Georgia coach David Webb reveals secrets to Euro 2024 success and new World Cup goal
Former Premier League coach David Webb was part of the team that masterminded Georgia's history-making run at Euro 2024 in the summer after being approached by boss Willy Sagnol
You might not be aware of David Webb, but the Georgia coach's fingerprints are all over the Premier League.
The 44-year-old has held a multitude of different roles all across Europe, including several in England, across both coaching and recruitment.
It was Webb who spotted Wilfried Zaha playing in Croydon as a youngster. And during his time in recruitment while working with Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham and Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, he was influential in signing the likes of Callum Wilson, Son Heung-min, Kieran Trippier and Dele Alli, to name just a few.
But it's his current role as assistant coach with the Georgia national team which was, quite literally, changed Webb's life.
Georgia organically became one of the most fascinating subplots of the Euro 2024 finals in the summer after stunning Portugal to advance to the Round of 16, where they were beaten by a strong Spain team.
Their success in the summer may have taken a lot of people by surprise, but not much surprises Webb anymore after a distinguished career in the game spanning over two decades.
"We surprised a lot of people at the Euros, but it wasn't a surprise to us," Webb reflects to Mirror Football . "We went in the tournament with no fear. We knew their was no real pressure on us and that we could get out of the group if we played well.
Was there a moment where the magnitude of their achievements really hit home?
"Probably during the Portugal game when we went 2-0 up, We were outplaying a team with world-class players, the great Ronaldo. When the camera the stadium went to our president, he was crying. There was a lot of emotion on the bench after the game.
"We knew straight away that we'd done something special; something that would be remembered.
"I had a moment on the pitch after the game. The celebrations were crazy but I had my wife and friends in the crowd. To share that moment with them was really special."
As well as spells at Bournemouth and Tottenham, Webb has held roles with the likes of Huddersfield, Millwall and Southampton. He's also spent time at Östersund: the same club in Sweden that propelled Graham Potter to fame.
Webb met head coach Willy Sagnol at a game 10 years ago and stayed in touch. In a twist of fate, that friendship has organically led to Webb breaking new ground in his professional career. Like Georgia, his stock is at an all-time high - particularly overseas.
He admits: "It's really nice. Look, as professionals I think we always want recognition for our work. There was a lot of coverage out in Georgia and one of their main outlets highlighted me as the guru and the missing piece of the puzzle. That was really nice."
Webb as a man is just as interesting as his CV might suggest. He spent four years completing a masters in psychology to complement his technical scouting skills during his time in recruitment. As it turns out, his fascination with understanding people's character and what makes them tick has proven to be something that makes him both unique and, to Georgia, invaluable.
He is deployed by Sagnol to deliver presentations to players and also holds one-to-ones in a bid to 'get inside their heads a little bit'. A series of talks on togetherness in the build-up to the Euros really hit home and said quality was evident in their showings on the pitch.
"Psychology was always sort of an interest to me because I'm neurodiverse. Delving deeper into the character of players was something I always wanted to do to add to the obvious things you see: the skill, the goals and so on.
"It's opened my eyes deeper to people's character traits, things like the way they communicate, how they react to adversity. I think that any sort of good professional scout or coach should be able to spot talent, but it's the stuff off the ball: who they are as a person, what makes them tick? Those are the things that really interest me.
"Poch and Eddie Howe were two guys who were really big on character. And why wouldn't you be? If we're paying X amount of money for someone, we need to get as much information as we can. It was all about tipping the odds in our favour."
Webb's expertise in the field will be leant on heavily as Georgia try to negotiate what comes after their Euros success. Their progress at a first major tournament has only whetted the appetite but, as Webb rightly points out, following up on said success is the hard part.
They've made a decent start to doing just that, though. They're currently top of their Nations League group after winning two of their opening three fixtures ahed of Monday night's meeting with Albania.
"This was always going to be the biggest challenge. We don't want to be a flash in the pan so consistency has to be our goal now we've shown what we can do.
"We're going to use the Nations League to really build on performances. We want to get ourselves in good shape for the World Cup qualifiers. That's the big one; that [qualification] has to be our aim."
And on a personal level? There were mitigating factors behind Webb's brief stint as a No.1 at York City: a spell in intensive care after contracting Covid and then struggling with pneumonia. Shenanigans behind the scenes also impacted his spell with the non-league outfit, but hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for another crack at management.
"Coaching is my passion and where I want to be. I want to continue this upward trajectory, whether that's with Georgia or as a head coach in the future. There's so much to look forward to.
"Getting the chance to make more history by qualifying for the World Cup would be an amazing feat. We're in a really good place at the minute and I'm excited to see what the future holds."
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