Desmond Buckingham (born 7 February 1985) is an English professional

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...

who is the current head coach of

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

club

Mumbai City Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014, during the inaugural season of ...

. Buckingham became the youngest head coach in the history of the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

during the 2016–17 A-League season.

Playing career

Born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England, Buckingham had spells in the youth and reserve teams of English sides

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and

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

. A professional career did not materialise, and Buckingham subsequently joined Oxford & Cherwell Valley College in a full-time coaching and teaching role over a four-year period.

Coaching career

Oxford United

Buckingham began his professional coaching career at

at the age of 18, initially working through the club's age-group squads. At the start of the 2013–14 Football League Two season, Buckingham progressed as a coach into the first team, under then-manager,

Chris Wilder Christopher John Wilder (born 23 September 1967) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a right-back. He was most recently the manager of club Middlesbrough ...

. In his time at the club, Buckingham was able to support the transition of 24 players from the youth ranks into their first professional contracts.

Wellington Phoenix

Buckingham joined the

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

during the 2014–15 A-League season under head coach

Ernie Merrick Ernest Merrick OAM (born 15 January 1953) is a Scottish-Australian coach, who last managed A-League soccer club Newcastle Jets. He was released on 6 January 2020. He was the former head coach of the Hong Kong national football team and A-Leagu ...

. On 1 January 2017, following the resignation of Merrick, he was appointed as manager until the end of the season. At 31 years of age, he became the youngest manager in

history and was able to lift the club off the bottom of the table, finishing one place outside the playoffs at the end of the season.

Stoke City

In July, 2017 Buckingham was granted permission to leave

and take up a role at then-

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

as an assistant coach with their under-23 team.

New Zealand Football

A return to New Zealand in 2018 saw Buckingham appointed as head coach of the New Zealand U20 team and assistant manager of the senior national team. In August, 2018 Buckingham led the team to the 2018 OFC U-19 Championship, qualifying for the

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 ...

. At the World Cup, Buckingham's New Zealand side recorded their highest ever finish at a men's FIFA tournament, eventually being knocked out by

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

in the round of 16 after a controversial penalty shoot-out. The team also posted New Zealand's biggest ever win at a FIFA tournament with a 5–0 win over

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, becoming the first New Zealand team to win back to back games at a FIFA event, the team also recorded their first ever win over European opposition with a 2–0 win over

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Buckingham earned plaudits for the team's quality of football and style of play. Former

All Whites The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...

Ricki Herbert Ricki Lloyd Herbert (born 10 April 1961) is a New Zealand former footballer and manager. He is the current technical director at Cambridge FC. Herbert was formerly head coach of the New Zealand national team, stepping down after the side faile ...

and

Wynton Rufer Wynton Alan Whai Rufer (born 29 December 1962) is a New Zealand retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent more than a decade of his professional career in Switzerland and Germany, achieving his greatest success at Werd ...

praised the positive and attacking approach to winning games rarely seen before in New Zealand. Despite being linked to clubs in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

and

, Buckingham accepted the New Zealand U23 managerial position in June 2019, leading the side into the 2019 Pacific Games and

OFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament The OFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament is a tournament held once in four years' time to decide the only qualification spot for Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and representatives at the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympic ...

. Buckingham guided New Zealand to its first-ever gold medal at the 2019 Pacific Games, leading an U-23 side through an otherwise senior international competition undefeated. In September 2019, in the lead up to the

the New Zealand U-23 side played out two draws against their Australian counterparts. On 5 October 2019, Buckingham led

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

to its third

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, qualifying for

Tokyo 2020 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

by winning the

OFC U-23 Championship The OFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament is a tournament held once in four years' time to decide the only qualification spot for Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and representatives at the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympic ...

. In doing so, the team became the most dominant men's side to have played in an

Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...

competition by winning all five games and finishing with a goal difference of +29. The New Zealand U23 side remained unbeaten during his tenure, winning nine and drawing three of 12 games.

New Zealand Football New Zealand Football is the governing body for the sport of association football in New Zealand. It oversees the seven New Zealand Football federations, as well as the New Zealand national football team (nicknamed the "All Whites"), the nationa ...

announced that Buckingham would leave his role as coach of the under-23 side in April 2020, despite a large group of players writing to the governing body to retain his services as coach. Buckingham's contract was not extended following delays caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and the postponement of the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

and he was replaced by

Danny Hay Daniel John Hay (born 15 May 1975) is a retired New Zealand professional Football (soccer), footballer who is currently the manager of the New Zealand national football team, New Zealand national under-23 football team, New Zealand U-23, and N ...

