Ade Mafe
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| Ade Mafe | |
| |
| Full Name | Adeoye Mafe |
| Date of Birth | 12 November 1966 |
| Place of Birth | Isleworth, London |
| Chelsea career | 1996-2007 |
| Role | Fitness coach |
| Previous Roles | N/A |
| Other clubs | Millwall Milton Keynes Dons West Bromwich Albion |
Adeoye "Ade" Mafe (born 12 November 1966, in Isleworth, London) is an English former sprinter who was a fitness coach at Chelsea for a decade from 1996. He left to perform a similar role at Millwall, before working for Roberto Di Matteo at Milton Keynes Dons and West Bromwich Albion.
Athletics career
Mafe won the gold medal in the 200 metres at the 1989 European Indoor Championships. He also won silver medals in the 200 metres at the World Indoor Championships in 1985 and 1989, and a bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. He reached the final of 200 metres at the 1984 Olympic Games, where he finished eighth.
Chelsea
Following his retirement from athletics, Mafe became a personal trainer in London. Having met Bobby Campbell back in 1988 during a training day at Stamford Bridge, eight years later his name was remembered by Gwyn Williams when new manager Ruud Gullit requested a fitness coach, at a time when fitness coaches were not a feature of English football.[1] Gullit saw the general fitness of the squad as an area for improvement, stating "As a player you must be very strict. Fitness is very important and the players need to understand that."[2] In 1998 Mafe released an instructional book on fitness, entitled Football Fitness - The Professional Way to Improve Your Game. He stayed at the club for over a decade, working under a further three managers. In an interview on his time at Chelsea, Mafe would reveal that while running was a major part of the fitness regime under Gianluca Vialli and Claudio Ranieri, José Mourinho insisted that his players only played football. [3]
Mafe left for Millwall in 2007, having been hired by Nigel Spackman. [4] [5]
After Chelsea
After a year at Millwall Mafe joined Milton Keynes Dons to work for former Blues midfielder Roberto Di Matteo, who he knew from his Chelsea days. After one season he followed the Italian to West Bromwich Albion, where he was appointed Head of Sports Science. [6] Mafe left the club after a year and a half when Di Matteo was sacked in February 2011.
