Scott Joseph Cooper (born 16 June 1970) is an English professional football manager who is the head coach of Cambodian Premier League club Visakha.
Cooper previously served as the head coach of the Philippines national football team. He has coaching experience with Huntsville Fire, Chester City, the Anguilla national football team, the Montserrat national football team, Leicester City, and the Independent Schools Football Association (ISFA) England under-15 national football team.
Managerial career
Early career
Cooper has coached the Anguilla and Montserrat national teams.Scott Cooper's long and winding road to the Azkals rappler.com
Buriram United Cooper was picked by Buriram United to replace Attaphol Buspakom after the 2013 AFC Champions League against FC Seoul along with his assistant Darren Read.
On his arrival at Buriram United, Cooper found the club in third place of the Thai Premier League, five points adrift of the league leaders. Under Cooper's managerial reign, Buriram were unbeaten in the Thai Premier League, AFC Champions League, Thai FA Cup and Thai League Cup.
Buriram United won 23 out of 29 matches, drawing five and losing only once under Cooper. The club won all their away games at the top four Thai clubs during the season. Named "Manager of the Month" in June 2013, Cooper led Buriram United to the top 10 club rankings in Asia, creating history for the Thai club in the process. Under Cooper's tutelage, Buriram on an average scored 3.1 goals per game whilst conceding 0.75 goals per game.
Cooper also had a major influence on developing Thai players in his squad, as nine Thai players were called up to the national team.
Muangthong United On 2 January 2014, Muanthong United officially appointed Cooper as the head coach.
Mitra Kukar On 11 December 2014, Mitra Kukar officially appointed Cooper as the head coach.
Ubon UMT United In April 2015, Ubon UMT United officially appointed Cooper as the head coach.
Philippines In June 2018, Cooper was appointed as senior team adviser of the Philippines (Interim). Cooper was later tasked to oversee the national team's training camp in Bahrain in September 2018 in lieu of the newly appointed head coach Terry Butcher, who resigned from his post in August 2018. Cooper's interim tenure ended in late August 2018 when he was officially named as the regular head coach of the Philippine national team.
On 27 October 2018, Sven-Göran Eriksson took over as manager of the Philippines and Cooper assisted Eriksson in the Philippines' stint at the 2018 AFF Championship and 2019 Asian Cup.
Cooper returned as manager in January 2019 after the conclusion of the Philippines' campaign in the continental tournament and Eriksson's short-term contract. Under Cooper, the Philippines gained its highest ever World Cup point total.
In May 2022, it was announced that Cooper stepped down as head coach of the Philippines men's national team.
ADT Cooper coached the Azkals Development Team, a football club meant for national team youth prospects. He mentored the team during the 2020 Philippines Football League season. He was succeeded by Giovanni Villagracia in the following season.
Jamshedpur On 14 July 2023, Cooper was appointed as the head coach of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur.
One Taguig Cooper was head coach of Philippines Football League club One Taguig from 10 September to 16 November 2025. He recorded six wins and one defeat in seven matches.
Visakha On 17 November 2025, Cooper was officially appointed as the head coach of Cambodian Premier League club Visakha FC. In less than 6 months, he led the club into the final of Hun Sen Cup.
Visakha finished as runners-up in the 2025–26 Hun Sen Cup, losing 5–3 on penalties to Svay Rieng following a 4–4 draw after extra time in the final on 24 May 2026. On 30 August 2026, Visakha lost 2–1 to Svay Rieng in the Cambodian Super Cup.
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamNat.FromToRecord Buriram United3 May 20132 September 2013Muangthong United2 January 201430 March 2014Mitra Kukar11 December 201420 April 2015Ubon UMT United 23 April 2015 30 November 2017Police Tero1 January 2018 24 April 2018Philippines (caretaker)4 August 201826 October 2018Philippines25 January 201922 May 2021ADT1 January 202011 March 2022Philippines U2322 September 202222 May 2022Port28 June 202214 November 2022Jamshedpur 15 July 2023 29 December 2023One Taguig10 September 202516 November 2025Visakha17 November 2025PresentCareer Total The Visakha record includes Cambodian Premier League, Hun Sen Cup and Cambodian Super Cup matches.
A win or loss by the penalty shoot-out is regarded as the draw in time.
Honours Manager Ubon United Regional League Division 2: 2015
References