Paul Clement (football manager)

Paul Clement (born 8 January 1972) is an English professional football manager and coach, who was most recently the head coach of Belgian club Cercle Brugge. He has been assistant manager to Carlo Ancelotti several times – at Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich. Clement has managed Derby County, Swansea City and Reading and has previously held coaching roles at Fulham, Blackburn Rovers, and the England under-21 and Republic of Ireland under-21 teams.

Paul Clement
Clement at Real Madrid in 2013
Personal information
Full name Paul Clement[1]
Date of birth (1972-01-08) 8 January 1972[2]
Place of birth Wandsworth, England
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1991 Banstead Athletic
1991–1994 Corinthian Casuals
Teams managed
2015–2016 Derby County
2017 Swansea City
2018 Reading
2020–2021 Cercle Brugge
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

In his first season as assistant manager, he won the Premier League title with Ancelotti at Chelsea.[3] They also won the UEFA Champions League title and Copa del Rey in their first season at Real Madrid.[4] Clement obtained his UEFA Pro Licence in 2009, and made his managerial debut with Derby County in 2015.[5]

Career

Early coaching

Clement was born in Wandsworth, London.[6] He is the son of former Queens Park Rangers and England player Dave Clement and the older brother of former West Bromwich Albion player Neil Clement.[7] Paul Clement, however, did not progress as a player beyond non-league football with Banstead Athletic and Corinthian Casuals.[7][8] He concentrated on coaching from the age of 23, as he worked in the Chelsea Centre of Excellence while holding down a job as a PE teacher at Glenthorne High School.[6][7] Clement obtained his UEFA 'A' coaching licence in 1999 and became a full-time football coach in 2000, when Fulham appointed him to a role in their academy having been their Head of Education and Welfare.[9][7] Clement also helped coach the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team, working with Don Givens.[7]

Chelsea

Clement returned to Chelsea in 2007, initially working with their under-16 team.[7] He progressed through the coaching ranks there, working under managers José Mourinho, Avram Grant, and Luiz Felipe Scolari.[10] He took charge of the Chelsea reserve team, replacing Brendan Rodgers, before working with the Chelsea first team when Guus Hiddink was appointed manager in 2009.[7][11] Clement then became assistant manager to Carlo Ancelotti during his two seasons at Chelsea.[7] They went on to win the Premier League title and FA Cup in their first season in charge.[3][12] Ancelotti was sacked in his second season and Clement left the club soon after.[13]

After Chelsea, Clement briefly worked as a coach at Blackburn Rovers for four months, assisting Steve Kean in the 2011–12 season.[7][14]

Paris Saint-Germain

Clement was then hired by Paris Saint-Germain after Ancelotti had been appointed their head coach mid-season in December 2011.[15] The pair won the Ligue 1 title in their only full season at the club; it was PSG's first league title since 1994.[16] Whilst at the club, Clement coached such players as David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimović.[17]

Real Madrid

Clement was appointed assistant manager at Real Madrid after Ancelotti became their head coach in June 2013.[18] During his time at the club, Clement worked alongside Zinedine Zidane and coached players including Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso, and Cristiano Ronaldo.[17] He helped them win the Copa del Rey and tenth UEFA Champions League title, along with the UEFA Super Cup, at the end of his first season at the Bernabéu.[4][19] They also went on to win the club's first FIFA Club World Cup in 2014.[20]

After the team failed to win La Liga in their second season, Ancelotti was sacked on 25 May 2015 and Clement walked out four days later.[21]

Derby County

Soon after, on 1 June, he was appointed manager of Championship club Derby County, who had sacked Steve McClaren after finishing eighth the previous season.[5] Despite only losing once in 19 games from September to December, Clement was sacked on 8 February 2016 after one win in seven.[22][23] His final match was a 1–1 draw against Fulham.[24] They were in fifth place at the time he was sacked.[22] He finished with a record of 14 wins, 12 draws, and seven losses.[25]

