Alex Clapham was on the brink of signing a contract 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 head abroad.
"The first thing I did was call my wife to tell her we were heading to Germany, not England," he recalls in a conversation with Sky Sports. Fortunately for both of them, the move turned out to be a fantastic adventure. Over the next eighteen months Clapham worked as Dortmund’s set‑piece specialist, learning the ropes at a stadium that regularly hosts the largest crowds in European football. "It was mind‑blowing to be operating at that level," the 37‑year‑old admits, "but it also came with its own set of challenges." He describes a particularly chaotic period he calls "six turbulent months" under the stewardship of Nuri Şahin.
One night the team faced Real Madrid in the Champions League, taking an early two‑goal lead before eventually succumbing 5‑2. "The atmosphere in that stadium was unlike anything I had ever experienced – the most intense I’ve seen outside Dortmund itself," he says. The season also featured trips to Barcelona, fierce derbies with Bayern Munich and a host of other high‑profile fixtures.
For Clapham, however, those moments are just chapters in a broader journey that has already taken him to Getafe in Spain, Vasco da Gama in Brazil and Genoa in Italy, and he now has his sights set on the next destination, wherever it may be. How does a coach with no professional playing résumé end up on such a résumé? The answer lies in a decisive choice he made at the age of twenty‑three: to abandon his modest playing career and pursue coaching full‑time.
He left the muddy pitches of northern England because they no longer sparked joy, and he discovered that the traditional coaching courses in England were out of reach for him. "I almost gave up," he admits, "but I eventually earned all my badges in Spain, even though it meant a huge financial sacrifice." That sacrifice paid dividends. He vividly remembers a session run by a Levante coach, where the emphasis was on tweaking players’ body positions in real time – all conducted in a language he was still mastering. "The Spanish methodology, with its focus on psychology and minute technical detail, was a revelation," he says.
While studying in Barcelona, Clapham worked full‑time as an English teacher, hopping on the metro to attend coaching workshops in his spare hours. By the time he turned thirty, he had secured the role of U‑19 coach at Getafe, a club whose pragmatic, defensively solid style – championed by manager José Bordalás – left a lasting impression on him.
"They were compact, they defended as a unit, and they won games from set‑pieces. That became a cornerstone of my own coaching philosophy," he explains.
He would often linger after the first‑team training sessions to observe the set‑piece work, absorbing everything the senior staff did. Those lessons proved invaluable when he later took a head‑coaching job in Sweden. "Everything just snowballed from there," he says. In Sweden he crossed paths with Ian Burchnall, which led to a stint as a set‑piece coach at Notts County, followed by a role at Southampton, and eventually a series of short‑term assignments with 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 recalls.
The head coach, Jorginho – a World Cup winner with Brazil in 1994 – gave Clapham complete freedom to implement his routines. Though his tenure lasted only seven games, his influence was tangible: the side netted five set‑piece goals during that period and secured promotion back to Brazil’s top flight.
"I expected a big celebration, but after the promotion we all just went our separate ways at the airport. It was a stark reminder of how big the club is and how business‑like football can be there," he reflects. From Rio he was approached by Johannes Spors, then sporting director at Genoa, who needed a specialist to fine‑tune their dead‑ball situations. Clapham contributed to Genoa’s promotion campaign as well, and the following season he found himself moving from club to club, each with its own culture, structure and mental framework.
"One week I’d be at a club, three weeks later I’d return to find a completely different atmosphere after a couple of defeats," he says. Those rapid changes taught him valuable lessons about team dynamics, staff management and the importance of adaptability. His time at Dortmund also offered a unique education in dealing with elite talent.
Working alongside world‑class defenders such as Nico Schlotterbeck 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 movement? Should we block here or screen there?’" he explains.
"I end up learning more from them than they do from me." He cites Pascal Gross as an example of a player‑turned‑coach who, after spending time with Roberto De Zerbi, asked probing tactical questions that deepened Clapham’s own understanding. Another memorable relationship was with Dortmund’s dynamic winger Karim Adeyemi.
"He’s an incredible character and taught me more about coaching than anyone else because I had to adapt my approach to suit his style," Clapham says, adding that it took him until the Christmas break of his first season to truly grasp how to communicate with a player of Adeyemi’s temperament. Clapham believes his background as a teacher underpins his ability to connect with players on a personal level.
"I probably took more from my teaching days than I realized," he admits, noting that these interpersonal skills are why he now envisions a future beyond set‑piece specialization. He has been engaging in in‑depth tactical discussions with Joao Tralhão – then Dortmund’s assistant, now José Mourinho’s deputy at Benfica – who repeatedly asked why Clapham limited himself to dead‑ball work.
To broaden his horizons, he has visited clubs such as Cesc Fàbregas’ academy in Como and studied under Elche’s promising manager Eder Sarabia, whom he believes could one day helm Barcelona. He also follows the work of Kim Hellberg at Middlesbrough and Kieran McKenna at Ipswich, always searching for fresh ideas. When asked about his next step, Clapham says the assistant‑manager role feels like the natural progression.
"A head coach often needs some distance from the squad, whereas an assistant works shoulder‑to‑shoulder with the players. That’s where I see myself for the next five years," he says over coffee in Madrid. Where that appointment will be remains uncertain; the world is now open to him. Yet his experiences – from the streets of Rio to the high‑tech facilities of Dortmund, and the gritty pitches of Sweden to the tactical hotbeds of Spain – give him a unique portfolio few coaches can match.
If he ever returns to England, he will do so with a wealth of knowledge, a network of contacts across continents, and a perspective shaped by the very best football cultures on the planet.