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The appointment of Thierry Henry as Monaco manager gave him the rare opportunity to start his managerial career with the same club that made his professional debut. Fox Sports Asia picked out seven famous managers who achieved this feat before Henry.
#7. Ryan Giggs – Manchester United
Ryan Giggs spent his entire playing career with Manchester United and when he hung up his boots, he was the most decorated player players in club football history.
The 2013/14 season was Giggs’ final season as a player and at the start of the season, he was given the role of a player-coach under David Moyes. When Moyes was sacked in April 2014, Giggs took over as the club’s interim player-manager until the end of the season and he won two, drew one and lost one in the final four games of the season.
The Welshman served as assistant manager to Lous van Gaal in the next two seasons before he was appointed the manager of the Wales National Team earlier this year.
#6. Fernando Santos – Estoril
Portugal manager, Fernando Santos, spent his entire undistinguished playing career in his native country representing Estoril barring one season.
In 1987, immediately after retiring, he was appointed the assistant manager of Estoril and the following year, he was promoted to manager. With him at the helm, the club returned to the top flight in 1991.
Santos left Estori in 1994 and has since notably managed Porto, Sporting, Benfica, Greece and Portugal. He was appointed Portugal manager in 2014 and won the Euro 2016 which is Portugal’s only major international trophy.
#5. Giovanni Trapattoni – AC Milan
Except for the final season of his playing career, Giovanni Trapattoni spent his entire playing career with AC Milan winning six trophies including two European Cups.
In 1972, post-retirement, Trapattoni began coaching as a youth team coach with Milan before becoming the caretaker coach in 1974. In the 1975/76 season, he was once again appointed the club’s manager until the end of the season.
Despite being a Milan legend as a player, Trapattoni’s managerial legacy is with Juventus. He was appointed the club’s manager in 1976 and held the post for a decade winning 13 trophies including a European Cup. The Italian has also managed Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Cagliari, Fiorentina, Benfica, Stuttgart and Italy in an illustrious career.
#4. Bobby Robson – Fulham
Bobby Robson is one of the greatest English managers of all-time. Robson spent the majority of his playing career with Fulham on either side of a six-year spell with West Brom. After retirement, he was offered the chance to manage Fulham in 1968 but he couldn’t save the club from relegation and he was sacked in less than a year.
Robson took over as Ipswich town manager in 1969 and held the post till 1982 when he was appointed the manager of England football team. He was in charge of England for eight years before moving abroad to manage PSV Eindhoven, Sporting CP, Porto and Barcelona.
#3. Jupp Heynckes – Borussia Monchengladbach
Bayern Munich’s treble-winning manager, Jupp Heynckes, spent all but three seasons of his playing career with Borussia Monchengladbach. The former German international was a prolific striker who scored who scored 296 goals in 470 games while playing for Gladbach and Hannover in the Bundesliga.
After his playing career, Heynckes served Gladbach as an assistant manager before taking over as manager in 1979. In his first season, he took them to the final of the UEFA Cup final which they lost but five years later, he won the same trophy. His first job as manager lasted eight years and he had six trophies to show for it including four league titles.
The German also managed Bayern Munich, Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke, Benfica and Tenerife in a trophy-laden career.
Heynckes had a second stint with Gladbach in 2006 but after 14-straight Bundesliga matches without a win, he resigned six months into the season. The club, however, couldn’t avoid relegation at the end of the season.
#2. Pep Guardiola – Barcelona
Pep Guardiola has been a manager for only a decade and yet its incredibly difficult to look past him when you’re asked who is the greatest manager of the 21st century. Guardiola was a product of La Masia and played for the first team between 1990 and 2001 before retiring from his playing career in 2006.
In 2007, he was appointed the manager of the Barcelona B team and the following year, he was promoted to manager of the first team. He was the manager of the Barcelona team for four incredibly successful years during which they won 14 trophies including the unprecedented sextuple in 2009.
When Guardiola left Barcelona, he had a win percentage of 72.5 and had created one of the greatest football teams ever. A year after leaving Barcelona, he took over as the manager of Bayern Munich before joining Manchester City in 2016.
The Spaniard won the Premier League last season at the end of a record-breaking season and that took his trophy tally as a manager to 24 trophies in nine years.
#1. Johan Cruyff – Ajax
Johan Cruyff is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time and he was the most famous exponent of the total football philosophy. He is one of the most influential people in football history and his style of play and philosophy has influenced some of the game’s greatest managers including Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Arrigo Sacchi and Pep Guardiola.
Cruyff started his professional career with Ajax and scored 265 goals for them in only 325 games before joining Barcelona in 1973. He was with the Catalan club for five seasons and returned to Ajax in 1981 before hanging up his boots in 1984.
In 1985, Cruyff started his managerial career with Ajax and he implemented his attacking philosophy and emphasis on youth academies at the club in a short span. Cruyff’s system was so successful that in 1995, Ajax won the Champions League using it.
After leaving Ajax, Cruyff also managed Barcelona and the influence he had at the Catalan club was huge. The plethora of talented youngsters that came through La Masia and the incredible style of play adopted by the team in recent years are all a result of the foundations laid by the great Dutch player and manager.
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