11 Legendary Players Who Struggled As Managers | OneFootball

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There comes a time in every footballer's career when it is time to hang up the boots - no matter how much of an impact they have made on the beautiful game.

While some move on to outside ventures, many choose to stay involved in the sport they have dedicated their lives to. For those who reached legendary status as players, the lure of emulating their glittering success on the pitch as a manager often persuades them to try their hand at life in the dugout.

While the likes of Pep Guardiola, Zinedine Zidane and Diego Simeone have made the transition look effortless, other high-profile stars simply weren't cut out for the role.

Join us as we take a look below at 11 legendary players who struggled as managers.

11 Bobby Charlton

Charlton enjoyed a stellar career as a player for both Manchester United and England. The midfielder helped England raise the 1966 World Cup and went on to win the Ballon d'Or later that same year.

His time at Old Trafford was similarly successful. Charlton won the English top-flight on three occasions and also lifted the FA Cup. However, the highlight of his 17 seasons at United came in 1968 when he was part of the club's European Cup-winning side.

Charton retired at the end of the 1972/73 season and agreed to become manager of Preston North End soon after.

Preston won just nine of their 42 league games under Charlton in the 1973/74 season and were relegated. It was little surprise to see him resign from the role at the end of the campaign.

Apart from a brief spell as caretaker boss at Wigan Athletic in 1983, Charlton never managed again.

10 Paul Gascoigne

A magnificent talent on the pitch, 'Gazza' had his fair share of disciplinary issues away from it during his playing career.

From the outside looking in, Gascoigne didn't appear to be the ideal candidate for a management role - and so it proved.

After gaining experience as a player-coach with Chinese side Gansu Tiama, he returned to England to take up the same post at League Two Boston United in July 2004. Within three months, though, Gascoigne had left Sincil Bank. Among the reasons for his departure was reportedly that the club wouldn't allow him to appear on the reality TV show 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!'

His first foray into management came the following year when he agreed to take charge of Kettering Town. Sacked after a mere 39 days in the job, Kettering chairman Imraan Ladak claimed he had to deal with no less than 37 incidents of ill-discipline from Gascoigne during his brief reign amid allegations that the former England international had been drunk during games and training sessions.

In his six league games in charge, Gascoigne won two, drew two and lost two. He hasn't managed another team since.

9 Edgar Davids

Davids was one of the best defensive midfielders on the planet in his prime, running the show in the centre of the park for the likes of Ajax, AC Milan and Juventus.

He ended his playing career in the far less glamorous surroundings of Barnet, where he was installed as a player-manager in October 2012. Things got off to an encouraging start for the Dutchman, before taking a turn for the worse.

Bizarre statements made by Davids during his time at the club included an insistence on wearing the number 1 jersey while playing in midfield and refusing to attend away games that required an overnight stay. He resigned from the job in January 2014 with an overall record of 25 wins from 68 matches.

Seven years later, Davids returned to management with Portuguese side S.C Olhanese, where he lasted just over six months before being sacked. Today, he works as an assistant coach for the Dutch national side.

8 Gary Neville

An eight-time Premier League champion and a two-time Champions League winner as a player at Manchester United, Neville is sure of a warm welcome whenever he returns to the 'Theatre of Dreams' in his current role as a pundit for Sky Sports.

However, he likely won't receive that same greeting if he returns to Valencia - where he spent a brief period as head coach between December 2015 and March 2016. The ex-England international was a surprise appointment in the eyes of many, particularly because he had no managerial experience and couldn't speak Spanish.

Neville managed to win just 10 of his 28 games in charge and saw his side hammered 7-0 by Barcelona in the Copa del Rey before he was sacked. He has since said that his time at Valencia put him off ever managing again.

7 John Barnes

When Barnes announced his retirement from playing after a 20-year career at the end of the 1998/99 season, even he must have been shocked with how quickly his next challenge presented itself.

The former Watford, Liverpool and Newcastle man was offered the opportunity to manage Celtic just weeks after hanging up his boots and he jumped at the chance. Working under director of football Kenny Dalglish, it was hoped that Barnes would be the ideal man to take the club forward.

His eight-month reign could hardly have gone worse. Sacked after 29 games in charge, the end came for Barnes after Celtic suffered a humiliating loss to part-timers Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup.

With his reputation tarnished, Barnes didn't manage again for nine years. First, he was appointed as boss of the Jamaican national side in September 2008 before quitting that role to head to Tranmere Rovers less than nine months later.

He was shown the door by the Merseyside club in October 2009 following a run of just two wins in eleven league games and never returned to management.

