Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard was appointed manager of second-tier club Derby County on Thursday, May 31, only weeks after his former England team-mate Steven Gerrard got the hot seat at Glasgow Rangers, one of Scotland's two biggest clubs.
Both were great players — Lampard scored 147 goals in 429 games for the London club and won 106 caps for England, while Gerrard scored 120 goals in 504 games for Liverpool and won 114 England caps — but will they make great managers?
Wish Frank Lampard well as he moves into management with @dcfcofficial. If he’s half as good on the bench as he was on the pitch and the pundit’s chair he’ll do brilliantly. pic.twitter.com/uo3aXX8db1
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) 31 May 2018
"I'm excited to be of a generation of young managers. In England and Britain, we have possibly been behind in the modern day. We have seen it in Germany and Spain possibly ahead of us, but from my own point of view — and I think this is probably a general rule — we have worked under a lot of different styles of managers and that should only help you gain knowledge. The merry-go-round of older managers aren't going anywhere, either. I don't think we should fight against them, you need to just prove yourself capable," said Lampard at his first press conference.
Lampard, who has signed a three-year contract, worked under managers such as Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Manuel Pellegrini during a playing career that ended last year.
Lampard Promises Not To Be A Mourinho 'Clone'
"I'm not a clone of any one manager I had. I'll make my own judgments," said Lampard.
Lampard is pleased that young managers such as himself and Steven Gerrard are being given opportunities. He adds that he hopes Gerrard will be successful at Rangers. #WelcomeFrank
— Derby County (@dcfcofficial) 31 May 2018
The pair come into management just as another great player — France's Zinedine Zidane — steps down as manager of Real Madrid.
Zidane won the Champions' League three times in a row, an unprecedented achievement, but not all great footballers make great managers.
Take Bobby Moore.
He was England's captain when they won the 1966 World Cup and spent almost his entire career as a centre back with West Ham United.
In 1984, six years after he retired from playing, Moore was appointed as manager of Southend United but in his first full season the club ended up near the bottom of the Fourth Division.
Lampard and Gerrard now managers… pic.twitter.com/JU9YbPLoRJ
— Jimmy (@EntireDesign_) 31 May 2018
Moore left the club in 1986 and never managed again, dying of cancer in 1993.
Manchester United's Bryan Robson was another England captain who went on to become a manager. He led Middlesbrough to the FA Cup Final in 1997 and later pulled off a "great escape" against relegation from the Premier League with West Bromwich Albion.
But he has not worked in England since 2008, when he was sacked by Sheffield United, and will never go down in history as a great manager.
Diego Maradona coached the Argentina team during the 2010 World Cup but left after they were knocked out by Germany. He has not been a success in club management and was sacked by Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates in April this year.
Torres left Atlético
— Vishaan Paramasivam (@vishaan__) 31 May 2018
Iniesta left Barca
Arsene left Arsenal#Zidane left Real
Buffon left Juve
Lewandowski seeking for new challenge
Ronaldo and Bale hinting on Real exit
Lampard and Gerrard stepping up for club involvement.
Next season going to be really weird. pic.twitter.com/fBtSzhCHQ5
At Least They Had A Go
Many other great players do not even try managing.
Lev Yashin — who was probably the world's best goalkeeper — retired from playing in 1970 and spent the next 20 years in various administrative positions at Dynamo Moscow, before dying in 1990.
Lampard e Brian Clough! #dcfc #dcfcfans pic.twitter.com/ExED16IgzC
— Derby County Brasil (@dcfcBR) 31 May 2018
Pelé, who is now 77, has been a UNESCO goodwill ambassador and was a sports minister in Brazil for six years.
Nowadays many players can make a fortune as media pundits after retiring.
Current media pundits in the UK include Thierry Henry, although he is also assisting Roberto Martinez with managing the Belgian national team, one of the dark horses for this month's World Cup.
For some reason many of the best managers in football have been mediocre players, or in some cases have never even played at the top level.
Glasgow Rangers have cancelled their planned pre-season friendly with Derby County, after both club’s officials agreed Gerrard and Lampard can’t play together 😂😂😂 @RangersFC @dcfcofficial
— Nigel B6 (@B6Nigel) 31 May 2018
Alex Ferguson was a prolific goalscorer in the 1960s but only played for Rangers for two seasons and was never capped by Scotland, while Arsene Wenger only ever played semi-professional in France and went into coaching in his late 20s.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho — considered to be one of the best managers in the game today — played only 32 games in the Portuguese first division in the 1980s, starting out at Rio Ave, where his father was the coach.
He had quit playing altogether by the age of 24 and began studying sports science, before getting his first managerial job in 2000.
