As he sits at home preparing for football to return from its current hiatus, Omer Riza could not be happier with the direction in which his career is heading.
Just three years ago, he was struggling to find a job having left Leyton Orient after taking charge of the then crisis-hit club for the final seven games of their season.
The former Arsenal striker – who progressed through the Gunners’ youth section before enjoying a playing career which saw him turn out for the likes of West Ham, Trabzonspor and Shrewsbury – applied for more than 100 positions but was getting the same response back time after time.
“It wasn’t just football. I went for jobs in colleges, every job you could think of, I applied for,” Riza told Goal. “And I wasn’t getting them either. That’s when I started to lose a little bit of hope.
“A lot of the time it was ‘Oh, you are too qualified for this.' But that’s not the point. If I’m too qualified, let me do my job as an over-qualified person so I can get on with my life. That was a really, really tough time.”
But Riza is not the sort of character who will just give up in the face of adversity.
At the age of 20, he rejected the offer of a new contract at his beloved Arsenal because he felt he was being overlooked. He has also fought and won a 10-year legal battle with the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), as well as the Turkish and Swiss Governments following a contract dispute with Trabzonspor.
It's a legal victory which could – and should – change the rights enjoyed by players in Turkey forever.
So, given the significant challenges Riza has already overcome in his career, the string of knock-backs were not going to stop him pursuing his dream of returning to top-level coaching.
And, in 2018, he got his reward when he was offered a part-time role at Watford within the youth development department.
Now, just a year on, he is heading up the club’s Under-23s team – who sat top of the Professional Development League before the coronavirus outbreak forced a suspension of English football – and also works for the Football Association (FA) with England’s Under-16s.
“I’m really happy with the path I'm on at the minute and the circles I’m finding myself in because it’s helping me to develop,” said Riza. "It's been a journey that has been tough at times, but it's made me who I am.
“From where I was to where I am now, the difference is massive and I just want to keep working hard.
“Watford is a great club and we’ve put a good team together with the Under-23s. I’m leading it at the moment as Hayden Mullins has stepped up to the seniors and we’ve managed to get a few first-team debuts this season.
“It’s going really well and hopefully we can continue to develop some really exciting players at this club.”
And it’s not just Watford where Riza is impressing. He has also taken his expertise to the international stage.
Riza, who is of Cypriot heritage, was included within the Elite Coach Placement Programme, a programme set up by the FA and the PFA to ensure BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) coaching placements across all England teams.
Riza took up a role with Justin Cochrane’s U16s and has since progressed to the position of possession coach.
“The programme was designed for coaches who are the minority and I think it’s been a good thing,” said the 40-year-old, who was born in Edmonton, London.
“Providing the people involved know what they are doing and have good qualities, I think it’s good and coaches are progressing because of it.
“The only downside of it is you could have people saying 'He’s only got this job because of this or that.' But that’s a little bit short-sighted and something that needs to change in terms of mentality.
“My placement was for last year and I think the FA liked what I was doing, the staff who were around like what I was doing and this year I’m the new possession coach for the Under-16s.”
Riza added: “It’s been great development for me. It’s something I love. I love being around coaches that are all striving to be worked leading and to be part of that is something that I’m very proud of. My training there has been second to none."
Prior to landing his role with Watford, Riza’s last caching job had been when he was handed the manager’s position at Orient during the final weeks of the 2016-17 season.
He was placed in charge for the last seven games of the campaign following the resignation of Danny Webb, who had originally brought Riza to the club two years earlier to take control of the under-16s.
With fan unrest rife due to the controversial ownership of Francesco Becchetti and relegation already all but confirmed, it was a job many would have turned down, but Riza took it on under the most difficult of circumstances.
“There were things going on you couldn’t even imagine,” said Riza. “There was the takeover taking place and people at the club wanted it to implode even more so those people could take over.
“So, nothing helped the situation in hand and the situation in hand for me was to protect the club, to see the season through with no damage, no fines and to act in a professional manner even if we were getting paid or not.
“I didn’t get paid any more money to do the job I did with the first-team. I was still on the wage I was taking when I was with the Under-18s.
“I just wanted to make sure I acted with integrity and got the best out of a very and situation. So, it was a lot of learning, I took a lot from it and it made me better and stronger.”
With what happened at Orient now behind him, the future looks bright for Riza.
His progress with Watford and England has been impressive and, at the age of just 40, he knows he is only just starting out on his journey in coaching.
He’s settled at Watford, excited by what could be to come with the Vicarage Road outfit, but there is one club - where it all started for him as a player - that will always hold a special place in his heart.
“I love the club and everything that it stands for,” said Riza. “It was part of my profile, my career, my pathway.
“When I left and turned down the contract, there was a lot of politics involved. I felt I was being suppresssed, things were happening where people were being pushed through and I felt I was being a bit hard done by at the time.
“I was young and maybe in hindsight I could have been more patient and just signed the contract, got on with it and seen where it took me.
“We had great players at the time. Patrick Vieira who was starting to make waves, Nicolas Anelka was coming through and doing really well. We were spoilt really with the players we had.
“But Dennis Bergkamp and Marc Overmars, they were just brilliant. Very good professionals, elite at what they did on the pitch and off the pitch in every way.
“My time there is one I will never forget."
