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Jobs4Football meets Rafael Bermudez Roldan

In 2007, Rafael Bermudez Roldan had just started what at the time looked like his destiny as he began engineering school in Spain. Fast forward to the present day and he has obtained a degree in sports science and physical activity, along with his UEFA A qualification in coaching and is currently the assistant coach for Hammarby women’s team in Sweden.  

Since deciding to stop pursuing a career in engineering, the 32-year-old has been a coach and a performance analyst in Spain, Norway and Sweden for various football clubs, but what made him want to change his job path in the first place?  

He said: “Whilst I was spending time with the university football team I started getting more and more excited about becoming a coach, more so than becoming an engineer. That’s when I knew that in 10 to 15 years’ time I wanted to be on the pitch helping the team rather than being in an office.”  

“It was a tough decision because I come from a family of engineers, so I had the self-pressure to become one, but at the end of the day I took the decision to do something I was going to be happier doing rather than doing something because it’s what the rest of the people around me did.”  

“Looking back, I think it’s one of the best decisions I have made in my life because it gave me the opportunity for the last 10 years to earn a living doing something I love.”  

In 2012, Roldan moved from Spain to Norway to finish his degree and to get experience in football whilst developing his English. He only planned to stay in Scandinavia temporarily before moving back to Spain, but Volda TI offered him a 6 month contract to be the U19s coach and he accepted.  

Two years later he became the assistant coach and physical coach for the first team as the club went on to win the Norwegian fourth tier that season. He worked for two other clubs in Norway as a coach before taking on the role to become the performance coach for Swedish club Ostersunds FK in 2018.  

The Spaniard was with the first tier side until the summer before making a move to the Swedish capital for his current role as the assistant coach for Hammarby women’s team.  

“I’m looking forward to getting started here in Stockholm. The first official competition begins in February with the cup and it’s a competition I really like because with five games you can win a title which is always a nice way to start.”  

Roldan’s footballing journey to date has seen him coach in three different countries which has tested his ability to adapt, a test which so far he has passed with flying colours.  

“I believe I have a very good capacity for adaptation, I can adapt to different environments without losing my principles. There are obvious differences between coaching in Spain compared to Scandinavia, but there are also differences between Norway and Sweden and if you don’t adapt and you try to apply the same methodology in these three countries, you will set yourself up for failure.”     

Roldan’s current role will consist of combining both the coaching and analytical side as he approaches his tenth year of working in football in Scandinavia, and despite only being in the beginning of his footballing journey, he has come a long way in a short space of time.  

“If someone told me 10 years ago I would be in a club like Hammarby as the assistant manager I would say you’re crazy, but I haven’t gotten here because of luck. It’s been a process of a lot of hard work and missing important things like family meetings, friends’ weddings, having to sacrifice personal relationships.”  

“I was just a young guy that had football as a hobby, and I just wanted to have fun with it and now it has become my profession, but that doesn’t mean I am satisfied. I want to reach the highest level possible; I am very happy to be where I am now but having spoken to the manager, we are both ambitious and want to achieve big things.”  

Roldan admits that he isn’t interested in becoming a manager in the future and feels his skills and expertise are better suited to being an assistant manager, whether that’s at club level or for a national team.  

“I know the assistant manager at Athletic Bilbao, he has been there since 2011 and in one of the few interviews he has done, they asked him ‘what is the most important factor in becoming a successful assistant manager’ and he said, ‘first of all, don’t want to be the manager, know your place’.”  

“For me as an assistant manager my job is to try and help the players perform on the weekend, I don’t want to put forward some revolutionary ideas that will transform the team if I take charge. My role is to assist the manager with my work and knowledge and try to help him and the players in any way possible to try and take the team one step forward.”  

Roldan’s passion for the game coinciding with his knowledge and drive to succeed ensure that the 32-year-old will have a successful career in the sport for many years to come.   

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