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Osian Roberts

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Osian Roberts
Roberts in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-08-18) 18 August 1965 (age 59)[1]
Place of birth Anglesey, Wales
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Como (head of development)
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 coach)
2023–2024 Como (interim head coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Osian Roberts (born 18 August 1965) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the head of development of Italian Serie A club Como. In 2014, he was described in the media as "the most influential man in Welsh football".[2]

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, who had also been caretaker; Roberts 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] Fàbregas returned to the role in July 2024.[23]

Managerial statistics

[edit]
As of match played 10 May 2024 [24]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Como (caretaker) 20 December 2023 15 July 2024 21 12 6 3 057.14
Total 21 12 6 3 057.14

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Osian Roberts". Soccerway.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Osian's a football power in Wales". Wales Online. 24 June 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d "Byd Pêl-droed Osian Roberts". S4C. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Wales Assistant manager Osian Roberts awarded Honorary Fellowship". University of Wales Trinity Saint David. 12 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Furman University media guide (2012)" (pdf). Furman University. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Osian Roberts - On TV". Football Association of Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  7. ^ "Cardiff City coach Paul Trollope joins Wales set-up". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  8. ^ "Osian Roberts hopes to succeed Chris Coleman as Wales boss". BBC Sport. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Wales football: Ryan Giggs to keep Roberts on Wales staff". BBC Sport. 23 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Osian Roberts: Wales assistant manager appointed Morocco's Technical Director". BBC Sport. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Osian Roberts has 'fallen in love' with Morocco" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. ^ @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.
  13. ^ "Osian Roberts appointed Vieira's assistant - News". Crystal Palace F.C.
  14. ^ "Osian Roberts delighted after being appointed Crystal Palace assistant manager". BT.com.
  15. ^ "Palace sack manager Vieira after winless run" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  16. ^ "Como 1907 Appoints Osian Roberts as Caretaker Manager". Como 1907. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Cesc Fàbregas to step down as Como coach". ESPN.com. 21 December 2023.
  18. ^ Stockdale, Ollie (20 December 2023). "Osian Roberts lands big Italian football job alongside Cesc Fàbregas". Wales Online.
  19. ^ "'That Thierry Henry thought of me means a lot'" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  20. ^ Campanale, Susy (10 May 2024). "Como and Parma promoted to Serie A, play-offs set". Football Italia.
  21. ^ "Como end 21-year Serie A absence with Cosenza draw". BBC Sport. 10 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Como: How a Welshman helped end 21-year Serie A absence". BBC Sport. 12 May 2024.
  23. ^ "Como: Cesc Fabregas becomes head coach of Serie A side". BBC Sport. 19 July 2024.
  24. ^ "Osian Roberts". FotMob. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
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