It’s not uncommon in this day and age to find brothers who are both footballers. In fact there are even brothers who play football for different countries.
What is not so common is to find brothers who both decide to pursue a coaching career in football.
However, there are indeed brothers who have not only shared their passion for the beautiful game but have also taken on the challenge of coaching.
Here are nine soccer coaches who are also brothers.
1. Gary & Phillip Neville
The two siblings were former professional footballers who played together for many years in the colours of English giants Manchester United.
Soon after their playing careers, both ventured into managerial football. Gary initially started out as a TV pundit.
In 2012 he was named assistant manager for the England national team till 2016.
During this time, he was appointed manager of Spanish side Valencia in December of 2015, where he endured a torrid 4 months before being sacked in March the following year after a string of poor results.
His brother, Phil Neville enjoyed a relatively more successful coaching career. Phil’s first coaching gigs were assistant roles with the England under-20 national teams and Manchester United in the early 2010s.
In 2015 he was briefly in charge of Valencia in a caretaker role before the appointment of his brother Gary.
Phil was later appointed the manager of the England female senior national team and guided them to 4th place finish at the 2019 FIFA Female World Cup.
On 18 January 2021, Phil Neville was became the head coach of Inter Miami, and currently their coach.
Phil Neville joined John Herdman’s staff for Canada’s 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Final and Gold Cup shortly after leaving Miami.
However, on November 6, 2023, he was appointed head coach of the Portland Timbers in the MLS.
2. Frank & Ronald de Boer
The twin brothers featured for the Dutch national team and club side Ajax Amsterdam during their playing career. The siblings later went into coaching.
Frank’s first and most successful stint was with hometown club Ajax, with whom he guided to 4 Dutch league titles.
He would later have brief stays at Inter Milan and Crystal Palace in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Frank later coached MLS side Atlanta United before handling the Netherlands national team.
Frank de Boer became head coach of Atlanta United on December 23, 2018, winning the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup in his first season.
He left the club by mutual agreement on July 24, 2020, after poor performance in the MLS is Back Tournament.
On September 23, 2020, he was appointed manager of the Netherlands national team but was dismissed on June 29, 2021, following a disappointing Euro 2020.
De Boer then coached Al Jazira starting June 5, 2023, but was sacked on December 11, 2023, after poor results.
His brother Ronald De Boer hasn’t had much coaching experience as he has only been in assistant roles with Qatar under-23s and Ajax youth teams. He currently works as the Ajax A1 assistant manager.
3. Fabio & Paolo Cannavaro
The Cannavaro brothers had contrasting fortunes in their football careers, with Fabio being the more successful one. They both ventured into coaching after their retirement from football.
Fabio has handled a lot of sides since 2013, which include Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr, and many of the top Chinese football clubs such as, Guangzhou Evergrande, Tianjin Quanjian and the Chinese men’s national team.
Fabio Cannavaro became head coach of Serie B club Benevento on September 21, 2022, but was sacked on February 4, 2023, due to poor performance.
He then managed Udinese starting April 22, 2024, and helped them avoid relegation with a crucial win against Frosinone. Shortly after, Udinese announced his departure.
His younger brother Paolo Cannavaro was an assistant manager at the Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande between 2018-2021.
He stayed with his brother Fabio at Guangzhou until resigning in September 2021.
He then served as Fabio Cannavaro’s assistant at Benevento from September 2022 to February 2023 and at Udinese later in the 2023–24 season.
However, on June 29, 2024, Cannavaro became the head coach of Serie C club Pro Vercelli.
4. Filippo & Simeone Inzaghi
The Inzaghi brothers enjoyed very fruitful football careers before deciding to go into coaching.
Filippo has managed many Italian club sides like AC Milan, Venezia, Bologna, Benevento, and Brescia since he started his managerial career in 2012.
On July 12, 2022, Filippo Inzaghi was appointed manager of Reggina in Serie B. After leading them to the promotion playoffs, he and the entire staff were released due to the club’s financial issues before the 2023–24 season.
On October 10, 2023, he became the manager of Salernitana but was sacked on February 11, 2024.
Inzaghi is currently the manager of Serie B club Pisa.
However, his younger brother Simeone Inzaghi has so far achieved more managerial success guiding Lazio and Inter Milan to Italian Coppa Italia titles.
Simeone Inzaghi was even named the Serie A coach of the month on December 2021.
