From renovating houses to managing more Champions League matches than any other Englishman bar one, it has been a wild ride.
But that is exactly what life has had in store for Craig Harrison, who saw his Premier League dream snuffed out by a cruel injury.
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At the age of 24, the Gateshead-born defender was hoping to break into the Crystal Palace side after leaving for Middlesbrough.
What followed was heartwrenching when a bad tackle in a reserves game saw him suffer a double compound fracture in his left leg.
He would never play again, something that would alter his life forever as he spoke to Sam Matterface and Simon Jordan, his old chairman at Palace, on talkSPORT.
He said live on air: “It’s every boy’s dream to be a professional footballer. Especially in the north-east of England which is a hotbed of football.
“You have got people like Paul Gascoigne to look up to, et cetera. You get the opportunity to play for Middlesbrough in the Premier League and then move on to Crystal Palace in the Championship.
“You are probably just about to come into your prime before an injury like that, it changes your life upside-down and not for the better.”
After 19 months of rehabilitation and three operations, Harrison gave up on his dream of being a professional footballer.
He could not bear to watch another football match for two years, instead making a living out of renovating properties and selling them.
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But the passion for football would return and he became manager of Welsh outfit The New Saints FC, where he would stick around for six years from 2011 to 2017 before returning to the post in 2022.
In total, he has won seven league titles with TNS, as well as four Welsh Cups and three Welsh League Cups.
Now only the great Sir Bobby Robson will be the only Englishman to manage more matches in the Champions League than him.
After TNS’ second-leg tie against Norwegian outfit Hacken, it will see Harrison draw level with Frank Lampard’s 16 matches in the Champions League.
But they both have quite a way to go before they can match Robson, who took charge of 30 Champions League matches.
Harrison added: “You look at it, Sir Bobby Robson has been one of the best managers England have ever seen. You can’t put yourself on the same pedestal as that.
“But I am still very proud to represent TNS in the Champions League.
“You see a lot of managers in the Championship and Premier League who don’t get to put their wits against the most elite club competition in Europe against the best players and managers.
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“It is a great opportunity, it is something I never thought I’d get into as soon as I broke my leg.
“I spent two or three years away from football before getting involved again and within the space of 10 years I have done all my coaching badges, got the love of football back and used it to drive me every single day.
“I feel like it is a bit of just service done after having it taken away from me too early.
“Every opportunity I get now, I embrace it, I run with it and try make the most of it.”
