John Barnes lives a life on the move. After taking care of fatherly duties with his 13-month-old son at his Merseyside home this week, the former Liverpool winger hit the road to appear as a studio expert on British television coverage of the FA Cup.
In addition to considerable mileage on Britain's motorways, he spends more than six months of the year travelling to places like South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia to share his views on Europe's top leagues.
Now the 48-year-old faces a journey into the unknown. Barnes will be one of six coaches for a new, all-star soccer tournament in Calcutta starting next month, with the aim of replicating the success of cricket's Indian Premier League. It will be his first visit to India.
'I don't know much more about it than you do, just what came out in the papers this week as I've been dealing though an agent,' he said. 'But I'm really looking forward to visiting a different part of the world and being involved in something new.'
The 79-cap England international will join ex-Thailand and Sunderland boss Peter Reid and former Bolton mentor Colin Todd as big-name managers in the fledgling competition. An auction next Friday will decide which franchises the coaches are aligned to before the February 25 to April 8 tournament.
For Barnes, it will be his first serious foray into management since being sacked by Tranmere Rovers towards the end of 2009. He has also coached Scottish giants Celtic and Jamaica.
'Coaching and being a manager is what I love to do, so it will be great to be out on the pitch again,' he said. 'As it was when I grew up in Jamaica, football isn't the main sport in India, but I hear there's strong support. I hope the tournament is a big success.'