Premier opportunity

Emenalo was hired away from the Tucson Soccer Academy two weeks ago to become chief scout for Chelsea of the English Premier League.

The former chief executive of the TSA said the two positions have a lot more in common than the casual fan might think.

"My job is still to spot and evaluate talent," said Emenalo, who took a break from his work to return home. "But being back working in big-time soccer is exciting. I miss that, and working with top-quality pros is a joy.

"The added bonus of it is going to a club that has a manager that I have the utmost respect for and I can learn from. It's a wonderful soccer education for me, like studying for your Ph.D. at Harvard."

Emenalo, who represented Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup and played professionally in the United States and abroad, might seem like a surprise choice to join Chelsea's staff.

After all, leaving a Tucson soccer club for a pro team filled with international stars and owned by a Russian oil billionaire might be the equivalent of a high school baseball coach becoming general manager of the New York Yankees.

"I don't look at it that way," said Emenalo, 42. "I look at it as moving from somewhere to somewhere. This opportunity presented itself at the right time for me."

Things began to fall into place for Emenalo and Chelsea in September when, following a series of sub-par performances to begin the season, the club parted ways with its successful — but mercurial — Portuguese manager, Jose Mourinho, who referred to himself as "The Special One."

His mutual split from the club prompted anger from many of the club's fans and players, including star forward Didier Drogba, who said he would leave the club as soon as possible.

Mourinho had brought success to Chelsea, a middle-of-the-road English team until current owner Roman Abramovich took over in 2003 — winning two Premier League championships, an FA Cup and a League Cup — but failed twice at the semifinal stage of the UEFA Champions League, the holy grail of European club soccer.

Worse yet, the club was known for playing a dour, defensive style of soccer despite a talent-stocked roster. Abramovich finally stepped in and demanded more attractive soccer.

"Mr. Abramovich wants what everybody wants, and the thing that's different about him and that surprises people is that he's a big fan, and the club isn't just some toy he spends his money on," Emenalo said. "He's someone that is very, very passionate, not just about his club but about how the game should be played.

"He wants to win with style."

Avram Grant, an Israeli who was largely unknown in professional circles but a close friend of Abramovich, was hired as the new coach. The British media criticized Grant heavily, saying that he was only keeping the seat warm for a higher-profile manager and landed the job because of his relationship with Abramovich.

As he began to assemble his staff, Grant flew Emenalo, who had played under him at Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, to Spain to scout Valencia, Chelsea's upcoming Champions League opponent. Emenalo drew up a game plan that culminated in a 2-1 Chelsea away win.

After the game, Emenalo was introduced to Abramovich, and the club began negotiating the three-year contract that Emenalo would eventually agree to.

In effect, Chelsea had won the race to sign Emenalo, who likely would have become an assistant or scout at Tottenham Hotspur, another Premier League club.

Tottenham recently hired Juande Ramos, who coached Emenalo at Lleida in the Spanish second division.

"I wasn't as surprised as other people were," Emenalo said. "The manager knew me and I had earned his respect and trust a long time ago.

"People will criticize what they don't know or aren't comfortable with."

His colleagues at TSA weren't surprised to hear he was moving on, even going so far as joking that it was a lateral move.

"Looking at his background, it's not that great of a stretch that he's working at Chelsea now," said Jeff Rogers, director of coaching at TSA.

"The great stretch was that he was here working with us in Tucson."

His new responsibilities will include scouting upcoming opponents and discovering new talent, as well as working on the field during practices.

Emenalo ended up in Tucson because of his wife, former Salpointe Catholic High School standout Erin Fahey.

After meeting at a coaching clinic to get their licenses, the two began dating and eventually married before moving closer to her parents' home for the quality of life and to start a family.

In August 2006, Emenalo became a coach with TSA, whose goals and collection of respected coaches "enchanted" him.

"All you have to do is just look at his pedigree," said David Cosgrove, who coaches the TSA '94 boys team as well as Pima Community College's men's team.

"He was humble enough to come to Tucson, and it was a perfect fit for him. He fell into our lap and we were happy to have him."

"Looking at his background, it's not that great of a stretch that he's working at Chelsea now.

The great stretch was that he was here working with us in Tucson." -Jeff Rogers, director of coaching at TSA