his frustration at the lack of opportunities.

And the 49-year-old has revealed he is no longer chasing managerial roles.

“For me, it is about getting opportunities to fail,” he told the PA news agency at Web Summit in Lisbon.

“Some of my peers have had jobs and it’s not worked out and then they have had opportunities again straight away, they’ve always had a lifeline.

“That is a nice position to be in. I am not in that position, I would love to be, but those situations are not coming to me. I would love to be involved in football and have chances, but that is not happening.

“You have to look at football in a different way and that is what I am going to start doing and hopefully it will work out and I will be able to help players, just in a different way.

“I love coaching, so I am going to go back into football in a meaningful way. I have had to go away, studied at Harvard. I want to be in football in a meaningful way. It won’t be on the sideline.

“I am not applying any more for jobs.

“I’m happy to be in a different space now and one I want to be in.”

Burnley’s Vincent Kompany is the only black manager in the Premier League and Campbell believes the bosses at the top clubs in the country should be doing more to diversify their backroom staff.

“Football needs that diversity in terms of management, but for me it seems to have gone backwards in some cases.

“We need to understand not everyone is going to make it to be an amazing manager, but you have to get the opportunity or a chance to prove yourself right or even show you can do the job.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sol Campbell (@solmanofficial)

“Sometimes you get to the stage where you can’t fail. Sometimes you have to fail to suceed, but if you don’t get that opportunity how can you succeed.

“There are a few managers who are slowly having diversity in the backroom staff, that can help.

“Some of the top managers know if they could diversify their coaching staff it would help. That is a start.

“They are the ones in a strong position, where they have won things and are at great clubs.

“I think that is how people should start thinking, that is an easy way to kind of get experience and get through the door. Some of the top, top managers have to look at their coaching staff and mix it up a little bit.”

Related items

  • Panama v United States: Turner says results everything for Copa America hosts Panama v United States: Turner says results everything for Copa America hosts

    United States goalkeeper Matt Turner has urged fans of the Copa America hosts not to forget the value of results ahead of Thursday's clash with Panama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

    The USA got their Group C campaign up and running with a 2-0 win over Bolivia, with Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun on target.

    Some believed Gregg Berhalter's side should have recorded a more comprehensive victory as they racked up 20 shots on goal to Bolivia's six.

    Nottingham Forest shot-stopper Turner, though, says tournament wins should not be taken for granted.

    "We'll never have that luxury. I think you take wins when you can get wins, no matter the context," Turner said.

    "You take the result, especially in tournament play, it's the end all be all. I implore people to not lose sight of that.

    "Obviously, we wish we did some things better, but that's what tournaments are about. You want to improve and get better throughout the tournament and keep growing as a team, and a bond and a culture.

    "At the end of the day, we got a clean sheet, we scored two goals and we won. Going into this next match, we know we might have to be a little bit better if we want to win."

    Panama, meanwhile, were beaten 3-1 by Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay in their opening match, with Amir Murrillo netting a late consolation after Maximiliano Araujo, Darwin Nunez and Matias Vina scored for the 15-time winners.

    "I think we had too much respect for Uruguay, in the first half there were too many mistakes," head coach Thomas Christiansen said.

    "They're a great team that you have to respect, but I think in moments we were afraid of making a mistake.

    "In the second half, we showed this team is alive with enthusiasm and desire. Now it's time to make another big effort against the United States before ending with Bolivia."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH 

    Panama – Amir Murillo

    Murillo netted a late consolation against Uruguay, also recording the most touches (62) and joint-most touches in the penalty area (four, also Jose Fajardo) of any Panama player in their opening match.

    That game saw Panama surpass 250 completed passes in a Copa America game for the first time. They will not be pushovers in Atlanta, but if they are to really trouble the hosts, they need wing-back Murillo to contribute in the attacking third.

    United States – Christian Pulisic

    Pulisic provided a goal and an assist as the USA beat Bolivia in their Group C opener, becoming the first American to score and assist in a single Copa America match since Clint Dempsey did so twice in 2016, versus Ecuador and Costa Rica.

    Pulisic averages 0.93 goal contributions per 90 minutes in competitive matches for his country, the highest rate in their history (minimum 1,500 minutes played).

    The Milan winger also recorded the most line-breaking passes in the attacking third of any player during Group C's first set of games, with four.  

    Until the USA's first match, only Rodrigo De Paul of Argentina had reached that figure in the tournament's opening round of fixtures.

    MATCH PREDICTION: UNITED STATES WIN

    After beating Bolivia, the USA could start a Copa America tournament with back-to-back victories for the very first time. 

    Only once before have they managed successive wins in the competition, winning three games in a row up to the quarter-finals in 2016, as they finished fourth on home soil.

    They have never lost or even conceded a goal to CONMEBOL opponents at the Copa America, drawing 0-0 with Mexico in the 1995 quarter-finals before triumphing on penalties, and routing Costa Rica 4-0 in the group stage in 2016.

    The USA have only failed to score in one of their previous 19 matches against Panama on home soil, in a goalless draw in New Jersey in the 2005 Gold Cup final, which they won via spot-kicks. 

