Paul Clement (football manager)


Paul Clement is an English professional football manager and coach, who is currently leading Cercle Brugge in the Belgian First Division A. 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.
In his first season as assistant manager, he won the Premier League title with Ancelotti at Chelsea. They also won the UEFA Champions League title and Copa del Rey in their first season at Real Madrid. Clement obtained his UEFA Pro Licence in 2009, and made his managerial debut with Derby County in 2015.

Career

Early coaching

Clement was born in Wandsworth, London. He is the son of former Queens Park Rangers and England player Dave Clement and the brother of former West Bromwich Albion player Neil Clement. Clement, however, did not progress beyond non-league football as a player with Banstead Athletic and Corinthian Casuals. 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. 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. Clement also helped coach the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team, working with Don Givens.

Chelsea

Clement returned to Chelsea in 2007, initially working with their under-16 team. He progressed through the coaching ranks there, working under managers José Mourinho, Avram Grant, and Luiz Felipe Scolari. 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. Clement then became assistant manager to Carlo Ancelotti during his two seasons at Chelsea. They went on to win the Premier League title and FA Cup in their first season in charge. Ancelotti was sacked in his second season and Clement left the club soon after.
After Chelsea, Clement briefly worked as a coach at Blackburn Rovers for four months, assisting Steve Kean in the 2011–12 season.

Paris Saint-Germain

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

Real Madrid

Clement was appointed assistant manager at Real Madrid after Ancelotti became their head coach in June 2013. During his time at the club, Clement worked alongside Zinedine Zidane and coached players including Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso, and Cristiano Ronaldo. 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. They also went on to win the club's first FIFA Club World Cup in 2014.
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.

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. Despite only losing once in 19 games from September to December, Clement was sacked on 8 February 2016 after one win in seven. His final match was a 1–1 draw against Fulham. They were in fifth place at the time he was sacked. He finished with a record of 14 wins, 12 draws, and seven losses.
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. Clement's style of football was also cited as a contributing factor.
After Derby, Clement briefly helped coach the England under-21 team, working under manager Gareth Southgate.

Bayern Munich

Clement was hired by Bayern Munich in June 2016 as their assistant manager, again working alongside Ancelotti. He helped Bayern to win the 2016 DFL-Supercup, beating Borussia Dortmund 2–0. 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. As of December 2016, Clement and Ancelotti only lost one match during their time in the Bundesliga.

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. Claude Makélélé joined him as his assistant; Clement and Makélélé had previously coached at Paris Saint-Germain.
Clement recorded his first victory as Swansea boss with a 3–2 win over Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool. 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. Under his guidance, Swansea won 26 points from 18 games, ultimately securing the club's Premier League status. Clement was nominated for Manager of the Season in recognition of this achievement.
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. 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. Clement was sacked on 20 December 2017, leaving the club bottom of the league table and four points adrift of safety.

Reading

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. He was sacked on 6 December 2018 after poor results left the club outside of the relegation zone only on goal difference.

Cercle Brugge

Clement was appointed as the new head coach of Cercle Brugge on 3 July 2020 on a three-year contract.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

Individual
Chelsea
Paris Saint-Germain
Real Madrid
Bayern Munich