| Paul Clement | |
| Fullname: | Paul Clement[1] |
| Birth Date: | 8 January 1972 |
| Birth Place: | Wandsworth, England |
| Years1: | 1988–1991 |
| Years2: | 1991–1994 |
| Clubs1: | Banstead Athletic |
| Clubs2: | Corinthian Casuals |
| Manageryears1: | 2003-2004 |
| Managerclubs1: | Fulham (Academy) (Assistant) |
| Manageryears2: | 2004-2006 |
| Managerclubs2: | Fulham (Under-18) |
| Manageryears3: | 2005–2008 |
| Managerclubs3: | Republic of Ireland Under-21 (Assistant) |
| Manageryears4: | 2006-2007 |
| Managerclubs4: | Chelsea (Under-16) |
| Manageryears5: | 2007-2008 |
| Managerclubs5: | Chelsea (Under-18) |
| Manageryears6: | 2009 |
| Managerclubs6: | Chelsea (Reserves) |
| Manageryears7: | 2009-2011 |
| Managerclubs7: | Chelsea (Assistant) |
| Manageryears8: | 2011-2012 |
| Managerclubs8: | Blackburn Rovers (Assistant) |
| Manageryears9: | 2012-2013 |
| Managerclubs9: | Paris Saint-Germain (Assistant) |
| Manageryears10: | 2013-2015 |
| Managerclubs10: | Real Madrid (Assistant) |
| Manageryears11: | 2015–2016 |
| Managerclubs11: | Derby County |
| Manageryears12: | 2016–2017 |
| Managerclubs12: | Bayern Munich (Assistant) |
| Manageryears13: | 2017 |
| Managerclubs13: | Swansea City |
| Manageryears14: | 2018 |
| Managerclubs14: | Reading |
| Manageryears15: | 2020–2021 |
| Managerclubs15: | Cercle Brugge |
| Manageryears16: | 2022–2023 |
| Managerclubs16: | Everton (Assistant) |
Paul Clement (born 8 January 1972) is an English professional football manager and coach. He has been assistant manager to Carlo Ancelotti several times – at Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich. Clement has managed Derby County, Swansea City and Reading and has previously held coaching roles at Fulham, Blackburn Rovers, and the England under-21 and Republic of Ireland under-21 teams.
In his first season as assistant manager, he won the Premier League title with Ancelotti at Chelsea.[2] They also won the UEFA Champions League title and Copa del Rey in their first season at Real Madrid.[3] Clement obtained his UEFA Pro Licence in 2009, and made his managerial debut with Derby County in 2015.[4]
Clement was born in Wandsworth, London.[5] He is the elder son of former Queens Park Rangers and England player Dave Clement and brother of former West Bromwich Albion player Neil Clement.[6] Paul Clement, however, did not progress as a player beyond non-league football with Banstead Athletic and Corinthian Casuals.[6] [7] He concentrated on coaching from the age of 23, as he worked in the Chelsea Centre of Excellence while holding down a job as a PE teacher at Glenthorne High School.[5] [6] Clement obtained his UEFA 'A' coaching licence in 1999 and became a full-time football coach in 2000, when Fulham appointed him to a role in their academy having been their Head of Education and Welfare.[8] [6] Clement also helped coach the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team, working with Don Givens.[6]
Clement returned to Chelsea in 2007, initially working with their under-16 team.[6] He progressed through the coaching ranks there, working under managers José Mourinho, Avram Grant, and Luiz Felipe Scolari.[9] He took charge of the Chelsea reserve team, replacing Brendan Rodgers, before working with the Chelsea first team when Guus Hiddink was appointed manager in 2009.[6] [10] Clement then became assistant manager to Carlo Ancelotti during his two seasons at Chelsea.[6] They went on to win the Premier League title and FA Cup in their first season in charge.[2] [11] Ancelotti was sacked in his second season and Clement left the club soon after.[12]
After Chelsea, Clement briefly worked as a coach at Blackburn Rovers for four months, assisting Steve Kean in the 2011–12 season.[6] [13]
Clement was then hired by Paris Saint-Germain after Ancelotti had been appointed their head coach mid-season in December 2011.[14] The pair won the Ligue 1 title in their only full season at the club; it was PSG's first league title since 1994.[15] Whilst at the club, Clement coached such players as David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimović.[16]
Clement was appointed assistant manager at Real Madrid after Ancelotti became their head coach in June 2013.[17] During his time at the club, Clement worked alongside Zinedine Zidane and coached players including Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso, and Cristiano Ronaldo.[16] He helped them win the Copa del Rey and tenth UEFA Champions League title, along with the UEFA Super Cup, at the end of his first season at the Bernabéu.[3] [18] They also went on to win the club's first FIFA Club World Cup in 2014.[19]
After the team failed to win La Liga in their second season, Ancelotti was sacked on 25 May 2015 and Clement walked out four days later.[20]
Soon after, on 1 June, he was appointed manager of Championship club Derby County, who had sacked Steve McClaren after finishing eighth the previous season.[4] Despite only losing once in 19 games from September to December, Clement was sacked on 8 February 2016 after one win in seven.[21] [22] His final match was a 1–1 draw against Fulham.[23] They were in fifth place at the time he was sacked.[21] He finished with a record of 14 wins, 12 draws, and seven losses.
