Andrew Ord is an English-Australian football coach who has held various roles in both International and club football throughout Asia. He currently works for Thai League 1 club Buriram United as Head of Youth Development.
Early years
Ord had a modest playing career as a central defender in Non-League football. He took up coaching at an early age when it became apparent that he wouldn't be offered a full-time contract. After emigrating to Perth in 2006 he joined the WA NTC which has produced many players who have gone on to represent Australia. He also worked in Myanmar developing a full-time Academy for Yangon United before returning to Western Australia alongside Gareth Naven with Perth Glory in the National Youth League.
In late 2010, Peter Butler brought him to inaugural AFC Champions League finalists BEC Tero Sasana where he was responsible for the under 21 team. He had an immediate impact winning the Thailand FA Youth Cup beating Buriram United 5–2 in the final. After Butler left for Kelantan FA the club finished the season in mid table so Ord was elevated to 1st team Head coach for the 2012 Thai Premier League season. He rebuilt the squad promoting many young players and on the opening day of season handed debuts to 5 teenagers, including Chanathip Songkrasin, Tanaboon Kesarat and Gilbert Koomson who then quickly established themselves as National Team players. Ord also recruited Cleiton Silva and he proved to be an inspired signing going on to win the Golden Boot with 24 goals. Ord led his young team to 6 victories in the opening 8 fixtures earning him the Manager of the month awards for April and May 2012. With the club unexpectedly challenging for the title and into the quarter finals of both cup competitions expectations soared and in a major coup for the league he attracted ex-Real Betis captain Arzu However a run of 3 games without a win in August saw them fall to 3rd place and he was surprisingly replaced with only a few games remaining by former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Ord took some time out spending 2 months in Spain to study the coaching of Diego Simeone at Atlético Madrid, the Academy system of Villareal CF and the recruitment / scouting policies of Sevilla FC.
During the tournament he was approached by reigning Thai Premier League champions Muangthong United to join their coaching staff for the 2013 season. Led by former Serbian international Slaviša Jokanović, the club had gone the previous season unbeaten and the club's youngsters were unable to make the breakthrough to the first team. Ord recommended they implement the European 'B' team model consisting of under-21 players competing against senior professionals in Thai League 2. Again he found success leading them to a runners-up finish missing out on the title by only one point.
Perth Glory
On 20 December 2013, he returned to Australia with Perth Glory as assistant coach to Kenny Lowe, after a player revolt had led to the sacking of Alistair Edwards. With the club in crisis it was reported that Ord had a heated dressing room exchange with temperamental Frenchman William Gallas but this proved to be a turning point with a late season surge seeing them climb off the bottom of the table. On 16 December 2014 they reached the final of the FFA Cup losing 1-0 to Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium. In August 2015, Ord was responsible for the capture of La Liga winger Diego Castro, from Getafe who helped them reach the 2015 FFA Cup final for a second year running. Castro went on to win the Johnny Warren Medal as the best player in the A League and is regarded as one of the finest players to ever play in Australia. On 17 May 2017, after four seasons, it was announced that Ord would leave his position with the club.
Bangladesh
On 18 May 2017, Ord reportedly signed a one-year contract to be the next head coach of the Bangladesh national team and was officially unveiled by SAFF president Kazi Salahuddin on 7 June 2017. He took over with Bangladeshi football in disarray having fired six coaches in just two years. Tasked with rebuilding the ageing squad he worked with Technical DirectorPaul Smalley to restructure the Men's National Team program, down to Under 15 level. They subsequently achieved several credible results at AFC level and found some success in SAFF youth competitions. Ord also assembled a quality backroom staff for the Senior team with Jason Brown joining him as goalkeeping coach. On 27 March 2018, they travelled to Laos where he again gave debuts to five teenagers on the way to a 2-2 draw, ending a run of away defeats that stretched back three years. Ord then declined an offer of an extended contract and resigned, returning to Thailand.
Ord took over from Sasom Pobprasert with the club well adrift at the bottom of the Thai League 1 table after taking just one point from the opening eight games. On 8 April 2018 he made a positive start to his new tenure with a 1-0 away victory at Nakhon Ratchasima. After only two months he departed by mutual consent to take up a new position with Buriram United.
