In Profile: Paul Clement

dcfc.co.uk profiles the career of Paul Clement after he was confirmed as Derby County’s new Head Coach on a three-year deal this morning.

dcfc.co.uk profiles the career of Paul Clement after he was confirmed as Derby County’s new Head Coach on a three-year deal this morning.

Paul Clement was born in Wandsworth in South West London on 8th January 1972 and unlike his father David, who played for Queens Park Rangers and England, and his younger brother Neil, who started his career at Chelsea and made over 300 appearances for West Bromwich Albion, he did not play football professionally.

He did however play at non-league level before, in his early 20s, he put his mind to coaching.

His hard work and dedication to the job has seen him gain significant experience and work alongside some of the football’s elite performers, working his way up the coaching ladder to earn a sizeable reputation in the game. 

He has learnt from the very best too by working alongside some of the top managers in the game. Since 2007 he has worked under Jose Mourinho, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti as well as coaching the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, John Terry, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.

At first, he combined his work as a PE teacher at Glenthorne High School in Surrey with a part-time role in the Centre of Excellence at Chelsea. By then, he already had a Sports Science degree at St Mary's college in Twickenham. In 2000, shortly after obtaining his UEFA ‘A’ License, he landed his first-ever permanent coaching role at Fulham as Assistant Academy Director and Youth Team Coach.

After also working on the international stage with the Republic of Ireland Under 21 side, Clement returned to Chelsea in 2007. He started as an Under 16s coach before graduating through the ranks to the youth team, the reserves and then the first team when Hiddink arrived as caretaker boss in the closing months of the 2008/09 season. This move presented him with the opportunity to coach England internationals John Terry and Frank Lampard as well as a number of international stars from across the Globe, with the Blues lifting the FA Cup at the end of the campaign after beating Everton.

Clement spent two seasons alongside former AC Milan boss Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge on the first-team coaching staff, experiencing Champions League football for the first time. Chelsea won the League and FA Cup double in 2009/10 before the Italian parted company at the end of the 2010/11 season, after failing to retain their Premier League crown.

During this time, Ancelotti described Clement as ‘one of the most dynamic and intelligent coaches’ that he had worked with. 

After leaving Chelsea at the same time as Ancelotti, Clement spent some time on the coaching staff at Blackburn Rovers in the 2011/12 season before Ancelotti came calling in early 2012, presenting him with the opportunity to join his coaching staff at French giants Paris St Germain. In the 2012/13 season, after finishing the previous season in second spot, they won the Ligue 1 title. During his time in Paris he coached the likes of David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, amongst many other top names in the game.

Ancelotti took Clement with him again in his next venture, taking over at Spanish giants Real Madrid, presenting the chance to work alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, amongst other stars, as well as a number of international and worldwide stars at the Santiago Bernabeu. 

In the 2013/14 campaign Madrid finished joint runners-up to Atletico Madrid in La Liga, but were able to lift the UEFA Champions League trophy for the tenth time in their history after a 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid after extra-time. They also defeated Barcelona in the Copa del Rey Final during the season, with Bale scoring a stunning late winner.

These successes were followed by the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup a few months later, but Madrid weren’t able to defend their Champions League crown after losing to Juventus at the Semi Final stage, as well as finishing runners-up to Barcelona in La Liga before opting to join Derby following Ancelotti’s departure from Madrid at the end of last month.