In a statement, club chairman Mel Morris said a lack of progress had been made under Clement, despite the club being only five points behind leaders Hull City.[24] [25] Clement's style of football was also cited as a contributing factor.[25] [26]
After Derby, Clement briefly helped coach the England under-21 team, working under manager Gareth Southgate.[27]
Clement was hired by Bayern Munich in June 2016 as their assistant manager, again working alongside Ancelotti.[28] He helped Bayern to win the 2016 DFL-Supercup, beating Borussia Dortmund 2–0.[29] Whilst at the club, Clement and Ancelotti changed their usual coaching method of man marking to resemble the zonal marking employed by former Bayern manager Pep Guardiola.[30] As of December 2016, Clement and Ancelotti only lost one match during their time in the Bundesliga.[31]
Clement was appointed as the new head coach of Premier League club Swansea City on 3 January 2017, with the club in the relegation zone having sacked their second manager of the season, Bob Bradley.[32] Claude Makélélé joined him as his assistant; Clement and Makélélé had previously coached at Paris Saint-Germain.[33]
Clement recorded his first victory as Swansea boss with a 3–2 win over Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool.[34] Clement was named Premier League Manager of the Month for January after a successful first month in charge, earning nine points in four games for Swansea.[35] Under his guidance, Swansea won 26 points from 18 games, ultimately securing the club's Premier League status.[36] Clement was nominated for Manager of the Season in recognition of this achievement.[37]
After a poor start to the 2017–18 season, Clement was criticised for playing "boring" and "negative" football, with some Swansea fans questioning his tactical decisions.[38] [39] [40] Others, notably The Guardian journalist Stuart James, criticised chairman Huw Jenkins and the club's American owners for a poor transfer window, in which the club sold key performers Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurðsson from the previous season.[41] Clement was sacked on 20 December 2017, leaving the club bottom of the league table and four points adrift of safety.[42]
Jaap Stam left Championship club Reading by mutual consent on 21 March 2018; Clement was announced as his successor two days later on a three-year contract.[43] He was sacked on 6 December 2018 after poor results left the club outside of the relegation zone only on goal difference.[44]
Clement was appointed as the new head coach of Cercle Brugge on 3 July 2020 on a three-year contract. He was sacked on 1 February 2021.
On 31 January 2022, Clement was appointed as a first team coach at Everton as part of Frank Lampard's new backroom staff.[45] He left the club almost one year later on 23 January 2023, following Lampard's sacking as manager.[46]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derby County | 1 June 2015 | 8 February 2016 | ||||||
| Swansea City | 3 January 2017 | 20 December 2017 | ||||||
| Reading | 23 March 2018 | 6 December 2018 | [47] | |||||
| Cercle Brugge | 3 July 2020 | 1 February 2021 | ||||||
| Total | — | |||||||
Individual
January 2017[49]
Chelsea[11]
Paris Saint-Germain[15]
Real Madrid
Bayern Munich[29]