Judan Ali

Judan Ali
Personal information
Place of birthBrick Lane, Tower Hamlets, London
Youth career
Team
Arsenal

Judan Ali is an English football coach.[1] His struggle for a breakthrough in the game as a player was, in part, the inspiration for the 2007 Bollywood film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.

Early life and career

Born in Brick Lane, Tower Hamlets, London, Ali often used the name "Jordan", and was rejected by numerous clubs after trialling for them.[2] His Indian ancestry played a part in his constant rejection.[3] He was taken on by Arsenal F.C. [4] He secured a contract to play for Murcia in the Spanish lower divisions,[3] and started selling real estate on golf resorts. He spent time at Barcelona's La Masia Academy where he added this experience to his coaching philosophy.[5]

Youth coaching

In the summer of 2011, Ali assembled a team of Indian players, aged under-15, to compete in the Arsenal International Soccer Festival.[3] The team of 16, which was selected from 20,000 hopefuls,[5] unexpectedly won the under-15 category at the Royal Holloway University.[3]

In Spring of 2014 Ali ( 教練 阿里 ) introduced professional Football to Taiwan. Ali delivered his Elite Player Performance Programme (EPPP) to 30 deprived footballing hopefuls from Aboriginal origins in Hualien (花蓮) , Taiwan.

Professional coaching

FA – The COACH Bursary Scheme

Ali is currently partaking in the Football Association's COACH scheme aimed at professionals from under-represented groups.[6]

Saint Kitts & Nevis Football Association

In April 2012, Ali was invited to train the St Kitts and Nevis men's, under-17 and under-20 national teams for 10 days. The teams were both training for their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers.[7]

Latvia Football Federation

In November 2012, Ali traveled to oversee the A-UEFA coaching masterclass course for Latvian coaches.[8]

Blackburn Rovers

In December 2012, there was media speculation that Ali might be appointed to replace Henning Berg as manager at Blackburn Rovers. The club was quick to deny any interest in Ali as manager.[1][5][9]

Chinese Taipei National Football Team (Taiwan)

In March 2013, Ali was appointed Head of Elite Football Development in Taiwan. Ali and the Chinese Taipei Football Association say the aim is to implement a long-term structure to get all Taiwan's age groups to their respective world championships. Ali says he intends to qualify all the Chinese Taipei age specific football teams to World Cup Finals.[10][11]

Other affiliations

Film

His attempts to forge a career in football were, in part, the inspiration for the 2007 Bollywood film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.[5] Ali was involved in casting for Bollywood movie.[3][4][5]

Charity

In September 2007 Ali took part in Premier League All Stars football tournament for charity representing a Chelsea team alongside celebrities Ross Kemp and Omid Djalili.[5]

In September 2012 The UK’s Anti-Racism Educational Charity Show Racism the Red Card held a charity match spearheaded by Hollywood star Tamer Hassan and Shane Richie in which Ali was involved.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Championship - Blackburn deny 'guest' coach Judan Ali set for job". Eurosport. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  2. ↑ Lucas, Giles (2009-11-09). "Arsenal to Accrington via a stopover in Bollywood". www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "They Came, they Scored, they Conquered!". The Asian Today. 19 August 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Venky's sack Blackburn Rovers manager after 57 days in charge, turns to Judan Ali". The Indian Express. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Herbert, Ian (27 December 2012). "From Bollywood to Ewood: Judan Ali in challenging new role". The Independent. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Coach scheme helping under-represented coaches make headwav (sic)". Let's Kick Racism Out of Football. Kick It Out. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Coach Judan Ali visits St. Kitts". St Kitts Nevis Football Association. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  8. ↑ http://www.lff.lv/lv/treneri/licencesana/a/20122013/sesija01/
  9. ↑ Jolly, Richard (28 December 2012). "Singh quashes rumours over Judan Ali". ESPN FC. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  10. ↑ Pan, Jason (3 April 2013). "Taiwanese to train at Bayern Munich". Taipei Times. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  11. ↑ "Made in Taiwan...". Eastern Eye. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.(subscription required)
  12. ↑ "Hollywood star Tamer Hassan and Shane Richie to appear in SRtRC charity match". Show Racism the Red Card. Retrieved 28 May 2013.

External links