The Architect of Change: How Alan Koch Transforms Clubs and Careers
- In this exclusive interview, Alan Koch reveals how he has revitalised clubs, developed elite talent like Alphonso Davies, and built winning football cultures worldwide
Alan Koch’s football journey has taken him to seven countries, and his coaching career has been defined by transformation. Across professional clubs, elite academies, and university programmes, on multiple continents, he has consistently taken on challenging environments and guided them towards stability, growth, and success.
Yet what makes Alan exceptional is not simply the results he achieves, but the philosophy that underpins them: a commitment to developing people, raising standards, and creating cultures where individuals and teams can thrive.
Throughout his career, Alan has taken on roles at sporting organisations facing significant challenges. Rather than seeing obstacles, he sees opportunities to build something meaningful.
“Most of the places I’ve gone, normally when there is a change, it means something is wrong,” he explains. “So, I’ve had to go into places where there are quite a few things that are challenges, and I’ve had to take on those challenges and make them opportunities.”
Whether stabilising clubs, rebuilding underperforming teams, or creating new pathways for player development, Alan approaches each situation with a clear vision and a belief that sustainable success begins with culture. Central to his philosophy is the importance of establishing expectations and earning a collective commitment from those within the club.
“To do that, you have to put in expectations, and sometimes people don’t like having expectations,” he says. “That’s always been part of my process: explaining how we’re going to raise standards and that we need to have renewed expectations. That’s going to help us reach our goals together.”
And he has certainly helped sporting organisations reach their goals. At FC Cincinnati, Alan played a key role in one of the club’s most successful periods. He guided the team to a historic US Open Cup semi-final spot, oversaw a remarkable 23-match unbeaten run, and led the club to the 2018 USL Regular Season Championship. His work established the foundation for the club’s transition into the MLS.
At FC Edmonton, Alan again demonstrated his ability to rebuild teams. Appointed to a club that got just one point in the previous season’s Canadian Premier League, he improved them as they earned 27 points, while navigating one of the most challenging periods in the club’s history.
Then at Western Suburbs FC in New Zealand, Alan took over a side that narrowly avoided relegation and led them from second-bottom to a third-place finish before guiding them into the 2024 New Zealand National League Championship phase for the first time in 51 years — in only his second season at the helm.
These achievements have been built on a clear leadership vision and hard work, with a keen focus on making daily improvements.
“You don’t just look at where we are today but where we need to go and what’s realistic,” Alan says. “So you look at the outcome and build back from there to your starting point. Then you lay the bricks every single day. It takes time and it’s a lot of hard work, but it’s incredibly rewarding when you achieve those goals.”
While trophies and team success are great, Alan gains the most satisfaction from developing people, whether players or coaching colleagues.
“A lot of the time as a coach, when you reflect, you do so on your team or your club success — but it’s more the people, to be honest,” he explains. “I’ve had coaching assistants go on and become MLS head coaches or go on to the English Premier League and other high levels in the game. That gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
He has mentored players who have progressed to compete at elite levels, including the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, Bundesliga, Major League Soccer, Olympic Games, and FIFA World Cups.
Among those are UEFA Champions League winner and Canada captain Alphonso Davies, who was given his professional debut by Alan at Vancouver Whitecaps when Davies was just 15 years old.
“I get quite emotional when I see players I’ve worked with have big moments,” Alan said. “I gave Alphonso his professional debut and when he scored Canada’s first-ever World Cup goal, I cried.”
For Alan, winning championships and titles is a significant accomplishment. But helping to develop players and people, as well as transforming clubs and sporting organisations, is a key part of his coaching legacy. He said:
“You’re just incredibly proud of the players you’ve worked with and the journey they’ve gone on. To see them on the biggest stage in the world is incredible.
“You can highlight the successes you’ve had as a coach, but a lot of the time it’s who you worked with, how they’ve done, and how you’ve helped turn around the fortunes of clubs. Seeing the smiles on the faces of those who work there and the fans — that’s most gratifying.”
