Every time a player has great success in a football club, they will always win legendary status among the fans – even if some of them make an unwise choice, such as returning to the manager's position one day. While it is possible to succeed as a player and coach at the same club, such as Barcelona's Guardiola or Milan's Ancelotti, there is a long list of players who have been given a job at a particular club simply for their exploits as club players. Currently in the Premier League, United are suffering from the decision to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Barcelona, meanwhile, regret their decision to hire Ronald Koeman. The Dutchman was sacked by the La Liga giants after a poor start to the 2021/22 season. The club is looking for a replacement. But they are by no means unique in the world of football.
Sonnes (Liverpool, 1991-1994)
Considered one of the best midfielders in the world, Sonnes has won five league titles and three European titles at Liverpool. After coaching Rangers, he returned to Liverpool as manager in 1991 and immediately ceded the title to Arsenal. Souness complained a few years later about the aging of the team, and when he gave a controversial interview to The Sun, he ignited the anger of Liverpool fans. It was a newspaper in Merseyside that was hated for covering the Hillsborough massacre. He also clashes frequently with players, with Ian Rush revealing that he often throws teacups into the dressing room.
Ossi-Adillas (Tottenham Hotspur, 1993-1994)
Ossi-Adiles remains a popular figure at Tottenham, but this is certainly because of his ability to play, not his management ability. In 1993, he left West Brom to take over Tottenham, approving heavy transfers to Klinsmann, Dumitrescu and Popescu. The money went nowhere and Tottenham Hotspur was 15th and at one point dangerously close to the relegation zone. The Argentine was fired in October 1994 and Tottenham were once again at the bottom of the table.
Ferrara (Juventus, 2009-2010)
Ferrara was part of the Golden Age of Italian defenders, when there were too many world-class defenders in Serie A to list here. He spent 10 years at Napoli in Diego Maradona and then 11 more seasons at Juventus. Ferrara is Juve's star defender who reached the Champions League final three times in a row and won the title in 1996. He took over as Juve manager in 2009-10, but experienced a disastrous half-season in charge, failing to emerge from the Champions League group stage before falling sharply in serie A.
Alain Shearer (Newcastle, 2009)
Not every great player can be a great coach, and not every club legend should return to the club after they retire. In the final eight games of the 2008-09 season, Newcastle appointed passing striker Alain Shearer in an attempt to revive the club in a relegation campaign, but this did not work well. Because when Newcastle were relegated, Shearer only got five of the 24 points he could possibly get. He has not managed any clubs since.
Seedorf (ac Milan, 2014)
Seedorf was one of the greatest midfielders of his generation and was one of the top players in European football for most of his 20-year career. A well-trained midfielder with excellent technique, passing and long-range shooting, Seedorf remains the only player to have won the Champions League at three different clubs. His best period was in Milan during his decade, where he won two Champions Leagues and two League titles. In 2014, he returned to the club as manager and despite winning the Milan derby, he was sacked after just four months in charge.
Philippe Inzaghi (ac Milan, 2014-2015)
Seedorf was replaced by another legend, Inzaghi, at ac Milan. Super Pippo is considered one of the greatest snatchers of all time, waiting for an opportunity in the small penalty area, scoring more than 300 goals in his career. Like Seedorf, he played at Milan between 2002 and 2012 and, memorably, he scored twice in the 2007 Champions League final against Liverpool. However, his coaching career at San Siro was far less successful. He has only been in the box for one season, winning just 14 of the 40 games he has coached, with Milan finishing in 10th place.
Henry (Monaco, 2018-2019)
When Henry returned to his home team Monaco, a team that was supposed to be able to challenge France for the top three, found itself at the foot of the table. Henry was unable to unleash the potential of his childhood club and the crisis only got worse when he was on the sidelines. His personnel management was considered terrible, and his tactical choices were not much better. He wasn't helped by the long injury list and poor transfer market, but it wasn't an excuse for his disastrous coaching, with the worst being that he called his opponent's grandmother a "whore" in his 5-1 home loss to Strasbourg. Unable to lead the team out of the relegation zone, he was sacked by the club.
Lampard (Chelsea, 2019-2021)
After winning acclaim at charge of Derby County, Lampard was named Chelsea manager in 2019 and returned to the club he represented as a legend. However, his first season in charge was a bit difficult due to the transfer ban, but it also allowed Mount to get more opportunities for the club's academy players. Unfortunately for the Briton, spending more than £220 million in the summer of 2020 put pressure on him to coach, with Abu deciding to sack him when Chelsea dropped to ninth in The Rankings in January. Tuchel took over and won the Champions League.
Pirlo (Juventus, 2020-2021)
Pirlo's appointment to succeed Sarri as Juventus manager in the summer of 2020 is a shocking appointment. Although Pirlo is one of the greatest players of his time, he has no coaching experience and was only appointed manager of the Juve youth team a few days ago. Pirlo proved to be a disastrous appointment, and their nine-year consecutive league winning record ended with Conte's Inter Milan triumph in The League. In addition, Juventus struggled all season to qualify for the Champions League – and in the first round of the Champions League knockout round, the old woman was eliminated by Porto, which led to Pirlo being sacked after one season.
Koeman (Barcelona, 2020-2021)
Koeman's loss of the FC Barcelona manager position after another disastrous result – a 0-1 defeat to Vallecano – seemed inevitable, and it turned out to be. In the 2021-22 season, Barca were beaten by Benfica and Bayern Munich in the Champions League group stage, suffering three defeats in La Liga and they are currently struggling in ninth place. One of the main reasons for the decline in strength is obviously the departure of Messi, and the overall poor running of Barcelona as a club is certainly not Koeman's fault. However, the team's performance on the pitch was poor and his relationship with chairman Laporta did not help his career.