Many former football players venture into the world of sports management. However how many of them return to coach their former clubs?
Teamkenya.co.ke focuses on players who managed or are managing their former teams.
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta is a former player and manager in the Spanish professional football league. He is presently the manager of Premier League Arsenal.
Arteta, who was born in San Sebastián, began his professional career with Barcelona in 1999, but due to a lack of playing time, he was loaned to Paris Saint-Germain in 2001.
After that, he joined Rangers and won the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup in his first season. Arteta joined Everton on loan in 2005 after a brief return to hometown club Real Sociedad; he then signed permanently.
He joined Arsenal in 2011 and served as captain from 2014 until his retirement in 2016. He won two FA Cups during his time at Emirates.
Xavi Hernandez
Hernandez was a Spanish Professional football player, having played for Qatari club Al Sadd, the Spanish national team and FC Barcelona. While at Barcelona, Hernandez helped Barcelona win a number of titles including four Champions League and eight La Liga titles.
Xavi took over his former club in November 2021 from Interim Coach Sergi Barjuan who stood in after the dismal of Ronald Koeman. Hernandez’s appointment to the club started out well with the 1-0 win over Espanyol with a penalty goal by Memphis. However, they were later knocked out of the Spanish Super Cup, Champions League and Copa del Rey.
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Andrea Pirlo
Pirlo is an Italian professional football player and one of the key figures in Italy’s success in the 2006 World Cup campaign. He began his career as an attacking midfielder but changed positions as a deep-lying playmaker, a position he thrived in.
He played for various clubs including, A.C Milan and Juventus. In 2019 Pirlo was elected into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.
After his retirement, he was appointed head coach of Juventus in 2020. Immediately after his appointment, Juventus won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana . Pirlo left his post in 2021.
Frank Lampard
Lampard is a household name at Stamford Bridge. He an English professional footballer who was a key figure in England's success at the 2004 Euro Cup, his first international event.
Lampard was a player for a number of clubs, including West Ham United and Chelsea.
He was Chelsea Player of the Year three times, UEFA Midfielder of the Year in 2008, and FIFA Player of the Year Silver Cup winner in 2005
Lampard began his managerial career in 2018 with Derby County, bringing the team to the Championship play-off final.
A year later, he was named Chelsea's head coach, and in his first season, he led the club to fourth place and the FA Cup Final. Lampard, was later fired in 2021 following a string of dismal outcomes. In 2022, he was named the manager of Everton.
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Before venturing into the world of management, Solskjaer had a successful sporting career. He began his career with Molde, a Norwegian team, before joining Manchester United in 1996.
He was named caretaker manager of Manchester United for the remainder of the season in December 2018.
The Norwegian was rewarded with a three-year contract after 10 victories out of 13 in the Premier League and a comeback triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Solskjaer led Man United to a third-place finish in his first full season in charge, gaining UEFA Champions League qualification for the 2020/21 season. In 2021, he left Man united after a poor run.