Tottenham defender Ben Davies is continuing to study towards his post-playing career and has explained why his first month working with Ange Postecoglou was a tough one.
The 30-year-old has carved out a good football career for himself, having played 329 times for Tottenham and been a favourite of managers like Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and now Postecoglou across almost a decade at the north London club, and he is likely to captain Wales this week as they take on Poland in the play-off final for a spot at this summer’s Euros.
Davies is someone who thinks beyond the game as well and while other young footballers might use their spare time to play video games and go out, the Welshman has constantly looked to study, earning a degree in business economics and he is currently working towards the equivalent of a master’s degree, while also working towards his coaching qualifications.
While taking part in an insightful podcast interview on The Gab & Juls Show, Davies revealed in the first part of the episode that he is looking to go down the unusual route of gaining his UEFA Pro Licence – required to become a manager in most top leagues – before he hangs up his boots.
“Obviously the older I’ve got in the game you have to start thinking about that kind of thing, but I’m one of those guys who likes to plan for all eventualities. I’m doing my coaching badges, I’ll hopefully have my A licence within the next month or so. I’d like to finish my pro licence before I finish playing,” said the defender.
“That would be the ideal goal because I think it would be a nice transition to go straight into coaching instead of being that guy who has no qualifications. You then have to take two or three years out just to get the qualifications and then ultimately you’re on the outside of football trying to find your way back in.
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“Whereas I feel I’m in a good position now. I want to play for as long as I can, but it’s always in the back of my mind that you see some players now that was they’re getting older they go to play for a club with an eye on turning into a coach in a year’s time or working with different managers to try to go down that route.
“I think that’s a route I’d like to go down first. As I’ve got older you have to look at what all of these managers are doing and take notes. You see what works and what doesn’t work and then you formulate your own ideas. That’s the route I want to go down. When I was injured all the boys were in Dubai, I was doing my rehab and post-session I went to watch the U13s at Spurs’ academy and I’m on the side and even watching that level you can feel there’s an intensity to it.
“There’s the joy in realising you can speak to these kids and they hang on your every word and they will listen. You can actually give them some advice. Who knows? They might think I was talking nonsense, but giving them some advice that might help them in their game. So that was my weekend, watching them, and then that’s my first hope.”
He added: “Then I also I have a big interest in the business of sport as well and the business of football. When I was young, I was bit of a nerd and that’s when I decided I was going to do my business economics degree at university level. I finished that when I was 26 and I’ve got that in the back pocket.
“I’m doing my business course with the PFA that they’re running now which is the equivalent of a master’s degree. It is unusual but I grew up with an emphasis on education. It probably goes back to that feeling of ‘what if football doesn’t work out’ when I was younger.
“When I signed for Tottenham I could easily have decided I’d made it but you have to prepare for all eventualities in life and I thought a good use of my time in the…
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