    With home advantage on their side, we expect more joy for the USA on Thursday.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Panama – 22.6%

    United States – 54.7%

    Draw – 22.7%

  • Chile 0-1 Argentina: Super sub Martinez sends Albiceleste to Copa America quarter-finals Chile 0-1 Argentina: Super sub Martinez sends Albiceleste to Copa America quarter-finals

    Lautaro Martinez struck a late winner as Argentina beat Chile 1-0 to secure their place in the Copa America knockout stages with a game to spare.

    The reigning champions looked like they would have to settle for a point on a frustrating night at the MetLife Stadium, having failed to turn their superiority into the game's opening goal.

    But substitute Martinez, who also netted from the bench in his nation's opener against Canada, finally broke Chile's resolve when he lashed home two minutes from time.

    It moved Lionel Scaloni's side onto six points at the Group A summit, three points ahead of Canada, who beat Peru 1-0 earlier in the day. A draw against Peru in their final game will now be enough to secure top spot.

    Argentina dominated the first half with 13 unanswered shots, yet just three of those were on target. One of them saw Julian Alvarez fire straight at Claudio Bravo from close range in the 22nd minute.

    Lionel Messi also went close to scoring in the 36th minute. La Albiceleste's skipper let fly with a fizzing 25-yard attempt that clipped the outside of Bravo's left post, while Erick Pulgar almost turned Nahuel Molina's cross beyond the Chile goalkeeper two minutes later.

    La Roja had Bravo to thank for keeping Argentina at bay, as the reigning champions continued to carry the greater attacking threat after the break.

    The veteran stopper beat away Molina's fierce strike within five minutes of the restart, and just after the hour mark, he produced a superb reflex save to tip Nicolas Gonzalez's drive onto the crossbar.

    With the breakthrough still eluding the world champions, Scaloni bolstered his attack by introducing Angel Di Maria and Martinez for the final 17 minutes.

    Chile had increased their own attacking threat by registering their first attempts on goal in the contest, with Rodrigo Echeverria calling Emiliano Martinez into action on both occasions.

    Yet, there was to be a late twist in Argentina's favour when an 88th-minute corner broke kindly for Martinez, who reacted quickest to fire into the roof of the net and send La Albiceleste through to the quarter-finals.

    Persistence pays dividends for Argentina

    The history books would have suggested Argentina should have fancied their chances against Chile.

    This is epitomised by the fact they are now unbeaten after 90 minutes in the last 13 meetings, winning eight of those, but that does not tell the full story.

    Seven of those eight victories have only been by a single-goal margin and, of course, they lost on penalties in the Copa America final showdowns of 2015 and 2016.

    Though they dominated most of this contest and registered 22 shots to their opponents' three, just the one goal was enough once more, with both of Martinez's strikes from the bench in this competition coming in the 88th minute.

    Argentina progress to the Copa America knockout stages for a 14th consecutive time, excluding when they withdrew from the 2001 tournament.

    Toothless Roja see resistance broken

    Chile looked set to frustrate Argentina once again at the Copa America and hold out for a second successive clean sheet.

    Their defensive resolve - along with an inspired performance by Bravo between the sticks - looked like it would remain firm and keep the reigning champions at bay, until Martinez's late intervention.

    What will be more concerning for La Roja is the fact they have now gone four successive Copa America matches without scoring, while having to wait until the 72nd minute for their first attempt on goal.

    That is something they need to address quickly ahead of their crucial final Group A clash with Canada, in which a victory could still see them snatch second place and a quarter-final spot.

  • Scotland denied '100% penalty' against Hungary, says Clarke Scotland denied '100% penalty' against Hungary, says Clarke

    Scotland head coach Steve Clarke was adamant his side should have been awarded a penalty as their Euro 2024 campaign ended with a 1-0 defeat to Hungary in Stuttgart. 

    Kevin Csoboth scored the winning goal in the 10th minute of injury-time to put Scotland out of another major tournament in the group stages. 

    However, things could have been much different for Clarke's side.

    Stuart Armstrong looked to have skipped beyond Hungary's Willi Orban in the 80th minute, before the RB Leipzig defender grappled across the midfielder, with both tumbling inside the area. 

    Referee Facundo Tello waved away Scotland's appeals, and a subsequent check by VAR deemed the challenge not worthy of awarding a spot-kick. 

    “It was 100% a penalty," Clarke said. "Somebody, somewhere has to explain to me why that's not a penalty. It’s a one goal game, we get the penalty and it could have been a different night.

    “I've got other words, but I'm not going to use them. I don't understand how VAR can look at that and say it's not a penalty.

    “In a European competition, it may have been better to have a European referee but we had European VAR and maybe a referee didn't see the challenge clearly on the pitch, so what's the purpose of VAR if they are not going to come in on something like that. It was a penalty.”

    Having qualified for successive European Championships, this was Scotland’s 12th major tournament group stage, and in 50% of those they have failed to win a single match – at the 1954, 1958, 1986, and 1998 World Cups and EURO 2020 and 2024.

    “We gave everything, there’s nothing you can fault there. It was a very tough game against a good opponent," said Clarke. "A very close game that was always going to be decided by the first goal. You could tell that after half an hour.

    “Unfortunately for us when we opened up towards the end of the game to try and chase the winner, that we felt we needed to get to the next stage, we got caught on the counter.”

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.