Can Klopp manage Liverpool and Germany? Five other iconic managers who bossed club and country | OneFootball

Might Jurgen Klopp be tempted to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson and Rinus Michels?

Some of the greatest managers of all-time have split their time between club and country, including Sir Alex Ferguson and Rinus Michels. Might Jurgen Klopp be tempted to reign over Germany during a European Championships which they are hosting?

Here are five bosses who took on two jobs at the same time…

Sir Alex Ferguson (Aberdeen and Scotland) One of the greatest moonlighted as an international boss while managing at club level, though Fergie was thrust into the Scotland job in tragic circumstances.

Ferguson dabbled as an assistant to Jock Stein during his reign as Aberdeen boss. At Pittodrie, he broke up the Old Firm’s dominance, winning three SPL titles while also inspiring the Dons to continental glory in the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Stein employed him on his coaching staff with the national team, but tragedy struck during a qualifier for the 1986 World Cup finals.

Stein suffered a heart attack towards the end of a qualifier against Wales and died there at Ninian Park. Ferguson took the reins, appointing Archie Knox as his co-manager at Aberdeen to spread the load at Pittodrie, but even Fergie struggled with the dual role.

Aberdeen finished the 1985/86 season down in fourth place, even if they won both domestic honours. In Mexico, Scotland exited at the group stage after defeats to Denmark and West Germany, and an ill-tempered draw with Uruguay, after which Ferguson took aim at an entire nation: “It’s a shambles. It is not just a part of football, it’s the whole bloody attitude of the nation. They’ve got no respect for people’s dignity. It’s a disgrace what they did, and turns the game into a complete farce.”

After the World Cup, Andy Roxburgh took over the national team job, while Ferguson departed Aberdeen for Manchester United early in the following season. When he was offered the chance to take on dual club and internationals, in 2009, Ferguson didn’t fancy it.

Rinus Michels (Barcelona and Netherlands) If Ferguson isn’t the best ever, plenty would point to Michels, the father of total football, as the managerial GOAT. Here’s why.

After winning three European Cups with Ajax, in 1971, Michels moved to Barcelona where he was later joined by Johan Cruyff. Together they won the La Liga title in 1973/74, around the time they were took their show to the international stage too.

Michels was appointed as Holland boss in March 1974, just prior to the World Cup in West Germany, where the Oranje turned on the style. They reached the final against the hosts, knocking out Argentina and holders Brazil, scoring 14 goals and conceding just once on the way.

Michels’ first defeat as Holland boss came in the final. He stepped away from the Holland job immediately afterwards for his last year at the Nou Camp, only to return to the national team three more times, winning Euro ’88.

Guus Hiddink (PSV Eindhoven and Australia/Chelsea and Russia) Roman Abramovich’s favourite firefighter twice managed a club and a country simultaneously.

First, in 2005 and 2006, he split his time between PSV Eindhoven and Australia. Shortly after becoming the most successful coach in the Eredivisie by winning his fifth title, the Socceroos came calling and, knowing they might struggle to tempt a coach of Hiddink’s calibre outright, they allowed him to continue in Eindhoven.

While winning a sixth Dutch title, Hiddink got Australia through to the World Cup finals for the first time in 32 years and once in Germany, they reached the knockout stages, where they were beaten by eventual winners Italy. That was enough for Hiddink, who stepped down from both roles in summer 2006.

It had already been decided that Hiddink would boss Russia and almost three years into that gig, in February 2009, Chelsea called on him to hold the fort after Luiz Felipe Scolari’s sacking. He lost only one game as Blues boss, taking them to the Champions League semi-finals while winning the 2009 FA Cup.

Despite a clamour to appoint Hiddink as permanent boss at Chelsea, he remained loyal to Russia. But he was out of that job a year later at the end of his contract after losing a play-off to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

Leonid Slutsky (CSKA Moscow and Russia) Russia later relied on another job-sharing arrangement when they sought a replacement for Fabio Capello when the Italian was sacked in 2015, three years before the end of his contract.

Capello departed after poor results had left Russia languishing outside the automatic qualification places for Euro 2016. Slutsky was one of a number of coaches considered who were already working for clubs in the domestic top flight. The CSKA Moscow boss was appointed by Russia in August 2015 on a deal only until the end of the qualifying campaign.

But Slutsky inspired Russia to win their remaining qualifiers and reach the finals, which saw him extend the dual-role arrangement. In the meantime, he guided CSKA to his third title in four years – but it soon went south for Slutsky.

He packed in the national team job after Russia tanked at the Euros and before the end of 2016, he walked away from CSKA too, turning up six months later at Hull.

Fatih Terim (Galatasaray and Turkey) Terim managed Galatasaray four times and had three stints in charge of Turkey. So it was inevitable that the two would conflict somewhere.

The overlap came in 2013, towards the end of his third Galatasaray rein and upon the start of his final spell in charge of his national team. In August, Terim agreed a 12-month deal to satisfy two paymasters. “I would like to thank the Turkish Football Federation for the faith they have shown in me and for allowing me to carry on at Galatasaray,” he said. “You can’t escape the responsibility of leading your country.”

But it wasn’t long before he had that sole focus. After winning a record 19th title the previous season, Galatasaray started 2013/14 with a win and three draws from four games. The axe fell in September, but the club pinned the parting on Terim’s refusal to accept a renewal on the contract that was due to expire the following summer.

That allowed Terim to extend his term with Turkey, which ended in 2017. At which point he returned, obviously, to Galatasaray.