{"id":295642,"date":"2023-10-28T11:24:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-28T11:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=295642"},"modified":"2023-10-28T11:24:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T11:24:07","slug":"pascal-chimbonda-reveals-why-he-took-the-skelmersdale-united-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/pascal-chimbonda-reveals-why-he-took-the-skelmersdale-united-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Pascal Chimbonda reveals why he took the Skelmersdale United job"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Former Tottenham and France star Pascal Chimbonda admits he &#8216;likes a challenge&#8217; as he reveals why he&#8217;s taken his first managerial job at Skelmersdale United &#8211; BOTTOM of the ninth tier in England<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u00a0Pascal Chimbonda says he wants to &#8216;open the door&#8217; for other black coaches<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The former Wigan star took a unique and challenging route into football\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast &#8216;It&#8217;s All Coming Up!&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pascal Chimbonda has just begun his managerial career at a non-league team who had lost 15 of their first 16 league games and been handed the task of trying to save them from relegation.<\/p>\n<p>But when he insists he cannot be stopped once he sets his mind on something he only has to look at his own career for proof.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018In 1998 when France won that World Cup I was living in the Caribbean,\u2019 began Guadeloupe-born Chimbonda, a member of the 2006 France squad that reached the final.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I was watching that with my family and I said to my mum Francina \u2018you see we\u2019re watching that game now, one day you will see me in that TV and you\u2019ll be watching me as well.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018And it happened eight years after, with some of the same players that played in 1998. In \u201998 I wasn\u2019t even a professional footballer. You see how quickly things can go?\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/28\/09\/76582191-0-Pascal_Chimbonda_won_his_first_game_in_charge_at_Skelmersdale_Un-a-7_1698481877410.jpg\" height=\"960\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Pascal Chimbonda won his first game in charge at Skelmersdale United 4-1 to inject new hope into the ninth-tier strugglers\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/28\/09\/76582193-0-Chimbonda_added_that_he_has_taken_inspiration_from_some_of_the_g-a-2_1698481145899.jpg\" height=\"498\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Wigan cult hero says he has &#8216;never had anything easy&#8217; and says he wants to &#8216;open the door&#8217; for other black coaches\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Skelmersdale United, rock bottom of the North West Counties Premier Division, the ninth tier of English football, are hoping for their own swift turnaround in fortunes with former Premier League defender Chimbonda now at the helm.<\/p>\n<p>Victory in his first league game last week, a 4-1 win against high-flying Barndoldswick Town, was an ideal start.<\/p>\n<p>And the 44 year-old\u2019s route into professional football should offer further encouragement given their predicament.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I like a challenge. My life was always about the challenge,\u2019 said Chimbonda. \u2018I never had anything easy.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Chimbonda did not join an academy until he was 18 and had to leave the Caribbean and his family behind to get that opportunity at French club Le Havre.<\/p>\n<p>Back in Guadeloupe the weather was nice \u2013 \u2018it\u2019s like 35 degrees every day,\u2019 Chimbonda smiled \u2013 but the football structure to support his dreams did not really exist.<\/p>\n<p>He played with his brothers and their friends rather than in any professional-style set up and would train and play just once a week.<\/p>\n<p>Chimbonda then had to scrap his way through a trial against 200 other hopefuls to impress a scout who had a once-in-a-lifetime ticket to Europe for just one player.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/28\/09\/76582195-0-The_former_Tottenham_Wigan_and_Blackburn_star_said_he_was_honour-a-3_1698481261129.jpg\" height=\"621\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The former Tottenham star did not join an academy until he was 18 and played once a week<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/28\/09\/77110201-0-image-a-4_1698481395096.jpg\" height=\"421\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He became an established Premier League footballer and reached the 2006 World Cup final with France<\/p>\n<p>When he reached France the Chimbonda who stood out in the Caribbean, always playing with and shining against older players, found himself playing catch-up but with no time to waste as he had just two years to prove himself and earn his first professional contract. His first year was tough and \u2018my dream nearly stopped after one year.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>He coped in training but felt like he struggled to put one foot in front of the other at time in matches, in part due to a lack of confidence. The cold weather was a shock too.