“FOR many, the American dream has become a nightmare,” was once said by Bernie Sanders, the U.S. Senator, who recently suspended his campaign to become America’s next president.

The ‘American Dream’ was a phrase coined by James Thurlow in his 1931 book Epic of America, where it was described as "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement."

One man who recently crossed the pond to achieve his dream - but almost found out what Sanders said is true - was Radhi Jaidi.

The former Saints player and under-23s coach has a burning ambition to prove himself at the senior level.

A partnership between Hartford Athletic, a team based just under 120 miles away from New York, and Southampton led to Jaidi getting his chance back in November.

However, initial problems with his visa almost derailed that ambition and now a global pandemic has led to the Tunisian coaching via online video sessions.

“I felt like I reached the end of my cycle as an academy coach and I have my own ambition to be a manager in the future,” Jaidi told the Daily Echo. “This is a great transition for me, but it also allows me to be both part of Hartford and Southampton because of the project and partnership.

“I was thinking about how I wanted to start my managerial journey and it was mainly excitement that I was feeling.

“I had a little issue with the paperwork, but this is normal - even though I didn’t know anything about it!

When new managers are writing a list of all the things they may encounter as a head coach, dealing with a pandemic is unlikely to feature on that list.

But, surprisingly, Jaidi was well equipped to deal with the transition from coaching on a field to doing it from home.

“I experienced this a couple of weeks before coming here when I had an issue with my visa.

“I had three weeks of managing by distance and it worked really well, so my reflection on that was really good as it was something I had to learn.

“So now it’s pretty simple for me to adapt to this situation because I had trained on it.

“You have to try and find positives from the situation and I can name at least three things that I have learned during this period because I didn’t have that time when I was coaching.

“One of them is my fitness; I feel like I can play games now because I’ve been doing four runs a week, all roughly around five to seven kilometres and then I do the same runs I get my players to do.

“I’ve also decided to become a vegetarian and these two things I wouldn’t have done before when I was so focused on planning training sessions.

“The third thing I’ve done is read a lot about leadership.”

Once Jaidi’s paperwork was sorted he was able to enter America and start his work on the pitch.

The former Saints defender’s first task was to get his Hartford side ready for a pre-season that would see them play seven matches.

He did this with aplomb, leading them to six victories and just one defeat.

But just two days before Hartford’s United Soccer League campaign was due to start, coronavirus brought it to a halt.

“We are different to other teams because our first game was one week after the start of the season,” Jaidi added. “I remember two days before the game we were all excited and the energy and mentality in training made it one of the best sessions we’ve had.

“But then I saw our operations director coming over to me in a hurry and I started thinking the worst!

“It was at that time when we started to hear about coronavirus, but I was so desperate to play our first game of the season.

“We were due to play New York Red Bulls and New York has been one of the worst affected places.

“The health and safety of everyone has to come first because that is always the most important thing.”

Jaidi, 44, knew that becoming a first-team manager was something that he’d have to work hard for as opposed to the opportunity landing on his doorstep.

After retiring from professional football in 2012, he turned his focus to coaching and started climbing the ladder at Saints.

He served as Martin Hunter’s assistant for the under-23s before being handed the opportunity to take charge.

Although, as Jaidi admits, managing an academy team financed by Premier League money is a world, or the Atlantic Ocean, apart from his current setup.

“I took my time to develop myself as a coach,” reflected the former defender. “I played at a good level both nationally and internationally.

“The coaching and managing has nothing about playing football, it’s all about having the skills to manage people.

“I had my time in Southampton to improve and to get those skills as best as I could.

“When I came to Hartford it was easy for me. The senior boys always ask questions and want to know why and how but that is something special to have.

“But the senior is level is more about the outcome which is to obviously win, and our target is to reach the play-offs, so we are all working towards that.

“The only thing that I found to be a real challenge was the financial difference between the two worlds; the Premier League and the USL [United Soccer League].

“There is also a difference with the understanding of football. As people know, the USA is a multi-sport country and the main sport isn’t football.

“So, coming here and bringing my knowledge from Southampton and England has given me a really good base and start.”

Although that start has been interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, Jaidi admits he’s getting a better understanding of his players by hosting quizzes in their group chat.

But there’s more to this than meets the eye.

Professional footballers are so used to having a strict routine to follow which, due to Covid-19, has now been interrupted.

Jaidi places a big emphasis on mental wellbeing and wants to create an environment for his players where they can just pick up the phone and chat with him.

In order to seize the initiative, though, the Hartford Athletic coach decided, along with his backroom staff, to start picking names out of a virtual hat.

They would then have to call that player for a chat and learn something new about him.

By doing this, Jaidi hopes it will bring the squad closer together when they eventually return to the pitch.

The 44-year-old explained: “It’s been three weeks and now we have a good amount of details, so we have started doing a quiz about each other in the group chat.

“I’m really conscious of the mental health issue and even though footballers tend to be mentally strong, the fact they are staying at home for 24hours could lead them to do nothing.

“They are capable to stay on the couch most of the day but that’s not going to happen. I want them to go out to get fresh air, to do some exercise, speak to their friends or read a book.

“All of these things will make it feel like you have something important to do.”

When it comes to encouraging his players to pick up a book, the former Bolton and Birmingham centre-half recommends Soccology by Kevin George which explores the ecosystem and culture surrounding football.

Jaidi used this book as a tool during his Saints days and believes it still has the same relevance.

“Soccology is simple but he speaks about a story that I lived as a player but one that is also still lived today.

“I remember being at Southampton and felt like some of the academy players were missing a few things and this book gives them the tools, so I advised them to buy it.”

Jaidi is contracted to Hartford Athletic for the 2020 season and will stay there until it’s completed.

During his spell in America, he hopes to achieve two things, with the first being to guide his team to the play-offs, but he knows there’s only one way to achieve this, which, in turn, will complete his second goal.

“There is a lot of talent in America but it’s rough, so they need a system to prepare the players,” said Jaidi.

“I want to develop players to win and this is probably the best way for me: to have 22 players who are presumably senior over here, but still need to develop.

“I’ll show them the way to improve and to also have a positive impact on the team.”