Successful youth coach at Crystal Palace and now Fulham has helped scores of players make professional careers despite the barriers put in his path
Colin Omogbehin pauses for a second before answering. “Becoming a manager is something I’ve thought about. If it happens, great. But I’m not going to go begging for it,” says the joint head coach of Fulham Under-23s. “I love developing young players and my buzz comes when I’m asked to talk about my boys. When I see them making their debuts and becoming first-team regulars, it’s the best feeling ever. I cannot describe how proud I feel.”
It is now more than two decades since a persistent knee injury brought an end to Omogbehin’s own playing career at the age of just 23 after spells at Millwall, Fulham and Luton. Having spent a year out of the game, he combined his
Job as a youth support worker with coaching for Crystal Palace’s community scheme before establishing the grassroots club Junior Elite in 1998.