Ian Taylor, a household name in Cape Town football circles, led Egyptian Premier League under-19 champions, Zed FC, to their first league trophy just four years after the club’s inception.
Taylor’s journey in football began at the tender age of 16 when he signed his first professional contract with Battswood Association Football Club in Wynberg.
A natural striker, Taylor, 47, excelled for Battswood, Cape Town Spurs and FC Fortune in the NFD before finishing off his career at amateur club, Durbanville Football Club.
He excelled both as a footballer and a provincial cricketer. However, his promising football career was cut short due to a back injury sustained during cricket.
But where one door closed, another opened for the former Plumstead High School pupil. Under the guidance of 82-year-old coach John Rowley, Taylor transitioned into coaching at Old Mutual at the age of 31, honing his skills and eventually obtaining prestigious licences, including the UEFA A and UEFA A Youth Elite Licence.
Taylor’s coaching career saw him serve as assistant at Ajax Cape Town, where he worked closely with coach Muhsin Ertugral and Roger de Sa, at Cape Town City with Eric Tinkler and Benni McCarthy, and at Chippa United with Gavin Hunt. He spent some time at Cape Town City, coaching the reserve team in the DStv Diski Challenge.
His passion for the intricacies of the game, particularly the strategic battles on the field, has fuelled his coaching philosophy.
“The game is played within a specific way of play that matches your own philosophy. However, if you don’t have the players you then need to tweak it to bring out the best qualities of your players. In Africa players generally have a lack of knowledge in the game and out the game due to lack of football education; if you want to be successful in Africa in developing individuals and teams you certainly need to be adaptable and flexible without moving away from your principles,” said Taylor.
His coaching journey took him from the youth ranks to the helm of Zed FC in Cairo, Egypt, where he now works with the technical director, Maarten Stekelenberg.
Despite being a relatively young club, Zed FC has already begun making waves, with players already attracting attention from top clubs like Aston Villa in the English Premier League and Vitória de Guimarães in Portugal’s top-flight football league.
Reflecting more on his coaching philosophy, he emphasised the importance of self-awareness and maximising individual strengths.
“It starts with you. You need to understand yourself. Understand your strengths and your weaknesses. Your strengths are your uniqueness. It is about enhancing your strength. I call it the weapon. At Ajax they always said it is ‘to develop the individual weapon’,” said Taylor.
He enjoyed a week back in Sunningdale recently before jetting off to Aston Villa for a coaching camp.
