Osian Roberts
Osian Roberts (born 18 August 1965) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the caretaker manager and head of development of Italian Serie B club Como. In 2014, he was described in the media as "the most influential man in Welsh football."[2]
| Roberts in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 18 August 1965[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Anglesey, Wales | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Como (caretaker) | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1988 | Furman Paladins | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Bangor City | |||
| 1984–1985 | Bethesda Athletic | ||
| Llangefni Town | |||
| 1989–1990 | New Mexico Chiles | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1990 | New Mexico Chiles | ||
| 1996–1999 | Wales U16 | ||
| 1996–1999 | Wales U18 | ||
| 1999 | Wales B | ||
| 1999–2007 | Porthmadog | ||
| 2015–2019 | Wales (assistant coach) | ||
| 2021–2023 | Crystal Palace (assistant manager) | ||
| 2023– | Como (caretaker) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early life edit
Roberts was born in Anglesey,[2] and was brought up in Bodffordd on the island.[3]
Career edit
Roberts was a central midfielder,[2] and captained the Welsh Schools side.[3] He played in North Wales for Bangor City, Bethesda Athletic and Llangefni Town,[2][4] before moving to the United States at the age of 19 after receiving a scholarship to attend Furman University.[2] At Furman, he was named Southern Conference player of the year in 1986 and 1988.[5] He later played in the American Professional Soccer League for the New Mexico Chiles, where he was player-manager.[3]
After returning to Wales, he became Anglesey Football Development Officer in 1991.[2]
In June 2007, Roberts resigned as manager of Porthmadog to take up the position of Football Association of Wales technical director.[2] He has also coached the Wales under-16, Wales under-18 and Wales B teams, as well as helping coach the women's under-17 team.[2] In 2014, he was the subject of documentary series called Byd Pêl-droed Osian Roberts; it was shown on S4C.[3][6]
On 21 July 2015, Roberts was promoted to assistant manager of the Wales national team under team manager Chris Coleman.[7] Coleman resigned the manager role in November 2017 and Roberts stated that he wished to become the new national team manager.[8] Roberts was retained as assistant manager following the appointment of Ryan Giggs as Wales manager[9]
On 1 August 2019, it was announced that Roberts had become technical director of the Morocco national team.[10][11] He resigned in July 2021.[12]
In August 2021, he became assistant manager to Patrick Vieira at Crystal Palace.[13][14] Vieira was sacked by Crystal Palace in March 2023 with Roberts and other coaching staff also being released.[15]
In December 2023, Italian club Como announced the appointment of Roberts as their new caretaker coach until the end of the 2023–24 Serie B season, replacing Cesc Fàbregas; he also served as head of development for the club.[16][17][18][19] He eventually guided the club to promotion to Serie A after 21 years by finishing in second place.[20][21][22]
Managerial statistics edit
- As of match played 10 May 2024 [23]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Como 1907 (caretaker) | 20 December 2023 | present | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 57.14 |
| Total | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 57.14 | ||
References edit
- ^ "Osian Roberts". Soccerway.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Osian's a football power in Wales". Wales Online. 24 June 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Byd Pêl-droed Osian Roberts". S4C. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
- ^ "Wales Assistant manager Osian Roberts awarded Honorary Fellowship". University of Wales Trinity Saint David. 12 July 2017.
- ^ "Furman University media guide (2012)" (pdf). Furman University. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ "Osian Roberts - On TV". Football Association of Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
- ^ "Cardiff City coach Paul Trollope joins Wales set-up". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ "Osian Roberts hopes to succeed Chris Coleman as Wales boss". BBC Sport. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- ^ "Wales football: Ryan Giggs to keep Roberts on Wales staff". BBC Sport. 23 February 2018.
- ^ "Osian Roberts: Wales assistant manager appointed Morocco's Technical Director". BBC Sport. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ "Osian Roberts has 'fallen in love' with Morocco" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ @Osian_Roberts (27 July 2021). "I can confirm that I have resigned from the @FRMF I have had a fantastic 2 years working in a truly beautiful count…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Osian Roberts appointed Vieira's assistant - News". Crystal Palace F.C.
- ^ "Osian Roberts delighted after being appointed Crystal Palace assistant manager". BT.com.
- ^ "Palace sack manager Vieira after winless run" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Como 1907 Appoints Osian Roberts as Caretaker Manager". Como 1907. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ "Cesc Fàbregas to step down as Como coach". ESPN.com. 21 December 2023.
- ^ Stockdale, Ollie (20 December 2023). "Osian Roberts lands big Italian football job alongside Cesc Fàbregas". Wales Online.
- ^ "'That Thierry Henry thought of me means a lot'" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Campanale, Susy (10 May 2024). "Como and Parma promoted to Serie A, play-offs set". Football Italia.
- ^ "Como end 21-year Serie A absence with Cosenza draw". BBC Sport. 10 May 2024.
- ^ "Como: How a Welshman helped end 21-year Serie A absence". BBC Sport. 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Osian Roberts". FotMob. Retrieved 4 May 2024.