Alex Clapham was on the brink 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 to tell her we were heading to Germany instead of staying in England," he recalled in an interview with Sky Sports. Fortunately, his partner embraced the adventure, and Clapham soon discovered that his 18‑month stint as Dortmund's set‑piece specialist would become one of the most formative periods of his career.
Working for a team that regularly draws the largest crowds in Europe was, in his words, "absolutely crazy" and "not always easy," but the experience proved invaluable for the 37‑year‑old Englishman. He describes the six‑month spell under interim manager Nuri Şahin as "turbulent" – a time that included a dramatic Champions League night against Real Madrid where Dortmund led 2‑0 before ultimately losing 5‑2. "The atmosphere in that stadium was unlike anything I've ever felt, even more intense than the atmosphere in Dortmund itself," he said.
The season also featured high‑stakes fixtures against Barcelona and the fierce rivalry with Bayern Munich. Yet for Clapham, each match was simply another chapter in a journey that has already taken him from Getafe in Spain to Vasco da Gama in Brazil and then to Genoa in Italy.
He now says he is ready for the next challenge, wherever it may be. How does a young coach with no professional playing résumé end up at some of the continent's biggest clubs? The answer lies in a pivotal decision he made at the age of 23 to pursue coaching full‑time. Growing up playing on soggy pitches in northern England, he found little joy in the game and wanted to move into coaching, but the domestic coaching courses were inaccessible to him.
"I was about to give up, but then I decided to earn my badges in Spain," he explains. "It was a costly sacrifice, but it paid off in ways I never imagined." He recalls watching a Levante coach meticulously adjust players' body positions during a session, all while speaking a language he was still learning. "The Spanish methodology, the focus on psychology, the attention to detail – it was a completely different world," he says. While studying in Barcelona, Clapham worked full‑time teaching English to support himself, hopping on the metro to attend training sessions whenever possible.
After completing his qualifications within the Spanish system, he earned his first senior role as the under‑19 coach at Getafe at just 30 years old. Although he admired Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and Marcelo Bielsa’s Bilbao, it was the pragmatic, defensive style of Getafe under José Bordalás that left a lasting impression. "They stayed compact, defended as a unit and relied on set‑pieces to win games," Clapham notes. He would often linger after the first‑team training to observe their set‑piece routines, absorbing every nuance and later applying those lessons in his next appointment as a head coach in Sweden.
His career then entered a period of rapid acceleration. In Sweden he met Ian Burchnall, which led to a short spell as a set‑piece coach at Notts County. From there he moved to Southampton and eventually became a travelling specialist for clubs owned by 777 Partners, offering his expertise wherever it was needed. In 2022 he arrived in Rio de Janeiro to work with Vasco da Gama, conducting sessions in Portuguese and Spanish.
"Living in Rio was phenomenal – the players were open, curious and eager to try new ideas," he says. The head coach, Jorginho, a World Cup winner from 1994, gave him complete creative freedom.
Although his tenure lasted only seven games, his set‑piece routines contributed five goals and helped the club secure promotion back to Brazil's top flight. The celebration was subdued, however; after the final match the squad dispersed quietly at the airport, a reminder that even at a historic club like Vasco, success is often met with restraint.
Soon after, Genoa’s sporting director Johannes Spors (now at Southampton) reached out for assistance, and Clapham again played a part in a promotion campaign. He reflects that moving from club to club taught him how quickly environments can shift. "One week you’re in a stable dressing room, the next you return to find a completely different mood after a couple of defeats," he explains. These experiences sharpened his understanding of club dynamics, staff management and the importance of adaptability.
Working at Dortmund offered perhaps the most intense learning curve. Collaborating with world‑class defenders like Nico Schlotterbeck required 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 movement?’ – and I learn as much from them as they learn from me," he says. He mentions Pascal Gross, who is preparing for a top‑level coaching career after time with Roberto De Zerbi, as one of the few who would regularly pick his brain.
Clapham also highlights his rapport with Dortmund’s dynamic winger Karim Adeyemi. "Adeyemi is a fantastic character and taught me a great deal about communicating with high‑profile talent," he admits. It took him until the Christmas break of his first season to fully grasp how to engage a player who is fully committed on the pitch but reluctant to voice concerns in a star‑filled locker room. Small gestures – a coffee before a match, a brief chat while lacing boots – became his tools for building trust.
His background as a teacher informs his coaching style. "I think I borrowed more from teaching than I realised," he confides, noting that his interest now extends beyond set‑piece specialization. He recalls in‑depth tactical discussions with João Tralhão, then Dortmund’s assistant and now José Mourinho’s right‑hand man at Benfica, who questioned why Clapham limited himself to set‑pieces. In recent months he has undertaken study visits to broaden his perspective: he toured Cesc Fàbregas’s setup in Como, admired Elche manager Eder Sarabia – whom he believes could become a future Barcelona boss – and followed the work of Kim Hellberg at Middlesbrough and Kieran McKenna at Ipswich.
"I’m always hunting for new details and ideas," he says. When asked about his next career move, Clapham says the role of assistant manager feels like the logical step.
"A head coach may need distance from the players, but an assistant works closely with 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‑ended.
The world is now his playground, with strong ties to both Spain and England. Should he eventually return to his home country, he will do so carrying a portfolio of experiences few coaches can match – from the streets of Rio to the electrifying atmosphere of the Signal Iduna Park, and everything in between.