In a statement, club chairman Mel Morris said a lack of progress had been made under Clement, despite the club being only five points behind leaders Hull City.[26][27] Clement's style of football was also cited as a contributing factor.[27][28]

After Derby, Clement briefly helped coach the England under-21 team, working under manager Gareth Southgate.[29]

Bayern Munich

Clement was hired by Bayern Munich in June 2016 as their assistant manager, again working alongside Ancelotti.[30] He helped Bayern to win the 2016 DFL-Supercup, beating Borussia Dortmund 2–0.[31] Whilst at the club, Clement and Ancelotti changed their usual coaching method of man marking to resemble the zonal marking employed by former Bayern manager Pep Guardiola.[32] As of December 2016, Clement and Ancelotti only lost one match during their time in the Bundesliga.[33]

Swansea City

Clement was appointed as the new head coach of Premier League club Swansea City on 3 January 2017, with the club in the relegation zone having sacked their second manager of the season, Bob Bradley.[34] Claude Makélélé joined him as his assistant; Clement and Makélélé had previously coached at Paris Saint-Germain.[35]

Clement recorded his first victory as Swansea boss with a 3–2 win over Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool.[36][note 1] Clement was named Premier League Manager of the Month for January after a successful first month in charge, earning nine points in four games for Swansea.[38] Under his guidance, Swansea won 26 points from 18 games, ultimately securing the club's Premier League status.[39] Clement was nominated for Manager of the Season in recognition of this achievement.[40]

After a poor start to the 2017–18 season, Clement was criticised for playing "boring" and "negative" football, with some Swansea fans questioning his tactical decisions.[41][42][43] Others, notably The Guardian journalist Stuart James, criticised chairman Huw Jenkins and the club's American owners for a poor transfer window, in which the club sold key performers Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurðsson from the previous season.[44] Clement was sacked on 20 December 2017, leaving the club bottom of the league table and four points adrift of safety.[45]

Reading

Jaap Stam left Championship club Reading by mutual consent on 21 March 2018; Clement was announced as his successor two days later on a three-year contract.[46] He was sacked on 6 December 2018 after poor results left the club outside of the relegation zone only on goal difference.[47]

Cercle Brugge

Clement was appointed as the new head coach of Cercle Brugge on 3 July 2020 on a three-year contract. The Belgian first-tier team had not found an agreement with their previous 'miracle' coach Bernd Storck. Clement came to Bruges late in the transfer window, and only had brief preperation for the season. Cercle Brugge started very well to the season, beating higher rated clubs such as Antwerp & KAA Gent, but soon the performance level dropped. Cercle lost important games against direct competitors. After dropping down the tables to the relegation areas, Clement lost all sympathy with the fans, who often questioned his tactical desicions. Eventually Cercle lost to Direct competitor STVV creating a 4 point gap with the next team. Cercle Brugge decided to fire coach Clement

Managerial statistics
As of match played 31 January 2021
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref.
PWDLWin %
Derby County 1 June 2015 8 February 2016 33 14 12 7 042.4 [25]
Swansea City 3 January 2017 20 December 2017 41 14 5 22 034.1 [25][34]
Reading 23 March 2018 6 December 2018 30 7 8 15 023.3 [25]
Cercle Brugge 3 July 2020 1 February 2021 25 7 1 17 028.0
Total 129 42 26 61 032.6 —

Honours

Manager

Individual

Assistant manager
Clement regularly assisted Carlo Ancelotti, an experience he described as "invaluable".[17]

Chelsea[12]

Paris Saint-Germain[16]

Real Madrid

Bayern Munich[31]

Notes
  1. Clement was appointed immediately prior to Swansea's win against Crystal Palace, but on the touchline, he aided caretaker Alan Curtis who took charge of the game.[37]

