da esport bet： With Derby giving permission to Chelsea to speak to Frank Lampard over the managerial vacancy at Stamford Bridge, it now seems only a matter of time before the ex-England midfielder is appointed.
da bet7： As Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer and a central player in the most successful era in the club’s history, Lampard’s legendary status in west London is assured – for now. By going back to Stamford Bridge and taking on a thankless managerial position (provided he gets the job), he is putting his Chelsea reputation on the line. If he flops as Blues boss, his achievements a player could be tainted.
Lampard can be forewarned by plenty of other examples of iconic players who returned to their club or national teams as manager and failed dismally, thus shattering their reputation in the eyes of supporters.
Here are some of the men whose managerial exploits at certain teams fell way short of their status as players:
Graeme Souness (Liverpool)
In seven seasons at Anfield, the Scot won five league titles, four League Cups and three European Cups. He was Liverpool’s captain for their 1984 European Cup triumph in Rome, capping a season in which they won three major trophies. He scored 56 goals in 358 games for the Reds during a hugely decorated spell.
He succeeded Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool manager in 1991 upon his fellow Scot’s sudden resignation and found him an impossible act to follow. Many at Anfield never forgave him for giving an interview to The Sun and the Reds finished a lowly sixth and exited the FA Cup at home to Bristol City on his watch.
Santiago Solari (Real Madrid)
The Argentine midfielder controversially moved to Real Madrid from city rivals Atletico in 2000 and went on to enjoy much success at the Bernabeu, winning two league titles and a Champions League in a star-studded team. He was a regular in a midfield that also contained the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and latterly David Beckham.
Solari was promoted from reserve team boss to the head coach position at Real Madrid last October after Julen Lopetegui’s brief tenure came to an end. However, a disastrous week in which they were defeated in El Clasico and exited the Champions League and Copa Del Rey resulted in his dismissal after less than five months in charge.
Ossie Ardiles (Tottenham)
Tottenham pulled off a massive coup in 1978 by signing the midfielder, who had just won the World Cup with Argentina. He spent a decade at White Hart Lane, winning the FA Cup in 1981 and the UEFA Cup three years later, scoring 16 goals in 221 games for Spurs.
Ardiles returned as the club’s manager in 1993, quitting his job with West Brom to take the reins in north London, but Tottenham finished a lowly 15thin the Premier League under him and he was sacked in October 1994 after a slow start to the season. He would infamously play with five forwards and no designated midfielders during his time in charge of Spurs.
Owen Coyle (Bolton)
The Scotland-born Republic of Ireland international joined Bolton from Airdrieonians in 1993 and spent two years at Burnden Park as a player. He played in a League Cup final for the Trotters in 1995 and helped them to promotion to the Premier League that year, briefly playing in the top flight before returning to Scotland.
Coyle was hired as Bolton manager in 2010, leaving Burnley in acrimonious circumstances. Despite clever signings such as Ivan Klasnic and Martin Petrov, they were relegated from the Premier League in 2012 and a slow start in the Championship led to calls for his head. He was sacked two months into the 2012/13 season.
Mark McGhee (Aberdeen)
The forward was Alex Ferguson’s first signing at Aberdeen in 1979 and he was a central figure in the club’s most successful era. In five years at Pittodrie, he won two league titles, three Scottish Cups and the 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup, when they famously beat Real Madrid in the final.
McGhee was back at a very different Aberdeen in 2009. His tenure began with an 8-1 aggregate thrashing by Sigma Olomouc in the Europa League and included the club’s all-time record defeat, 9-0 to Celtic in November 2010. He was sacked a month later and claimed to be spat at by supporters after a defeat to Raith Rovers earlier that year.
Bryan Gunn (Norwich)
The goalkeeper became one of Norwich’s greatest players, featuring 390 times in 12 years at Carrow Road. He was in nets for the Canaries’ shock third-placed finish in the inaugural Premier League season in 1993 and the following campaign’s legendary UEFA Cup win over Bayern Munich.
Gunn later took charge of Norwich in 2009 when they were struggling in the Championship and was unable to save them from relegation. He criticised his players in public and signed a goalkeeper whose debut was a 1-7 home defeat to Colchester in League One, during which two fans threw season tickets at him. He was sacked less than a week later.
Steve Staunton (Republic of Ireland)
The ginger-haired defender was the first player to reach 100 caps for Republic of Ireland and is the only man to have played in all 13 of their World Cup finals games. He also has the rare distinction of scoring directly from corner kicks twice for his country.
Still, Irish fans were shocked when Staunton took over the national team in 2006 despite having no managerial experience. His two years in charge were calamitous, the low points being a 5-2 thumping in Cyprus and a very fortunate win in San Marino courtesy of a 94th-minute goal. He was also derided for his monotone nature in press briefings.
Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan)
The striker was the archetypal ‘fox in the box’ and scored 126 goals during an 11-year playing career with AC Milan. He won two league titles and two Champions Leagues with the club, scoring both Milan goals in the Champions League final win over Liverpool in 2007.
Inzaghi went straight into youth team coaching at the San Siro after hanging up his boots and was promoted to the manager’s job at Milan in 2014. He found life far tougher in the dugout as the Rossoneri finished as low as 10thin Serie A. His tetchy touchline behaviour didn’t help his cause either and he lasted only a season in charge.
Glenn Roeder (Newcastle)
A classy ball-playing defender in his time, he captained second tier QPR in the 1982 FA Cup final before moving to Newcastle a year later. In five seasons on Tyneside he played almost 200 times for the Geordies, most of those coming in the First Division.
Roeder became caretaker manager at Newcastle in 2006 and guided a struggling team into Europe, only for the Magpies to drop back to mid-table the following season. His tenure was no disgrace, but his less than charismatic demeanour probably didn’t help and few mourned when he left the club in May 2007.
Tony Mowbray (Celtic)
The defender moved to Celtic from Middlesbrough for £1million in 1991 and spent four years with the Glasgow club. Although he didn’t win a league title in his time at Celtic Park, he is attributed to having begun the team’s now-traditional pre-match huddle in an attempt to foster greater team spirit.
Mowbray was named Celtic manager in 2009 but the first half of the season did not go well, with the Hoops trailing Rangers by 10 points in January. The mid-season signings of Robbie Keane and Gary Caldwell reportedly caused disruption to the team and his position soon became untenable after a 4-0 loss to St Mirren, being sacked in March 2010.