Roberts is off to Morocco
IT is fair to say nobody has done more for Welsh football this century than Osian Roberts.
You can throw up every big name you want – Gareth Bale, Ryan Giggs, Mark Hughes, John Toshack, Chris Coleman, Gary Speed. They’ve captured the headlines, Roberts has not even laced up his boots to play, yet not one of the legends has been quite so influential on our game.
As well as helping to plot Wales’ path to the Euro semi-finals, fans’ favourite Osian worked with Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Ben Davies as they developed into stars, then oversaw the next generation of Welsh teens in Ethan Ampadu, Ben Woodburn, Dan James and others.
Under his watch, there is further conveyor belt of young Welsh talent coming through to serve the country well for another decade as well.
And on top of that, he has put Welsh football on the map with a world class coaching set-up that has seen legends like Thierry Henry, Marcel Desailly, Patrick Vieira and David Ginola flock here to take their coaching badges.
Some legacy, everyone will agree. Thus, as Roberts leaves his double role as the FAW’s technical director and Wales assistant manager to take up a five-year role in charge of football in Morocco from September 1, he leaves behind truly gigantic boots to follow.
But why is he going, what about the Euro 2020-chasing Wales team he leaves behind and why the Moroccan FA technical director job when he has rejected so many overtures down the years to stay with Wales?
Only three weeks ago, Roberts turned down the opportunity to become assistant manager at one of the bigger clubs in the Premier League.
“I was only a matter of minutes away from signing, until I decided to pull out,” he reveals.
“I’ve never actively looked to leave. When you work for your country and are a proud, passionate Welshman as I am, it’s hard to go elsewhere.
“I’ve enjoyed every single second of my involvement here. Opportunities have come around, but as and when they have you always revert to the thought that you’re already in such a privileged position to be working for your country.
“I enjoy the Technical Director role as much today as I did when I first walked through the door nine-ten years ago. Every time another job prospect was put my way, I said no. I never got to the stage where I thought something would entice me from my role here.”
But, he points out, Morocco exception to the norm.
“I’m not leaving because of anything negative, or anything like that. This time it just felt right, the challenge is one that really excites me,” he says.
In front of Roberts is what he dubs ‘a blank sheet of paper.’ Morocco have just built a new state-of-the-art £60million training centre, the facilities and structure are in place, the passion from the fans. What they need is the right man to build up everything from scratch and, bowled over by the work he has done in Wales, they hit upon Osian Roberts as that individual.
“It’s kind of just happened very quickly,” he says. “I was in Armenia doing technical analysis of UEFA’s under-19s tournament when the Moroccan FA President made contact, invited me over for a chat.
“We had great discussions, I got to see is the the country and he invited me back on Tuesday to put something definitive together.
“I was still a little open minded, but as things were put into place it became clearer and clearer this was a great opportunity I simply couldn’t turn down.
“I’ve got a blank sheet of paper because they’ve not done well the last few years. The first team under-achieved at the African Cup of Nations, the under-17s and under-19s didn’t qualify for their tournaments. They told me ‘Come in and build something special for us, leave a legacy.’ That appeals to be because it’s what I have done here.
“I can’t just cut, copy and paste the Wales model I’ve helped build up and transport it over to Africa. It’s a completely different culture, a very different challenge. But building a national team’s department appeals for sure, although it will require lots of details to make it work.
“I’ve got autonomy, I will be out on the grass coaching as much as I want, my first job will be to appoint the new national head coach. These responsibilities do appeal.”
The money on offer, of course, has played a factor. No-one else knows the salary involved, but Roberts concedes it’s a ‘changing experience.’
But there is far more to it than Moroccan dirham, not least Roberts’ desire to spread the word about how Welsh coaches can be successful anywhere on the planet.
“I’ve always said to Welsh coaches coming through our system they should try working in different parts of the world, expand the Wales brand,” he says. “So when we have Carl Robinson and Anthony Pulis working in the MLS, it opens doors for others.
“It’s started happening with our young players too, with Ethan Ampadu and Rabbi Matondo playing in Germany this season. That sort of thing rarely occurred in the past.
“You get Dutch or French coaches everywhere, but not Welsh. We need to break down those boundaries, get Welsh coaches out there and I guess I’m practising what I tell others.”
So what about his more high-profile role as Wales assistant manager to Gary Speed, Chris Coleman and more recently Ryan Giggs and how does he see the future?
“What we’ve achieved since 2010 makes me so proud. We’re in a phenomenal position today compared to where we were back then,” says Roberts.
“Nothing sums it up better than me being disappointed we have dropped to 23rd in the FIFA rankings. We’d been in the top 20 for the last five years. When I started I think we were 117th. Yet here I am disappointed Wales, yes Wales, are outside the top 20 in the world!”
He continued: “Gary Speed gave his famous line about wanting to be competitive in every tournament, not have the once every 10 years boom and bust scenario he went through as a player.
“We’re not going to qualify every time, we’d like to but in reality won’t. But two in three would be great, one in three the absolute minimum. Whatever though, we have to be competitive in every single qualifying campaign. That’s the aim.
“We reached the Euros and what happened in France was brilliant. We didn’t quite get over the line in the last World Cup, but were competitive right up to last game against Ireland when it was winner takes everything.
“Since then it’s been a transition phase under Ryan, but we knew this was coming.
“This bunch of youngsters coming through are the ones who won the Victory Shield (under-15s Home Internationals) for the first time since 1948 for Wales. We knew of the talent, creative players too, ready to follow in footsteps of the Bellamys and Bales.
“We were aware of this young generation, had to bring them in, give them experience.
“But with young players come inconsistencies. Any transition takes a little bit of time, but I genuinely believe this Wales team is on the cusp of something special again.
“I’ve spoken to Ryan and the players about this, told them ‘This group reminds me so much of 2013 when we lost 6-1 in Sebria.’ The players were feeling their way, there was inconsistency, but you just knew you were on the brink of something.
“The difference this time is we’re not losing 6-1 any more. Yes we were beaten in Croatia in the qualifiers,