‘The players have to trust what I'm asking them to do’
ROBERTO SALOMONE/ THE GUARDIAN Ashley Cole is in his second stint in Italian football, having joined Roma in 2014 and played there for 18 months Ashley Cole, in his first manager's job, on attacking football and aiming for promotion with Cesena 'The fans are humble people who work every day to afford a ticket. We need to reflect that' 29 Apr 2026 - The Guardian Emanuele Giulianelli It has been a long journey for Ashley Cole, but also for his wife, Sharon Canu. It took seven years for Cole to get his first job as a head coach, with Cesena in Italy, having retired from playing. During that time, Sharon had to endure many dinner table tactical briefings with salt and pepper shakers. The pair met a decade ago while Cole was playing for Roma – Canu is from Italy – and that period clearly left a lasting mark beyond the pitch. “I bored her a lot,” Cole says, smiling. Now that he has a dugout of his own, Sharon may finally get the seasoning back. “It was always in our plans to...