6 Football Legends Who Returned to Manage Clubs They Played For
After the unexpected decision to sack legendary manager Jose Mourinho by AS Roma on Tuesday 16th January. The Italian club made a shocking move to appoint their club legend Daniele De Rossi to replace ‘the Special one’.
Daniele De Rossi joined an elite list of legends who returned to manage their former teams. Today we will look at some of the legends who have legends returned and took charge of their former clubs as managers:
1. PEP GUARDIOLA
One of the most successful managers of them all in recent times, Pep Guardiola played for and managed Barcelona.
He won a total of 14 trophies in his four-year tenure at Barcelona, including two Champions League titles and three La Liga titles, and is widely regarded by many as the greatest manager of all time. Guardiola was named The Best FIFA Men’s Coach of 2023 on Monday 15th January.
2. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played as a Centre-Forward for Manchester United between 1996 and 2007 where he won 6 Premier League titles and one Champions League title.
Solskjaer was hired in an interim role in November 2018 by Manchester United after Jose Mourinho was fired by the club but was made permanent coach weeks later.
Though the Norwegian legend tenure as the manager was not successful as he did not win a single trophy with the club despite spending £500 million in transfers. Ole Gunnar was fired in 2021 and he received £7.5 million in compensation.
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3. Zinedine Zidane
The legendary France and Real Madrid midfielder Zinedine Zidane returned and managed the club twice and was highly successful. He won 11 trophies, including three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018. He is currently clubless since he left Real Madrid.
4. Mikel Arteta
Though he is not significantly legend at Arsenal, but as a former captain, he spent five years as a player before retired. Arteta was appointed in 2019 and won the FA Cup in his first season.
Since then, he failed to clinch his first Premier League title as a manager as Arsenal finished second last season.
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5. Xavi Hernandez
The legendary midfielder played for Barcelona for 17 years, making 767 appearances and winning 25 trophies, including four Champions League titles and eight league titles.
Xavi returned at the club in beginning of last season to coach the club. He has won the La Liga title and the Spanish Super Cup in his first season. Xavi is under pressure this season due to results as he his side was beaten 4-1 by their rivals Real Madrid in Spanish Super Cup Final last weekend.
6. Frank Lampard
Chelsea’s all-time top scorer and one of Mourinho’s favourite players, Frank Lampard, managed the Blues between 2019 and 2021 before he was sacked for Thomas Tuchel.
In 2023, he returned as interim manager when Tuchel’s replacement Graham Potter was sacked, and it’s unlikely he will return anytime soon after a poor run of results as a manager during his tenure in Everton and two spells at Stamford Bridge.
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