Coll began his career at the University of the West of Scotland in Paisley. After gaining his first professional experience with Airdrieonians (then Airdrie United) in the Scottish lower leagues, he joined Celtic FC’s academy in 2009. He progressed through the club’s youth structures before stepping up to the first team four years later.
In September 2013, he was promoted to First Team Sport Scientist, responsible for GPS and database analysis, player development, and bridging the gap between development of the reserve team squad. In February 2015, he became Head of Sports Science. During his time with the first team, Celtic consistently won domestic titles and competed in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League group stages. He also worked under managers Ronny Deila and Brendan Rodgers.
After a break, which he spent in Dubai, Coll returned to the professional football in April 2018 with Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad. “They offered me a fantastic project I couldn’t turn down,” he said at the time. Over his stint there, he worked under six different head coaches, including our former head coach Pavel Vrba.
In 2021, he joined Universitatea Craiova in Romania before moving to Hajduk Split, where he reunited with Lithuanian coach Valdas Dambrauskas. Coll celebrated two Croatian Cup titles during his time at Hajduk.
He also gained further international experience in Bulgaria with Botev Plovdiv and in the United States with Las Vegas Lights FC in the USL Championship. Between these roles, Coll visited Prague, where he delivered lectures to Sparta’s first team and academy staff at the invitation of Christian Clarup.
Welcome, Ian! All the best in your new role at Sparta.
