Who is Will Still? The man who once worked as Assistant Manager in the Preston North End Under-14 ranks is causing quite a stir around the football world.
The 30-year-old has taken a very unorthodox route to become first-team coach of Reims in France, where he is impressing many after earning some excellent results.
So, who is Will Still? Let’s take a look…
Who is Will Still?
Well, the Belgium-born tactician has admitted that Football Manager inspired him to focus on a career in coaching at the age of 17, after many hours spent on the popular video game.
Still was initially keen to become a footballer.
He spent time playing for the youth teams of Sint-Truiden and Mons as well as the Tempo Overijse first-team.
After being inspired by Football Manager, Still began studying to become a coach at Myerscough College in Preston, which is where he started working as Assistant Manager for the Preston Under-14 side.
Still moved back to Belgium after completing his studies, where he ended up working as a Video Assistant for St-Truiden after asking Yannick Ferrera if he could help out.
The Football Manager fan then spent time working as Assistant Manager at a number of Belgian clubs such as Lierse and Beerschot before joining Reims to become Assistant Manager to Óscar García.
A brief return to Standard Liege due to his UEFA Pro License courses ended when Reims called Still up and asked him to return as García’s assistant ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, which he did.
However, García – who you may remember from his time in charge of Brighton – was sacked in October, leading to Still being handed the reins on a caretaker basis.
Amazingly, Still won nine points from his five matches in charge before the World Cup break, including a 0-0 draw against PSG with Kylian Mbappe leading the opposition frontline.
Deservedly, the old Preston Under-14 Assistant Manager was appointed Manager of Reims on a contract until the end of the season.
As things stand, Reims sit 11th in Ligue 1 – ten points away from a European qualification spot.
According to Transfermarkt, Still has won 18 of his 33 games as a first-team coach, drawing seven and losing eight as he averages 1.85 points per game.
Will Still profile
Full name: William Still
Age: 30
Height: 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Place of birth: Braine-l’Alleud, Belgium
Date of birth: 14th October 1992
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