Alex Clapham was on the verge of taking a role as an assistant manager at a Championship side when the call came from Borussia Dortmund. The German club’s invitation was so compelling that he had to drop everything and move abroad.
"The first thing I did was call my wife and tell her we were heading to Germany, not England," he recounts to Sky Sports. Fortunately, his partner embraced the adventure, and during his 18‑month stint as Dortmund's set‑piece specialist he absorbed a wealth of knowledge at a stadium that regularly hosts the largest crowds in Europe. "Working at that level was insane," the 37‑year‑old admits, "and it wasn’t always smooth sailing." Clapham describes a particularly chaotic six‑month period under Nuri Şahin, highlighted by a Champions League night against Real Madrid where Dortmund led 2‑0 before eventually succumbing 5‑2. "The atmosphere was unlike anything I’d ever experienced – the most intense I’ve seen outside of Dortmund itself," he says.
He also witnessed high‑stakes fixtures against Barcelona and the fierce Bayern Munich rivalry. Yet for Clapham each match was a stepping stone on a journey that has already taken him to Getafe in Spain, Vasco da Gama in Brazil and Genoa in Italy, and he remains eager for the next chapter, wherever it may be. How does a man with no professional playing résumé end up coaching at such elite clubs?
The answer lies in a pivotal decision he made at 23 to pursue coaching rather than continue as a semi‑professional player on the muddy pitches of northern England. Unable to secure a place on the English coaching courses, he turned to Spain, earning his badges there despite the high cost. "I almost gave up," he recalls, "but the sacrifice has paid off handsomely." He vividly remembers watching a Levante coach run a session, noting the meticulous attention to players' body shapes and the need to communicate all of it in a second language. "The Spanish methodology, the focus on psychology – it was a whole different world," he says.
While studying in Barcelona, Clapham worked full‑time teaching English, hopping on the metro to attend training sessions in his spare hours. By the time he was 30, he had secured the role of U‑19 coach at Getafe, a testament to the relentless pursuit of his qualifications.
Although he grew up admiring Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and Marcelo Bielsa’s Bilbao, it was the pragmatic, defensively solid approach of José Bordalás’s Getafe that left a lasting impression. "They stayed compact, defended as a unit and then capitalised on set‑pieces," he explains. He often lingered after first‑team training to observe set‑piece routines, absorbing tactics that he would later adapt in his own head‑coach role in Sweden. That Swedish experience opened further doors.
He linked up with Ian Burchnall, followed him to Notts County as a set‑piece coach, then moved on to Southampton, eventually becoming a globetrotting specialist for clubs owned by 777 Partners. In 2022 he landed at Vasco da Gama, coaching in Portuguese and Spanish.
"Living in Rio was extraordinary – the players were incredibly receptive to new ideas," he says. Head coach Jorginho, a 1994 World Cup winner, gave him complete freedom to implement his plans.
Though his tenure was brief, Clapham contributed to the club’s promotion back to Brazil’s top flight, overseeing five set‑piece goals in just seven appearances. He recalls the muted celebration at the airport, noting that finishing fourth in the second tier does not spark the same fireworks in Brazil as it might elsewhere. Soon after, Genoa’s sporting director Johannes Spors – now at Southampton – reached out for assistance, and Clapham again helped the Italian side secure promotion. He reflects that moving from club to club each week taught him to adapt to wildly different cultures, structures and mentalities.
"One week you’re in a calm environment, three weeks later the atmosphere can be completely different after a few defeats," he says, citing a stint at Standard Liège where a loss to Anderlecht turned the dressing room into a pressure cooker. These experiences also taught him how to manage coaching staff and even coach the coaches, a skill he values highly.
Working alongside world‑class defenders like Nico Schlotterbeck at Dortmund forced him to raise his own standards. "Many players now have personal analysts who bring ideas to me – ‘What do you think about this opponent’s space?’ – they become teachers as much as I am theirs," he notes, mentioning Pascal Gross as an example of a player transitioning toward top‑level coaching. His relationship with Dortmund’s dynamic winger Karim Adeyemi was particularly enlightening. "He’s an incredible character and taught me more than anyone because I had to adapt my communication style," Clapham says, adding that it took him until Christmas of his first season to truly understand the winger’s mindset.
Clapham believes his background as a teacher underpins his ability to connect with players on a personal level. "I probably took more from that experience than I realised," he admits, and it also fuels his ambition to move beyond set‑piece duties. He has been having in‑depth tactical discussions with João Tralhão, now José Mourinho’s assistant at Benfica, who once asked why Clapham limited himself to set‑pieces.
Over recent months he has visited clubs to broaden his knowledge – observing Cesc Fàbregas’s setup in Como, admiring Elche boss Eder Sarabia (whom he believes will one day manage Barcelona), and keeping tabs on Kim Hellberg at Middlesbrough and Kieran McKenna at Ipswich. When asked about his next step, Clapham says the role of assistant manager feels like the natural progression. "A manager may need distance from the players, but an assistant must be close to them.
That’s where I see myself for the next five years," he explains over coffee in Madrid. Where that appointment will be remains open – the world is now his playground. Yet, with strong ties to both Spain and England, any future move will be enriched by the eclectic mix of experiences he has gathered.
Should he eventually return to the UK, he will do so with a résumé few can match, having coached across three continents, learned multiple languages, and contributed to promotions at some of the game’s most storied clubs.