In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Des Buckingham, the 38-year-old British coach who has topped the table with Mumbai City, explains how he helped to construct a City Football Group side in India - and the personal sacrifices made in doing so
Tuesday 13 June 2023 10:54, UK
Des Buckingham is living his dream. After winning the Indian Super League with Mumbai City earlier this year, he was in Istanbul to see fellow City Football Group side Manchester City win the UEFA Champions League.
There are trips planned to the United States and Japan to visit other clubs within the group before he embarks on a pre-season tour of Thailand in preparation for his own side's Champions League campaign in September.
"I would not change it for the world right now," he tells Sky Sports.
For Buckingham, the gamble of travelling to the other side of the world to develop his coaching career has paid off. His experiences in New Zealand, where he took national teams to the U20 World Cup and the Olympics, led him to Melbourne City - and CFG.
As assistant manager there, his pathway appeared clear. "The original thinking was for me to take over as head coach of Melbourne eventually," Buckingham explains. "But before that there was the opportunity in Mumbai. It was never on my radar."
Of course, it helped that it was within CFG. "You go knowing you have the support and trust behind you. That helps because you know you are not going to a random country. You are going to a place where you know how things will work to an extent."
But the circumstances added another layer to the challenge. The global pandemic changed everything. "It was the most surreal experience I have ever had. There were 11 teams in the league but nobody was allowed to interact with anybody else. That included the public. I was in a bio-bubble for the first year I was there."
Mumbai City ended up moving the team into a holiday resort with a gated community, renting out the whole complex. "It was really nice but the reality was that everyone there, including the hotel staff, had to then live on site for the whole season."
It was difficult for everyone, insists Buckingham. But for a coach who was halfway across the world, away from friends and family, it demanded personal sacrifice to achieve professional success. The loss of a loved one overshadowed that first year in India.
"I had a grandparent who literally brought me up, she was like my mum. She passed away over Christmas time and I could not get back home for the funeral. I would have had to quarantine going there and coming back. Missing those things. It was tough."
Back in Mumbai, only now can Buckingham enjoy the experience for what it was supposed to be. "There is a chance to enjoy the city. India is a beautiful country." With passionate support. "There were 40,000 fans in Kerala. That was a unique experience."
The bonds formed during their period of isolation have led, he believes, to the performances produced since. "We used that time, formed some strong relationships, put those foundations in place, and I think we have seen the fruit of that."
It required a shift in mindset from the players. "Indian players were used to being told what to do and how to do it," explains Buckingham. "That first year we spent a lot of time getting them comfortable having conversations to drive their own development."
His background in teaching helped. "I was a teacher for four years and those years helped set up the framework for how people learn and how to involve people in their own learning. If they understand it, you do not have to remind them every week."
There is the example of the little winger Lallianzuala Chhangte. "We did a lot of work to get him to hold his position. The more he understood it the better he got." He was subsequently named ISL player of the season. More generally, there is the team's style of play.
"Playing out from the back, for instance. During the season, we had one or two different ways of doing that depending upon how the opposition pressed us. Now, after spending time on it, and with them asking questions, we now have five or six ways."
That build-up play reflects the responsibilities on Buckingham as a CFG coach. "There were two remits," he explains. "One of them was to develop the young Indian players and the other was to implement what I learned at Melbourne to make this a CFG club."
There is no prescribed document but there is constant support - some would say scrutiny. It is not just every match that is uploaded and shared within the group but every training session. "You are not told what to do, they are suggestions," he says.
"The feedback helps to develop me and the system that we play. We know we cannot play like Man City. We are on a different scale. But the principles in and out of position can be similar. Watching on TV you should be able to guess it is one of our teams."
Buckingham welcomes the dialogue. "I am 38 years old, relatively young. If I were not part of this group you would almost be operating by yourself, trying to do the right thing, of course, but by having that watched there is genuine care.
"The only other time it happens is on a coaching course for 20 minutes and off you go so I found it extremely useful. I have improved massively as a coach and that is thanks to that feedback. It is not there to catch you out, it is there to catch you in."
Mumbai City have a former midfielder at centre-back. Some of the patterns are familiar. "We looked at the full-back coming into the midfield, which has now changed to an extent to the centre-back stepping in and holding his position in midfield."
It is working. Having won the league, Mumbai City had to play an additional game to guarantee their passage through to the Champions League. "Fortunately, we won that game as well." The next plan is to reduce the average age of the team by two years.
Before that, there is more work for Buckingham. "I will definitely go to Yokohama." That will include a visit to Yokohama F Marinos, the CFG club based in the city. "Just to see the level there and what we can take back to Mumbai before the start of the season."
He smiles. The exciting opportunities continue to come. "I am very fortunate with the journey of the last 21 years but certainly the last three years. I would like to think I have started to repay them already." No doubt. And the journey is not over yet.
