The Anthony Barry story - From Wigan Athletic to coaching Cristiano Ronaldo at the Euros!


The likeable Liverpudlian’s three-year stay with Latics was ended only by administration in the summer of 2020, which saw Chelsea lure him to Stamford Bridge and a shot at the Premier League.
That Chelsea were able to take him without even offering minimal compensation still rankles in and around Wigan.
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Hide AdBut that hasn’t stopped the club and the town watching proudly as Barry’s journey has seen him ascent to the top of world football in a timescale that would have been thrown out by Hollywood scriptwriters as ludicrous.
Barely six months into Barry’s tenure, boss Frank Lampard - with whom he'd shared a Pro Licence course - departed to be replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
Whose move to Bayern Munich in 2023 saw Barry secure a major position with the Bundesliga powerhouses.
As if that's not impressive enough, Barry was headhunted in 2022 by none other than Roberto Martinez, who had an opening on his staff with the Belgian national side - then the No.1 ranked nation in the world.
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Hide AdAfter impressing on the international stage, Barry followed Martinez into a similar position with Portugal - where his charges include a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.
Not bad for a down-to-earth scouser whose own playing career – which took him to Coventry City, Accrington Stanley, Yeovil Town, Chester City, Wrexham, Fleetwood Town and Forest Green Rovers was, by his own admission, nothing to write home about.
"It seems quite surreal looking back, my career has accelerated at a speed I don't think anyone could have anticipated," acknowledged Barry. "From the age of 30, when I became a first-team coach at Wigan, I was at a stage in my football career when everybody says: 'Keep playing as long as you can'.
"But for me, my career had been blighted by injuries, at a lower level, and looking back, I reflect on it as a career I didn't enjoy so much.
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Hide Ad"I suffered a huge injury at the age of 24, and that year I decided to commence my coaching badges. My first job was actually Accrington Stanley Under-16s, when I was 29, and I remember my first session so clearly...it was a Tuesday night, there were around 10 players, I had a third of a pitch, and not enough balls and not enough bibs!
"But I simply fell in love with coaching, and on that night I knew it was absolutely everything I wanted to do. I felt a passion in those sessions with those kids that I'd never felt during my career which had taken me to Wembley.
"I knew right then I wanted to be a young coach, and the opportunity soon arrived for me to become first-team coach at Wigan when I was 30. From then on, the next seven or eight years have accelerated at such a rate that I certainly didn't expect."
Typical of his background, Barry is well aware of the role that fate – as well as ability and attitude – has played in his rise to prominence.
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Hide Ad"Timing and luck is a huge factor in anyone's career," he recognised. "To suggest it's not is probably a bit egotistical...to think everything is planned out and works out as you'd want it to.
"For sure, for people like Roberto and Thomas to come into my life the way they did...people like Frank Lampard being on the Pro Licence with me...they are things you simply can't control.
"I look back now and, without doubt, I couldn't have progressed the way I have if these things hadn't happened. I am in a period of reflection a little bit now, and I know there's been a lot of luck and a lot of good people who have helped me to arrive where I am now."
As to where his career will continue to take him, Barry - who is still only 38 - retains a pragmatic approach.
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Hide AdSpeaking on 'The Euros Essential Football Podcast', he added: "I'm a coach who is always looking to evolve, and I believe there is no final product. All the landscape is constantly changing, and if you don't update and evolve, you will become outdated.
"Thankfully, in the environments I've been in over the last few years, the pressure has constantly been there, day in day out, to provide a certain level of coaching. This for me is the best environment to be in, to be coaching players at the highest, highest level, who demand everything from you as a coach. For me, that's the best environment to be in, for personal and self-development.
"As a young coach, for sure it's unforgiving, I'm standing in front of world superstars who not too long ago I was watching on the television, but pretty quickly you have to adapt. You have to treat them exactly the same as every player you've ever worked with...treat them with love, with warmth, with a desire to improve them.
"The only characteristic you need for longevity at this level is competence...if they believe in what you are doing, and what you are trying to coach them, they will follow. If not, if the competence isn't there, you will not be at this level for very long."
Portugal are in Group F at the Euros, along with Turkey, Georgia and the Czech Republic.
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