Omer Riza is targeting a return to the Football League after broadening his coaching experience in Italy alongside former England international Ashley Cole at Cesena.
Riza, who was dismissed by Cardiff City with three Championship matches remaining last season, says his time in Italy renewed his appetite for management. He now wants another opportunity as a head coach rather than taking an assistant’s role.
“Italy was a good opportunity, working with Ashley who I have known for so long, and getting to experience a different style of football,” Riza said. “I had that hunger to get going again.”
At Cesena, the pair attempted to move the side away from a cautious approach built around a 5-3-2 formation, low blocks and counter-attacking football. Riza said the aim was to introduce a more aggressive, possession-based game.
“Our mentality was to try to have the ball, to control the game, to provoke the opposition to open up spaces further up the pitch,” he said. “To go press high and step on to the opposition to stop them playing and win it right up the pitch to cause them problems, that was a big change, not just for the players but for the fans as well.”
Cole ended the Cesena project in the summer after deciding that the club’s ambitions did not match his own. Riza believes the team could have made a significant impact had they been allowed to recruit the players they wanted.
He remains confident that Cole can succeed in another coaching role and has discussed the possibility of working with him again. However, Riza’s priority is to lead a team himself.
His managerial career began at Leyton Orient in 2017, during a season in which the club went through five changes in the dugout. Riza described the circumstances as “really tough”, with the owners not paying the players and supporters protesting.
He subsequently joined Watford on a part-time basis, initially earning £20 an hour, and progressed from the under-15s to become a first-team assistant. His departure came after the club’s decision to part company with head coach Valérien Ismaël, a decision Riza said left him having to start again despite having spent five years at Watford and holding a Pro Licence.
Riza reflects on Cardiff City spell
Riza was handed the Cardiff job on a caretaker basis in autumn 2024 after Erol Bulut was dismissed following one point from the club’s opening six matches. A rapid improvement led to him being appointed permanently, and he was nominated twice for the Championship manager of the month award during his five months in charge.
Cardiff were 19th during the 37 league matches overseen by Riza, but he was sacked with three games left and the club eventually finished bottom. He said the side had drawn 15 matches and found it increasingly difficult to play with freedom.
Among his strongest memories were a 5-0 victory over Plymouth, two draws with Coventry and a 3-0 derby win against Swansea. The latter came during an especially painful period, after the death of his father.
Riza travelled several hours between Cardiff and his family home, often sitting with his father until the early hours before returning for training. “It was a very emotional period but I just love what I do and my father would have wanted me to carry on,” he said.
He accepts that mistakes were made during his time at Cardiff, including criticising supporters. “It is not just about what you do on the grass,” Riza said. “You are representing the football club. That is so important. I have learned a lot from the experience, massively.”
The 46-year-old also takes pride in the development of players including Yousef Salech, Will Alves and Sivert Mannsverk. His coaching outlook has been shaped by a career that began at Arsenal, where he worked with Don Howe and later trained with the first team under Arsène Wenger.
Riza also played in the Netherlands and Turkey, spending five years in the latter and featuring in European competition for Trabzonspor. Scoring against APOEL, a Greek-Cypriot side, was particularly significant for the Turkish-Cypriot forward.
His playing career was severely disrupted after he received a five-month ban in Turkey when the federation found him guilty following his departure from Trabzonspor over unpaid wages. Riza said he spent a decade pursuing the matter through the courts, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Fifa and the European Court of Human Rights.
Although he won the case, he did not receive financial damages and said the ban damaged both his career and finances. With clubs unwilling to sign him while the suspension remained active, he considered leaving football altogether.
His father encouraged him to remain in the game, reminding him that he had been involved in football since the age of six. Riza says those setbacks have ultimately strengthened his resolve.
“It has all made me stronger, made me more resilient,” he said. “I am more than ready for the next chapter.”
