Liam Rosenior: Chelsea’s new coach breaks barriers

Leroy Rosenior, Liam’s father, played for clubs such as Fulham, West Ham and Queens Park Rangers, and his coaching career culminated with a five-month spell at then-League One side Brentford in 2006.

In 2019, he was awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Year’s Honors for services to tackling discrimination in football and wider society.

When Rosenior Jr. retired from playing, he followed in his father’s footsteps. He began writing a column for The Guardian, where in 2017 he acknowledged the underrepresentation of black coaches. He stressed that race does not affect ability and said opportunities should be given on the basis of merit.

He also made a point he will repeat: that a significant lack of representation leads to misunderstanding of players from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

In a podcast with The Athletic FC, Rosenior highlighted how his star striker, Emmanuel Emega, has been described as “difficult” and “emotional”, but said he understands the Dutch international of Nigerian descent. Emega is set to join him in a move from Strasbourg to Chelsea in July.

In other columns for The Guardian, Rosenior also admitted that he was “ashamed” to hear an unnamed coach make homophobic slurs when he was a player. He pledged his support for the Rainbow Laces campaign in the English Premier League, and wrote an open letter to Donald Trump during his first presidency of the United States, in which he accused him of “blatant” racism.

Since then, Rosenior has made his name as a coach – first at Hull City, then at Strasbourg – and Wayne Rooney said this week that he is “as good a coach as I’ve ever worked with” after their time together at Derby County.

Rosenior said his farewell in Strasbourg on Tuesday morning before signing a six-and-a-half-year contract with Chelsea.

The Blues had their first Premier League player in Canoville, their first black manager in Gullit and their first black Premier League captain in Paul Elliott.

Elliott has since served in a variety of senior roles, including the FA’s Diversity and Inclusion Board, and is now vice-chairman of Charlton Athletic – whom Chelsea will play in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.

“Liam, in my opinion, represents everything that was right about the 21st century,” Elliott said.

“He was a great player, very articulate, very intelligent, and you could see that whatever he did – whether as a coach or a manager – he really knew the game.”

“Whatever he did, I knew it would be successful. His passion was to make a career in football management. He talks in a way I haven’t heard from a lot of people – I felt like you were learning.”

“It sends a strong and positive message to current and future generations – that people of color who look like Liam can reach the top and be at the forefront of football management.

“But let’s not forget that it exists because of merit. It exists because of talent.”