Ashley Cole has been hired as Cesena manager on a contract until the end of the season.
Italian media have made their feelings clear regarding Ashley Cole’s surprise appointment as manager of Serie B club Cesena.
Cole, 45, has worked as an assistant coach at Everton, Derby County and Birmingham City since retiring as a player, and has most recently been part of the England squad.
Read: Reporter Schelderup has convinced giant club!
According to Correire Romagna, Cole resigned from his position at the FA on Friday, after which the English Football Association sent the relevant documents to the FIGC, their Italian counterpart, to allow him to be hired as Cesena manager.
He has signed a contract until the end of the season, reportedly with an option for another year if the club reaches the Serie B playoffs.
Cesena currently holds the sixth and final playoff spot with eight games left in the season, but has not won in seven games.
This led to their decision to end the services of Michele Mignani, with Cole – in his first managerial job – appointed as his successor.
He has already been widely praised for his work as a coach, and he has also worked under Frank Lampard and Lee Carsley.
Read: Kasper Høgh is waiting for the message that fulfills another dream
But what do local media think about Cole’s return to Italy, ten years after his spell as a player at Roma ended?
Italian media reach a conclusion on Ashley Cole appointment
The official website of journalist Gianluca Di Marzio states that, although Cole’s appointment at first glance may look like just an exotic game of chance, it further states: “When carefully examining his career path, the choice of Ashley Cole as the new manager of Cesena has the appearance of a sports novel written with clarity and awareness.”
Tuttomercatoweb, for his part, describes his appointment as ‘reminiscent of Comos, when in 2023 they decided to promote current coach Cesc Fabregas on a temporary basis from the Primavera team’.
Fabregas’ arrangement was unusual in that he did not have a UEFA Pro licence when he took over – which is not an issue with Cole.
The Spaniard was given dispensation to take temporary responsibility for a month between November and December 2023, before becoming an assistant to Osian Roberts for the rest of the season.
Following Como’s promotion, Fabregas took sole responsibility in the summer of 2024, and this season he has guided them to an impressive fourth place finish in Serie A.
Corriere Romagna, on the other hand, describes it as ‘unbelievable’ that Cole and assistant Jack Mesure, who previously worked at Chelsea, have only been given potentially eight games in charge of the club.
While Calciomercato writes: “Cesena’s decision to hire Ashley Cole is linked to the desire of the American owners to further internationalise the club, by selecting a coach who, despite never having led a first team, has extensive international experience as a player and has worked with key coaching teams.”
