BENGALURU: Over the course of the 2022-23 season of Indian Super League, Mumbai FC went on a dominant streak, amassing more points and goals than any other team in the league’s history to secure their second League Winners’ Shield. Yet the man who is largely credited for that success, England-based football coach Des Buckingham is still relatively young at 38.
Long associated with City Football Group, which administers notable football clubs worldwide – Manchester City FC, New York City FC, and Mumbai City FC – Buckingham has had a decades-long career working with clubs across England, and New Zealand, before his arrival in Mumbai in 2021. Recently in Bengaluru, Buckingham credits his mega success to the massive amount of support he has received wherever he has worked.
“I think I’m still the youngest coach in the league, and probably the youngest coach to win the shields. But I’ve been coaching for 22 years, so it’s not entirely new. But the biggest thing has been the heavy support that I’ve received from all the people I’ve worked with – be it in England, or New Zealand, where I worked with both club teams and the national team.
And that support has continued even after coming to Mumbai FC,” says Buckingham, whose secret behind success is creating a conducive and open work environment where players, staff, and stakeholders feel at home. “My approach in these high-performing environments has been to get the environment and the culture right. You need people, not just players, to be themselves, and to be able to express who they are and what they want to do. Secondly, having a clear direction about where you want to go and involving all the people at the team and figuring a way to work together is key,” explains Buckingham.
Despite having previously worked in four different countries throughout his career, Buckingham faced challenges when he first arrived in Mumbai. “The biggest problem is the lack of separation between work and life. It’s different from any other football environment I’ve been in before. Normally you arrive at your base, you work, train, do all the sessions, and at the end of the day, you go home. But here, that’s not the case, the challenge is to ensure separation, because you need that work-life balance.”
Football has been gaining momentum over the last few years India, amidst cricket’s continued dominance. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, what does Buckingham think of India’s chances at qualifying for the World Cup? “The development of football in this country in the last four years has allowed for more games, which allows for more training and development opportunities. Given where the game is now, we have players in this country who are more than capable of competing. That has certainly been demonstrated the last 12 months across club football and international football. So we’re in exciting times,” he concludes.