Former Ghanaian international, Michael Essien, currently holds both the UEFA A and UEFA Elite Youth A licenses and is serving as an assistant coach at Danish club Nordsjaelland.
Despite his coaching qualifications, Essien has stated that he is not ready to manage Ghana’s national team anytime soon.
This position was revealed by Nigerian journalist Lolade Adewuyi, who met Essien in Denmark while traveling to cover a UEFA Champions League game between Napoli and AC Milan.
Adewuyi tweeted a photo of himself with Essien and disclosed that when asked if he was interested in coaching the Black Stars, Essien replied in the negative.
Essien took up coaching badges shortly after retiring from professional football after a brief spell with Azerbaijani side Sabail FK in 2020. In February 2021, he announced on social media that he had acquired the UEFA A and UEFA Elite Youth A licenses. He then joined Nordsjaelland as one of their first-team assistant coaches.
In a 2021 interview, Essien revealed that he had never considered coaching but felt he had much to offer the younger generation of players.
The former Real Madrid and AC Milan midfielder was part of the Ghanaian squad that played in the 2006 and 2014 World Cups and won several domestic and international trophies with Chelsea.
