When Ashley Cole arrived at his first training session as a senior head coach, he did something that caught the eye of a local staff member: he picked up equipment and tidied up after himself. For a man who won 107 caps for England, seventh on the all-time list, and lifted every major trophy the game has to offer, the gesture spoke volumes about who he is. "I don't see myself above anyone at this club," Cole told BBC Sport. "Of course I have to be the leader of the group, but I'll pick up a cone."
That humility has defined his journey to the top job at Cesena, an Italian Serie B club in the working-class town of fewer than 100,000 people in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has taken nearly seven years of coaching experience and countless hours working under others to earn this moment. Cole completed his coaching badges at Derby County under Frank Lampard, spent time in Chelsea's academy, and assisted managers at Everton, Birmingham City under Wayne Rooney, and within the England national team set-up under Lee Carsley. Yet despite all that preparation, senior head coach opportunities in England never came.
"I was getting kind of discouraged by a lack of opportunities, from some clubs in England I spoke to," Cole said. "They like to throw the 'you don't have experience' line. And I'm like, I get what you're saying, I agree — but how am I going to get experience?" That familiar wall faced by Black English coaches in the game left him with little choice but to look abroad. "I don't think there are too many black English coaches working in Italy, so yes, it is a massive leap of faith from them and I'm very proud to be here."
The leap brought him back to Italy, a country he knows well from his playing days with Roma, and into the arms of a club whose owners share his appreciation for hard graft and defying the odds. "I liked that the owners have a similar background to me — hard work, graft, underdogs nobody believed in — but they created a really successful business," Cole said. "They also wanted someone to believe in them and give them a chance."
He has wasted no time making changes. Cole created a video analysis room and installed a high-angle tactical camera to film training sessions, which he reviews in full every day. He has pushed for higher intensity, more adaptability, and greater control through possession. Cesena had gone a long stretch without winning away from home — a problem he set out to solve. "We had to be more adaptable to the different styles we come up against, and we needed more control in games through possession," he explained.
Away from the pitch, Cole has settled into the rhythms of his new home. His Italian wife Sharon Canu, whom he met during his time with Roma, has been an important sounding board. He has embraced local traditions, including a ritual of buying a five euro piadina — a traditional flatbread sandwich — from a stall outside Cesena's stadium before media conferences. The stall also regularly feeds the squad after home matches. "It is a great place to be and to start," Cole said. "I'm glad I'm back. We're going to do something different — a bit special."
The immediate aim is modest but clear: stay in the play-offs this season, build toward Serie A in the long term. Cole is honest about the timeline. "If we got to Serie A now, in my opinion, we're not ready," he admitted. "We've got to push and believe, we need a better way of playing." It is the patience of someone who has waited a long time for this opportunity and intends to do it right. In Italy, they call the manager "Mister" — a title Cole is still getting used to. But if his early days are anything to go by, the name fits just fine.