I represented the UK in Eurovision then became a football manager in Guam – but I was never taken seriously back home
DAZ SAMPSON went from representing the UK at Eurovision to managing in Guam.
The 48-year-old was selected to compete in Athens with his song “Teenage Life” back in 2006.
Finnish rockers Lordi won that year with their song “Hard Rock Hallelujah”, with Daz coming 19th for the UK.
Despite the UK’s lowly finish, Sampson was propelled to fame… being offered the chance to appear on various reality telly shows.
All he wanted, however, was to be a footy manager.
Sampson played for Manchester City and local side Stockport Town as a youngster, before later turning to coaching.
With opportunities on home soil limited, Sampson looked overseas for an opportunity to fulfil his real dream job.
The singer-turned-gaffer, who clearly rates himself as a coach, said of his time managing a semi-pro Polish side: “We played Wisla Krakow in a cup.
“At the time, I had a team of taxi drivers and plasterers, and they – a Champions League team – only beat us 3-2 over two games.”
Sampson later turned to Guam for further opportunities, playing for local side Shipyard before going on to coach them.
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On his experience out in the Pacific, he gushed: “I remember taking my first training session in Guam. I get there, not a ball in sight.
“It’s all about fitness and the shape of the squad. And then at the end, they get these tennis balls out.
“Honest to God, you could not get the ball off these players.
“In the last five seasons, I have a 72 per cent win rate. I took a team in Guam – with players who weren’t even being paid when I went there – to second in the league, to winning the cup, to now having three international players playing for them.”
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo in 2018, Sampson bemoaned the lack of respect he receives on home soil for his coaching prowess.
He said: “I wasn’t taken seriously in this country, I was just seen as that guy off the telly.
“I came back to this country in 2016, coaching Ashton Town, but I still wasn’t taken seriously. But go to Guam or Tampa, they’ll not know me as a musician, they’ll know me as a bloody good football manager.
“I’ll never get away from that stigma of Eurovision etc, but I don’t want it to become a circus.”
Sampson clearly still holds fond memories from his Eurovision experience, however, and has even tried to enter again with Belarus.