. Buckingham was named Men's Coach of the year at New Zealand Football Awards 2020.

Melbourne City

In September 2020, Buckingham joined

club Melbourne City as Assistant Coach after being identified by the

City Football Group City Football Group Limited (CFG) is a holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organisations; of which 81% is majority owned by Newton Investment and Development LLC, 18% by the American firm Si ...

. He has managed the team on multiple occasions in the absence of

Patrick Kisnorbo Patrick Fabio Maxime Kisnorbo (born 24 March 1981) is an Australian professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of club Troyes. He is also known by his nicknames Paddy and PK. As a player, Kisnorbo was a primar ...

, when he has been injured or ill. In his first season, Melbourne City claimed their maiden

trophy in the teams eleven-year history, winning the league to secure the A-League Premiers Plate. The team completed the double a month later, winning their first A-League Grand Final.

Mumbai City

On 8 October 2021, Buckingham was appointed as the head coach of

club

of the City Football Group on a two-year contract. Under his management, the club began its 2021–22 season campaign with a 3–0 win on 22 November against

FC Goa Football Club Goa is an Indian professional football club based in Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 26 August 2014. Nicknamed as '' Gaurs'', the club plays their h ...

. In Buckinghams first season in charge, Mumbai City finished the season on fifth place, amassing 31 points from 20 games. Ahead of the

2022 AFC Champions League The 2022 AFC Champions League is the 41st edition of Asia's premier club association football, football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 20th under the current AFC Champions League title. This season is offi ...

kick-off, the club travelled to

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

for a training camp and defeated Emirati giants

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...

2–1 in a friendly match. On 11 April 2022, Buckingham led

to the Clubs first win at the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

, becoming the first Indian team to win a game in the competition, beating

Iraqi Premier League The Iraqi Premier League ( ar, الدوري العراقي الممتاز) is the top level of the Iraqi football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it is operated by the Iraq Football Association (IFA) and operates on a system of promotion ...

champions

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya ( ar, نادي القوة الجوية الرياضي, lit=Air Force Club) is an Iraqi sports club based in Rusafa District, Baghdad that competes in the Iraqi Premier League, the top-flight of Iraqi football. Founded in 193 ...

2–1 at the

King Fahd International Stadium The King Fahd Stadium (), also nicknamed "Pearl of Stadiums" ( ) or simply "the Pearl" ( ), is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has athletics facilities. Overview The ...

in Saudi Arabia. Buckingham's side became the most successful Indian Club to compete in the

., finishing second in Group B, with results against

Al-Jazira Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre * Al-Jazira ( ...

and Al-Zawraa adding to their second-round win.

and Buckingham won praise for their fearless approach and positive playing style at the tournament. On 18 August 2022, Buckingham's side competed in the

Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...

, beating the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

4–1 in their maiden appearance. The team progressed to the knockout stages, finishing top of their five-team group that included

teams ATK Mohun
Bagan and

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

advanced through the quarter-final stage, beating fellow

team

Chennaiyin Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was founded in Au ...

before securing a 1–0 over Mohammedan in the semi-finals to make their first ever Durand Cup Final.

finished as runners-up in the tournament after a 2–1 loss to

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in the final on 18 September 2022.

Personal life

Buckingham is a qualified pilot, and holds a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in advanced performance football coaching through the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales ( cy, Prifysgol De Cymru) is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wal ...

. He was inducted into the 2019 edition of the High Performance Sport New Zealand Coach Accelerator Programme, a three-year programme aimed at developing and increasing New Zealand's pool of world-class coaches.

Managerial statistics

Honours

New Zealand Football *

OFC U-20 Championship The OFC U-19 Championship is a tournament held once every two years to decide the under-19 champions of Oceania and also decides who will represent Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) at the biennial FIFA U-20 World Cup. Between 1974 and 2012, ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games wer ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Melbourne City *

Premiership:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Championship:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Mumbai City *

runner-up:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Individual * New Zealand Football Men's Coach of the Year: 2020

References

External links

Des Buckingham profile
on Soccerway's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckingham, Des Living people Footballers from Oxford English football managers English expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Expatriate association football managers in New Zealand A-League Men managers Wellington Phoenix FC managers 1985 births English expatriate football managers Melbourne City FC non-playing staff Oxford United F.C. non-playing staff Association football coaches Mumbai City FC managers Association football goalkeepers Association football players not categorized by nationality