How is ex-Derby County star Colin Kazim-Richards getting on? | OneFootball

The striker spent two seasons with the Rams, playing a key role in their survival in the 2020/21 campaign.

Colin Kazim-Richards was once dubbed the "Coca-Cola Kid" after he was signed by Brighton & Hove Albion for £250,000 following a competition run by the soft drink company.

A Seagulls supporter won the money, giving Brighton the opportunity to beat Wigan Athletic to the signature of Kazim-Richards in 2005.

However, 19 years later, the striker is now retired after playing for 18 different clubs in eight different countries.

But, it was at Derby County where he perhaps had his best spell in his later years, playing 63 matches for the Championship side, scoring 12 goals, while also picking up three assists.

He was influential in keeping the Rams in the second tier in the 2020/21 campaign, finding the back of the net eight times, with his role adapting following the extension of his contract for the following season.

Derby were deducted 21 points in 2021/22 for breaking financial rules and entering administration, but the former Türkiye international was excellent as a leader both on and off the pitch.

Football League World has taken a look at where the 38-year-old is now, two years after leaving the East Midlands.

Colin Kazim-Richards had one final season after Derby County exit

Many supporters had hoped that Kazim-Richards would follow the Rams into League One following their relegation in 2022, but instead, the former Bury striker was looking for yet another new challenge.

Kazim-Richards instead headed to the nation where he played his international football, joining Fatih Karagümrük in the Turkish Süper Lig, playing 19 games in all competitions, registering just one goal in the Türkiye Kupasi, the country's top cup competition.

The striker found his involvement in the starting XI to be extremely limited, starting just twice in the league for Karagümrük, as the team finished seventh in the table.

He retired at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, after amassing 587 appearances, scoring 93 goals and registering 50 assists.

Colin Kazim-Richards is still heavily involved in football as he turns to coaching

Since retiring from playing, the 38-year-old has still found himself involved in the game, but on the other side of the sideline.

Kazim-Richards completed his UEFA A Licence over the summer, bringing an end to a year-long course for the coaching badge, and he has quickly put it to use.

After playing for Arsenal's academy in his youth, he has now returned to the club to become a coach, according to his LinkedIn account.

However, it is not just with the Premier League giants where he has spent his summer, with the former Derby forward also helping the PFA with coaching sessions as part of his UEFA A Licence.

Kazim-Richards has also been in Brazil in the last month, learning more about the world of coaching in football from Red Bull Bragantino. He took part in training sessions with the team and found out more about how the club works before being invited to watch their match against Fluminense.

At just 38, the eccentric striker has a long career ahead of him in the dugout and out on the training pitches, and maybe one day he could return to Derby as either an opponent, or as a Ram once again.