6 Teddy Sheringham

With 146 Premier League goals to his name, Sheringham is the 12th most-prolific player in the history of the English top-flight. He also enjoys a special place in Man United folklore after scoring a late equaliser for the Red Devils in the 1999 Champions League final as they went on to defeat Bayern Munich at Camp Nou.

However, his accomplishments as a player counted for nothing when he joined League Two side Stevenage in 2015. After mustering only seven wins from 33 matches, Sheringham was shown the door by club bosses.

Not to be deterred, the ex-England striker then ventured to India to continue his managerial career with Kolkata-based side ATK. Unfortunately, Sheringham's fortunes in the dugout did not improve. He won just three of his 10 games in charge of the club before being sacked.

5 Gianfranco Zola

As a dynamic playmaker for Parma, Chelsea and the Italian national side, Zola was frighteningly good. Despite numerous opportunities to prove himself, he never hit those same heights as a manager.

Having begun his managerial career with Italy's Under-21 side, West Ham came calling in September 2008 to offer Zola his first chance to take charge at club level. However, when the Hammers only narrowly avoided relegation in 2009/10, he was axed by the east London outfit.

He then moved on to Watford where he had an encouraging first season at the helm. Unfortunately, the Hornets struggled during his second season in charge at Vicarage Road - and Zola paid for the slide in form with his job.

It was a similar story for Zola during spells with Cagliari and Birmingham City, where he left after a run of poor results in both instances. He hasn't taken sole charge of a team since leaving St. Andrews in 2017, although he did work as Maurizio Sarri's assistant at Chelsea during the 2018/19 season.

4 Alan Shearer

Shearer ranks as the greatest goalscorer in Premier League history with 260 goals to his credit. However, while he is remembered as one of the top-flight's best-ever players, his spell as interim manager of his beloved Newcastle United in 2009 was one to forget.

The relegation-threatened Magpies called upon club legend Shearer towards the latter stages of the 2008/09 season after their permanent boss at the time, Joe Kinnear, was sidelined through illness.

To say Shearer was out of his depth would be kind. He took just five points from a possible 24 as Newcastle were relegated to the Championship on the final day of the campaign. Perhaps understandably, Shearer has never expressed any interest in management again.

3 Paul Scholes

One of the greatest players ever produced by Manchester United, Scholes made 499 senior appearances for the Old Trafford club - winning 11 Premier Leagues and two Champions Leagues in the process.

His brief spell as boss at his boyhood club Oldham Athletic, however, was entirely less successful. After being unveiled as manager of the Lancashire outfit in February 2009, Scholes lasted just 31 days in the role. Even by the standards of this list, that's a pretty short reign!

The man himself blamed interference from the club's board in team affairs as the reason for his departure. The fact that he only managed to win one of his seven games in charge was likely another factor in his exit. Scholes hasn't taken charge of another side in the 14 years that have followed.

2 Thierry Henry

Having enjoyed an outrageously successful career as a player, Henry was always going to be up against it when it came to replicating his achievements as a manager.

The Arsenal legend began his senior coaching career as assistant to Roberto Martinez with the Belgium national side, before taking over as boss at his former side Monaco in October 2018. He was sacked barely three months into his reign after winning only four of his 20 games in charge.

Henry was back in the dugout before the end of 2019, this time as manager of MLS franchise Montreal Impact. In his 29 games in charge of the Canadian outfit, he won just nine. The 1998 World Cup winner left his position in 2021, revealing he wanted to spend more time with his children based in London.

While Henry returned for a second spell as Belgium assistant manager, he has yet to accept another head coaching role and now enjoys a career as a pundit.

1 Diego Maradona

Maradona will always be remembered as one of the greatest players of all time. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about his managerial career.

Poor returns from brief stints in charge of Deportivo Mandiyu and Racing Club during the mid-1990s suggested that Maradona wasn't exactly going to be the world's greatest boss.

However, his legendary status combined with a unique charisma convinced the Argentine FA that El Diego was the man to lead his country at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Perhaps predictably, the country's build-up to the tournament was marred by Maradona falling out with various members of the media.

La Albiceleste started their campaign in fine style, winning all three of their group games. Ultimately, though, Maradona's men were torn apart 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals - with their head coach's lack of tactical awareness clear for all to see.

While Argentina's exit saw the end of his international coaching career, Maradona kept being offered management gigs around the globe. He took charge of sides in Dubai, the UAE and Mexico, before returning to his homeland to manage Gimnasia de La Plata, where he remained at the helm until his untimely passing at the age of 60 in November 2020.