References
  1. "Clement: Paul Clement: Manager". BDFutbol. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  2. "Manager profile: Paul Clement". Premier League. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  3. "Premier League champions: 2009/10". Chelsea F.C.
  4. "Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid". BBC Sport. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  5. "Derby County appoint Paul Clement as head coach". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  6. "In profile: Paul Clement". Derby County F.C. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  7. Spiro, Matt (16 May 2012). "England's French connection at Paris St-Germain". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  8. "Teacher Paul keeps it will keep it Real at the Bernabeu". Surrey Comet. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT4jlVvtxqs
  10. "The English assistant at Real Madrid". BBC Sport. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  11. "Swansea's Blue Bosses". Chelsea F.C. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  12. "Swansea City: Paul Clement seeking happy return at Stamford Bridge". BBC Sport. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  13. Fifield, Dominic (24 February 2017). "Paul Clement relishes being back at Chelsea six years after the boot". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  14. "Blackburn vs Derby match report: Paul Clement escapes former home with a point".
  15. Fifield, Dominic (8 March 2013). "Paul Clement more than happy to be the 'other' Englishman at PSG". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  16. "PSG clinch first French league title since 1994". Reuters. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  17. "Derby's Paul Clement: 'Seeing how Carlo Ancelotti operated was invaluable'". The Guardian. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  18. "English coach joins Zidane on Ancelotti's Real staff". www.espn.co.uk. ESPN Sports Media. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  19. "Super Cup: Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice in Real Madrid win". BBC Sport. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  20. "Club World Cup final: Real Madrid 2-0 San Lorenzo". BBC Sport. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  21. "Real Madrid: Paul Clement exit follows sacking of Carlo Ancelotti". BBC Sport. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  22. "Paul Clement: Derby County sack head coach". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 February 2016.
  23. "Is Paul Clement the man to keep Swansea in the Premier League?". Sky Sports. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  24. "Derby County » Fixtures & Results 2015/2016". World Football. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  25. "Managers: Paul Clement". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  26. "Mel Morris: Paul Clement's short-term view cost him Derby job". BBC Sport. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  27. "Why did Derby abort the Paul Clement gamble after only seven months?". The Guardian. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  28. "Paul Clement leaves Derby: Is his sacking the strangest this season?". BBC Sport. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  29. "Gareth Southgate grateful to have Paul Clement in U21s camp". The FA. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  30. "Ancelotti macht sein Trainerteam komplett". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 21 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  31. "2016 Supercup: Exclusive post-match interviews". Bundesliga.com. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  32. "Swansea City: Paul Clement says Pep Guardiola sold him on zonal marking". BBC Sport. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  33. "Who is Swansea City manager favourite Paul Clement and why was he sacked in his only job as a boss?". WalesOnline.
  34. "Swansea City: Paul Clement confirmed as third boss of the season". BBC Sport. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  35. "Swansea City appoint Claude Makelele as their assistant manager". BBC Sport. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  36. "Liverpool 2-3 Swansea: Paul Clement claims first league win as Swans move off bottom". Sky Sports. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  37. "Crystal Palace vs Swansea: Swans mark Paul Clement appointment with dramatic win". The Independent. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  38. "Clement named Barclays Manager of the Month". Premier League. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  39. "Gylfi Sigurdsson says he will only leave Swansea if club decide to sell him". Sky Sports. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  40. "Paul Clement: Swansea City boss nominated for manager of the season". BBC Sport. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  41. "Swansea fans fume at Paul Clement's tactics after defeat to Watford". HITC. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  42. "Are Swansea City now just boring to watch? Their problems and the actual evidence examined". Wales Online. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  43. "Paul Clement: I understand fans frustration but I will keep making unpopular substitutions if it means Swansea City pick up points". Wales Online. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  44. "Muddled moves and a woeful window – how Swansea landed back in trouble". The Guardian. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  45. "Paul Clement: Swansea sack manager after less than a year in charge". BBC Sport. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
    "Historic league table generator". Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  46. "Reading: Paul Clement named new manager at Championship club". BBC Sport. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  47. "Paul Clement: Reading sack manager after less than nine months". BBC Sport. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  48. "Clement and Hayes among winners at FA coaching awards". The Football Association. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
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