Football management is very different from playing football, as some of the best football players to kick a ball discovered after retirement.
While players like Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff broke the mold, many successful players have struggled to become great managers for a myriad of reasons.
We've identified 13 bona fide football legends who couldn't transfer their playing success to the dugout.
Rooney was mutually agreed to by Championship team Plymouth Argyle in December 2024 after a terrible run of form.
The former England striker took charge of Argyle at the start of the season, but a succession of poor results has left the Devon club at the bottom of the second tier.
After spells at Birmingham City, Derby County and DC United failed to reach the top flight, the trajectory of Rooney's managerial career feels like it has hit rock bottom.
Once tipped to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, Gerrard flopped at Aston Villa and was ridiculed as Unai Emery replaced him and elevated an underperforming side to the upper echelons of the Premier League.
Now in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq, the former England captain has Georginio Wijnaldum, Demarai Gray and former Lyon striker Moussa Dembele at his disposal, but he appears unable to put together a winning side.
His early success at Rangers is increasingly down to the influence of Michael Beale.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Maradona failed to inspire the brilliance he so often produced as a player during his two years in charge of the Argentina national team.
With Maradona at the helm, the South American giants narrowly qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, suffering a 4-0 thrashing by Germany in the quarter-finals.
Many fans in Argentina criticized his decision to leave out Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti, fresh from winning the treble with Inter Milan. His contract with the Argentine Football Association was not extended after the World Cup.
Fourteen months later, he took charge of United Arab Emirates' Al Wasl and guided the team to an eighth-place finish in his only season. However, that hasn't stopped speculation that he would take charge at Spurs…
Stoichkov, winner of the 1994 Ballon d'Or after becoming joint top scorer at the World Cup in America, had hoped to repeat the international success of his playing days as a manager when he took charge of Bulgaria in 2004.
Failing to reach both the 2006 World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008 was considered a failure, despite Bulgaria not being in danger of qualifying for a single tournament since.
Stoichkov then led a disastrous spell as manager of Celta Vigo, with the Spanish club relegated from La Liga in 2007.
Stints as manager of Mamelodi Sundowns, Litex Lovech and CSKA Sofia followed without much success.
The former striker once stated that he did not believe in tactics. One look at his administrative record would confirm that assessment.
One of Britain's foremost football experts, Neville's sole leadership role was a case study in despicability.
The former Manchester United and England defender was appointed by Valencia in December 2015 despite not speaking Spanish or having any experience as a manager.
He failed to win any of his first nine matches in La Liga, before suffering a humiliating 7–0 defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.
“That 7-0 was a decisive moment. No manager could come out of that unscathed,” said Valencia-based reporter Paco Polit.
“After speaking to a number of players over the next few days, a number of them said they expected a big, angry reaction from Gary, but it just didn't happen.
“It fits with the idea that Gary was too nice a man to be a coach at Valencia. He was too close to the players because I think deep down he still felt like one of them.”
Five consecutive defeats in La Liga sealed his fate. Marcel has not dared to return to the dugout since then and chooses to stay with Sky Sports.
“That man treated the opportunity to coach Valencia as a joke,” said former goalkeeper Santiago Canizares. “He is not worthy of my opinion or my respect.”
Shearer was entrusted with the unenviable task of saving Newcastle from Premier League relegation when he took over with eight games remaining in the 2008-09 season.
He failed to do so, winning just once as the Magpies fell out of the top division for the first time since 1993.
The Premier League's all-time top scorer has not returned to management since, instead building a reputation for speaking terse generalities while dressed as a security guard on Match of the Day.
The German record holder has struggled to make it as a manager at a string of clubs including Partizan Belgrade, Atletico Paranaense and Red Bull Salzburg.
He also tried two spells as an international coach but failed to lead Hungary or Bulgaria to a major tournament.
“Right now you don't see him getting a job here [in Germany]”, suggested Philipp Selldorf, football correspondent of the Munich Süddeutsche Zeitung, in 2011.
“Time has passed and now there is a new generation of younger managers.”
Pirlo, the epitome of cool during his playing days, has struggled to convey such authority from the sidelines.
In his only season in charge of Juventus, the side failed to win Serie A for the first time in nine years and finished fourth in 2020/21. Winning the Coppa Italia would hardly save him from defeat, especially after flopping in the Champions League.
Pirlo's next role was in Turkey with Fatih Karagumruk and there too he only played one season. Reports that he allowed his players to smoke at half-time hardly painted the World Cup winner as a disciplinarian to be feared.
The former midfielder finished last in Serie B with Sampdoria and failed to get the former Scudetto winners back into the top flight of Italian football.
After reaching the play-off final with Derby, Lampard did well to guide a young Chelsea side to Champions League qualification in 2020.
But concerns about a lack of defensive strength were exacerbated as Chelsea slipped towards mid-table the following season.
His sacking in January 2021 when the club was in ninth place and Thomas Tuchel leading the same side to Champions League glory reflected a bad influence on Lampard's managerial acumen.
His time at Everton was also bittersweet, saving them from relegation in 2022 only to be sacked the following January, with the Toffees looking a certainty for the drop.
Lampard returned to Chelsea on an interim basis in April 2023 and won just one of his eleven games in charge. He showed little sign of learning from his past mistakes and has been reduced to meme status.
Now in Coventry the jury is out on whether the former England international can make it as a manager.
The managerial career of the late Charlton, arguably England's greatest ever player, was short and unsuccessful.
The 1966 World Cup winner and scorer of 49 international goals took over as manager of Preston North End in 1973, but he oversaw the club's relegation from the Second Division that season.
He resumed playing but left the following year, making three appearances for Waterford United in 1976.
After a brief role as caretaker manager at Wigan Athletic, Charlton joined the board of Manchester United in 1984, where he remained until the end of 2010.
Great player, but Adams' managerial career is probably best remembered for this.
As spectacular as his playing career was, Barnes' managerial career was an absolute disaster.
He joined Celtic in 1999 along with fellow Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, but his spell at Parkhead was a complete failure as it took only a few games and poor results before the Celtic fans started seeking his dismissal.
The ax finally fell after an infamous Scottish Cup defeat to Inverness, which inspired the unprecedented headline 'Super Cally go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious'.
The spells with Tranmere and the Jamaica national team were not much better. Stick to rapping, Barnesy.
Robson, the 'Captain Marvel' of Manchester United and England in the 1980s, seemed destined to become a top manager after hanging up his boots.
The reality was very different. None of his managerial spells seemed to possess an iota of the inspiration he embodied as a player, except perhaps his promotion-winning first season with Middlesbrough.
His remaining time on Teeside was inconsistent as heavy-spending Boro bounced between the two top divisions.
Spells at Bradford, West Brom (the Great Escape of 2005 was offset by relegation twelve months later) and Sheffield United were uninspiring, and Robson also briefly managed the Thai national team.
He is no longer considered a manager, which says it all.
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