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u2018There were a lot of things in my head like \u2018I don\u2019t want to disappoint my family.\u2019 People push me, believe in me and I don\u2019t want to let all these people down. This give me a second motivation. In the end everything happened good and make me have a good career.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>It eventually took him to newly-promoted Wigan ahead of their first ever Premier League campaign in 2005.<\/p>\n<p>Chimbonda did not know where Wigan was when he joined from Bastia.<\/p>\n<p>He did not speak any English, needed help to understand manager Paul Jewell\u2019s scouse accent and support from Grenada international Jason Roberts to settle.<\/p>\n<p>But he became a Wigan cult hero. They finished 10th, at one stage were as high as second, and reached the Carling Cup final against \u2018big Manchester United.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We were living a dream,\u2019 said Chimbonda who was voted the Premier League\u2019s best right-back that season ahead of the likes of Gary Neville and Paulo Ferreira and further rewarded with a place in France\u2019s World Cup squad.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/28\/09\/77110215-0-image-a-5_1698481506057.jpg\" height=\"693\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Chimbonda says he was &#8216;living the dream&#8217; at Wigan and they reached the Carling Cup final<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u2018It is not giving to everyone to be in the 23 best players in the country and in 2006 I was. To be in that squad was unbelievable. In training when you see the quality of Zidane, Henry \u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2018One thing that marked me in that World Cup was when we played Brazil in the quarter finals. Zidane, wow.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I was on the bench and when I saw what he did for the first ball he touched I said \u2018mate, we\u2019re going to win that game easy.\u2019 Nobody is going to stop him today.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Brazil, they had Ronaldo, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Adriano \u2026 all the best players and we beat them but that time when I see Zidane touch his first ball I say, \u2018we\u2019re winning.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Chimbonda\u2019s climb continued following the tournament, joining Tottenham for the first of two stints, and he got his hands on the Carling Cup at the second attempt in 2008.<\/p>\n<p>After further top-flight spells at Sunderland and Blackburn, Chimbonda finished his playing career in the non-league just before turning 40.<\/p>\n<p>While that was a sign of his desire to keep playing the game he loves, starting in management at Skelmersdale is an indication of the difficulties he has had getting that first break.<\/p>\n<p>Chimbonda, who impressed Skelmersdale chiefs with his work at the PC39 Academy he set up in Manchester and was known to vice chairman Gordon Johnson, has faced the familiar barriers other black coaches have done while attempting to get into the game despite having his A Licence.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u2018I don&#8217;t know why this bias is still there because there are so many good black coaches who played a high level of football and you never see them involved in coaching or on different boards in football.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/28\/09\/77110225-0-image-a-6_1698481576229.jpg\" height=\"420\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He said: &#8216;If you never start somewhere, you will never learn and do something good&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But he has refused to be deterred and added: \u2018I have had many people telling me \u2018don\u2019t give up. One day maybe it will happen and you will open the door for other black coaches to be involved in the football industry.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This challenge, if I have to accept it to go into football, I open my arms for it. I\u2019m really pleased they gave me that opportunity to express myself.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There are still plenty of games to go. I\u2019m going to shake that tree, try to build a good base and come out of this bottom of the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I have to start my coaching career some somewhere. Even though I know the challenge may be tough, if you never start somewhere you will never learn and do something good.\u2019<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12682639\/Former-Tottenham-France-star-Pascal-Chimbonda-admits-likes-challenge-reveals-hes-taken-managerial-job-Skelmersdale-United-BOTTOM-ninth-tier-England.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Tottenham and France star Pascal Chimbonda admits he &#8216;likes a challenge&#8217; as he reveals why he&#8217;s taken his first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pascal Chimbonda reveals why he took the Skelmersdale United job - All My Sports News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/pascal-chimbonda-reveals-why-he-took-the-skelmersdale-united-job\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pascal Chimbonda reveals why he took the Skelmersdale United job - All My Sports News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Tottenham and France star Pascal Chimbonda admits he &#8216;likes a challenge&#8217; 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