Within the scope of European football, the American fan may overlook the Scandinavian nations like Denmark in the grand scheme of things. That, very well, may be changing very soon. FC Helsingør is a side that has an eye on the United States when it comes to player development and expanding their reach. In addition to Jordan Gardner, chairman and co-owner of the club, two key members of the staff are at the forefront of this project – North American Sporting Director Matt Barnes and Chief U.S. Scout and caretaker manager Omid Namazi.
The project, itself, is something truly revolutionary within European football. “It was a really easy fit for us to come in and buy [the] club. We really like there’s a culture of playing young players in Denmark,” Gardner said about FC Helsingør.
In addition to young players consistently playing in Denmark, Gardner noted that without heavy foreign player restrictions, young players from the U.S. can embed themselves into the academy and first team easier than other, more restrictive, countries.
“We’re not going to be for everybody,” Barnes says, but he then highlighted that they would be able to offer young Americans a great opportunity to learn and play in Denmark. With hopes on developing young talent and then helping them move to larger European clubs, the scale that FC Helsingør have plans for stretches far behind the nation of Denmark.
“The club was really interesting to us for a variety of reasons, most notable the infrastructure,” Gardner added. With a new stadium opening this coming summer and the side located close to Copenhagen, Gardner noted that they “didn’t want to have to build everything from scratch”, and they will not need to.
Helping immediately with the process are the two Americans Gardner knows and feels have the skill sets that translate over to this level. Matt Barnes has known he is passionate about coaching for a long time. He left a job in teaching to fully commit to coaching, and his travels have took him plenty of places. Bouncing from school-to-school in the NAIA and Division-II ranks of the United States, his journey also took him to Midland-Odessa of the PDL/NPSL, as well as the Turks and Caicos.
At the high semi-pro American ranks, Barnes helped make Midland-Odessa a force to be reckoned with. Jeff VonHolle, General Manager of Soccer Operations with Midland-Odessa, said, “We’re so proud of the things Matt has done since he last coached here in Midland.” He noted that his skill level was evident. After making the National Semi-Finals in the PDL and following that up with a National Championship in the NPSL the year after, VonHolle said, “I feel like we knew…that Matt would go on to bigger and better things in the soccer world.”
Shashi Vaswani, owner of rival Laredo Heat SC and an investor in FC Helsingør, also added, “Matt Barnes was a coach that the Laredo Heat SC did not want to play against…We are extremely excited and privileged to have him onboard as sporting director of North America for FC Helsignør.”
Moving on to Turks and Caicos, a job with plenty of “challenging components” involved, such as a lack of infrastructure, investment, and a small population to work with, Barnes’ move to Europe is a step forward for himself. The seeds of this new project had been planted long ago, however.
“When I took the job at San Francisco State University, the first call I got was from Jordan Gardner,” Barnes shared. “At that time, Jordan was running a men’s league team in the Bay Area.” SFSU needed a scrimmage and when Gardner offered his side, Barnes accepted.
Following a Barnes-led victory over St. Vincent in the CONCACAF Nations League Qualifying, Gardner met with Barnes. ‘You’re somebody that I trust, I’ve followed your career, and I want you to be part of this’ Gardner would say to Barnes after the qualifying victory over St. Vincent. As a response to that, Barnes noted to ISN, “At that point, the project wasn’t funded, the club wasn’t purchased, and I just kind of made a commitment to him that, ‘Look, I’m already on this crazy journey, let’s do this!’”
Namazi’s journey has taken him through many stops as well on route to the destination to Helsingør. The introduction to the project was fairly elementary, as Namazi speaks of it: “The way it started, I saw, I heard and saw what Jordan was doing with this project and I got in touch with him and talked to him about possibly being involved and helping out.”
Now the caretaker manager as well as chief scout, Namazi has plenty of coaching experience. He has served as head coach for both the U.S. U18 and U20 sides, as well as on the club level in Iran, and as an assistant coach for the 2014 World Cup qualifying Iranian national team.
“Having worked in [the] U.S., Iran, and now in Europe I think it just gives you a better well-rounded view on players, on teams, and just basically playing philosophy,” Namazi said when asked of how his travels may give him a bit of added knowledge. “So, I think it helps, certainly having different experiences and knowing different styles of players and their strengths and weaknesses.”
Of course, Namazi’s connections with the U.S. youth nationals also help, as he describes, “When you talk about players that are out there…I have a good knowledge of the player pool [20, 21, 22, down to U14s].” He also notes that even those players who are at the national team level or a tier down he is also familiar with.
Asked about differences between coaching and scouting, Namazi said, “In coaching, you also have to have an eye for talent and be able to identify. Because, at the end of the day, you make the final call on who’s on your roster and who’s playing.” Now, as the current manager, he is able to make those calls yet again on the squad.
There is a true spirit of togetherness among those who work within the club. Barnes speaks highly of the project and understands his role is multi-faceted, but, as he humbly describes, “At the end of the day, my job is just to help Jordan through this project and help the club get better.” The hope is that FC Helsingør will open up doors for American young players, coaches, and administrators alike in the European game. Barnes is an embodiment of the goal itself, noting, “It’s an amazing story, and he’s a very good friend of mine, but it’s also presented a really cool opportunity for me because there’s just not a lot of Americans working in Europe.”
Even for a long-time professional in the sport like Namazi, this is still a fantastic opportunity for him. “It’s working and being involved with a European club, which has always been my goal, to either coach or work in a capacity within the European football community.” For the time-being, Namazi gets to both helm and help work within the scouting department of a high-level European side.
As the side look to avoid a drop here in 2019 to the third tier of Danish football, the support within the club highlight a reason not to panic. The American impact of the European game is quickly spreading, even in countries one would not immediately expect. With a strong youth setup and an established vision for the club’s future, FC Helsingør could soon serve as a model for many clubs to come and that is a very special thing indeed.
