Alex Clapham was on the verge of taking a role as an assistant manager at a Championship side when Borussia Dortmund knocked on his door. The offer was so compelling that he had to abandon his plans in England.
"The first thing I did was call my wife to tell her we were heading to Germany, not back to the UK," he recalls in an interview with Sky Sports. Fortunately, his partner embraced the adventure, and over the next 18 months Clapham immersed himself in the world of set‑piece coaching at a club that regularly boasts the highest attendances in European football.
"Working at that level was absolutely mind‑blowing," admits the 37‑year‑old Briton, "but it wasn’t always a smooth ride." Clapham’s tenure at Dortmund included what he describes as "six turbulent months" under the stewardship of Nuri Şahin. One of the most vivid memories is a Champions League night against Real Madrid when Dortmund surged ahead 2‑0 only to be humbled 5‑2. "The atmosphere in that stadium was unlike anything I’d ever experienced – the most intense I’ve seen outside of Dortmund itself," he says. He also witnessed high‑stakes clashes with Barcelona, the fierce Bayern Munich rivalry, and a host of other marquee fixtures.
Yet for Clapham, each match was simply a chapter in a broader journey that has already taken him to Getafe in Spain, Vasco da Gama in Brazil and Genoa in Italy – and he is already eyeing the next destination, wherever that may be. How does a coach with no professional playing résumé end up on such a globe‑trotting résumé? The answer goes back to a pivotal decision he made at the age of 23 to abandon a modest playing career and chase a coaching path. His love for Spanish football and a lack of opportunities at home forced him to look abroad.
"I was slogging away on muddy pitches in the North of England and I wasn’t enjoying it. I wanted to coach, but the courses in England were out of reach.
I almost gave up," he explains. "In the end I earned every badge in Spain – it was a costly sacrifice, but it paid off handsomely." He recollects a particular session with a Levante coach who meticulously adjusted players’ body shapes, all while speaking a language that was still new to him.
"The Spanish methodology – the focus on psychology, the technical detail – was a completely different world," he says. While living in Barcelona, Clapham taught English during the day and squeezed in training sessions on the metro. By the time he turned 30, he had accumulated enough qualifications to become the U‑19 coach at Getafe. Although he grew up admiring Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and Marcelo Bielsa’s Bilbao, it was the pragmatic, compact style of José Bordalás’s Getafe that left a lasting imprint.
"They were rock‑solid, compact, and then they struck from set‑pieces. That became my blueprint," he notes. He would often linger after the senior team’s training to observe set‑piece drills, absorbing everything his staff did. Those lessons later informed his first senior head‑coach role in Sweden, where he crossed paths with Ian Burchnall and subsequently followed him to Notts County as a set‑piece specialist.
A stint at Southampton followed, after which he became something of a travelling set‑piece troubleshooter for clubs owned by 777 Partners. In 2022 he landed in Rio de Janeiro with Vasco da Gama, coaching in Portuguese‑speaking Brazil. "Living in Rio was unforgettable – the players were eager to try new ideas," he says. The head coach, Jorginho – a World Cup winner from 1994 – gave him full freedom to implement his concepts.
Though his stay was brief, Clapham contributed to the club’s promotion back to the top flight, overseeing five set‑piece goals in just seven appearances. He recalls the subdued celebration: "We thought we’d have a big party, but after the flight back everyone just went their separate ways.
It was a stark reminder that even a giant like Vasco can be very low‑key about a fourth‑place finish." From there he was tapped by Genoa’s sporting director Johannes Spors (now at Southampton) to help with their own promotion push. The pattern repeated: short‑term contracts, different cultures, shifting expectations. "One week you’re at a club, three weeks later the atmosphere has completely changed because of a couple of defeats," he observes.
Those rapid transitions taught him how to manage staff dynamics and coach other coaches, especially during tense periods like Standard Liège’s slump after beating Anderlecht. Working alongside world‑class defenders such as Nico Schlotterbeck at Dortmund forced him to raise his own standards. "Many players now have personal analysts who come to me with tactical ideas – ‘What do you think about this opponent’s left side? Should we press there?’ – and I end up learning from them as much as they learn from me," he says.
He cites Pascal Gross, who is on a trajectory toward top‑level management after time with Roberto De Zerbi, as an example of a player‑coach who frequently picks his brain. Clapham also forged a close bond with Dortmund’s dynamic winger Karim Adeyemi, a relationship that challenged him to adapt his coaching style.
"Adeyemi is a phenomenal character. He taught me more than anyone because I had to find a new way to communicate with him. It took me until Christmas of my first season to truly understand his mindset," Clapham admits. He stresses the importance of small, personal interactions – a coffee, a chat while lacing boots – to break through the barriers that star players sometimes erect.
His background as a teacher shines through in these moments. "I think I took more from my teaching days than I realised," he reflects, and it also explains why he now envisions a future beyond set‑piece specialization. He has been holding in‑depth tactical discussions with João Tralhão – then Dortmund’s assistant, now José Mourinho’s deputy at Benfica – who questioned why Clapham limited himself to dead‑ball situations. These conversations sparked a series of study visits: a trip to Como to observe Cesc Fàbregas’s setup, admiration for Elche boss Eder Sarabia (whom he believes could become Barcelona’s next head coach), and scouting of Kim Hellberg at Middlesbrough and Kieran McKenna at Ipswich.
"I’m always hunting for more detail," he says. When asked about his next step, Clapham says the assistant‑manager role feels like the natural progression. "A manager 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 explains over coffee in Madrid.
Where that will take him remains open – the world is now his playground. Yet his foot remains firmly planted in both Spain and England, thanks to mentors like Sarabia and McKenna. Should he eventually return to the UK, he will do so with a wealth of experiences that few coaches can match.