In his second season, Simone Inzaghi led Inter to the Supercoppa Italiana and Coppa Italia titles.
He also guided them to their first Champions League Final in 13 years, defeating A.C. Milan 3–0 on aggregate in the semi-finals, but lost 1–0 to Manchester City in the final. However, he extended his contract with Inter until 2025.
Inzaghi placed third in the 2023 Best FIFA Men’s Coach award. He then won the 2023/24 Serie A title with Inter on April 22, 2024, after a 2–1 victory in the Milan Derby.
5. Erwin & Ronald Koeman
The Koeman brothers are both former internationals of the Dutch national team.
They are also well-known coaches who have managed various teams over the course of their careers, including club sides and national teams.
Erwin has managed many Dutch sides like Feyenoord, Utrecht, Eindhoven, RKC Waalwijk, and Beitar Jerusalem in the Israeli Premier League.
He has also handled the national teams of Hungary and Oman.
Erwin Koeman retired from coaching in December 2021, it was has revealed that Erwin Koeman joined Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands staff as an assistant coach after the 2022 World Cup.
Ronald Koeman is the slightly more successful and better-known manager of the two.
He has managed various clubs across Europe in England, Spain, and Holland.
The Dutchman has managed Ajax, Vitesse, Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, Valencia, AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord, Southampton, Everton, and the Netherlands national team.
He led the Netherlands to a runner-up finish in the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League
His last appointment was as the manager of FC Barcelona, and he returned as the coach of the Dutch national team after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, when Louis van Gaal retired.
He led the Dutch national team to the UEFA European Championship and exited in the semi-finals.
Ronald Koeman’s managerial trophies include two Eredivisie titles (2001/02, 2003/04), a KNVB Cup (2001/02), and a Johan Cruyff Shield (2002) with Ajax; a Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (2005) with Benfica; an Eredivisie title (2006/07) with PSV; a Copa del Rey (2007/08) with Valencia; a Johan Cruyff Shield (2009) with AZ; and a Copa del Rey (2020/21) with Barcelona.
6. Murat and Hakan Yakin
Murat and Hakan Yakin are another set of soccer coaches who are brothers.
They were both born in Switzerland to Turkish parents and both enjoyed a successful career playing soccer before becoming coaches.
Murat Yakin, who is the older bother, spent most of his playing career at Basel, serving as captain and leading the team to domestic and European success. He earned 49 caps for Switzerland and played in UEFA Euro 2004.
As a coach, he led Thun to promotion in 2010 and managed Luzern, Basel, Spartak Moscow, and Schaffhausen.
Appointed as Switzerland’s national team manager in 2021, he guided them to the 2022 World Cup and the round of 16 in UEFA Euro 2024, including a notable victory over Italy before losing to England in the quarterfinals.
His younger brother Hakan Yakin earned 87 caps for Switzerland, participating in UEFA Euro 2004, UEFA Euro 2008, and the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups.
He joined his brother Murat as an assistant coach at Schaffhausen in 2019 and briefly served as caretaker manager in 2021.
As head coach, he led Schaffhausen to a second-place finish in the 2021–22 Swiss Challenge League but missed out on promotion.
Confirmed as head coach in June 2022, he stepped down in May 2023 after a season of middling results, with the club deciding not to renew his contract.
7. Yaya and Kolo Touré
Yaya and Kolo Touré both started their career at ASEC Mimosas before heading over to Europe and dominating in their respective club careers.
Yaya, the younger bother, played for clubs like Barcelona and Manchester City, where he was instrumental in winning multiple titles, including City’s first league title in 44 years. He earned 100 caps for Ivory Coast, winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015.
Post-retirement, Yaya has held coaching roles at Olimpik Donetsk, Akhmat Grozny, and Tottenham Hotspur’s academy. He also briefly coached at Belgian club Standard Liège as assistant manager
He is currently an assistant coach to Roberto Mancini for the Saudi Arabia national team.
Kolo Touré, the older of the brothers also had significant stints as a soccer player at Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool, winning league titles and the Scottish Premiership with Celtic. He earned 120 caps for Ivory Coast and won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015.
Kolo moved into coaching after his retirement from soccer.
In August 2017, Kolo Touré joined the Ivorian Football Federation’s coaching staff.
He later moved to Celtic as a technical assistant in September 2017 and then to Leicester City in February 2019 as a first-team coach.
On November 29, 2022, Touré was appointed manager of Wigan Athletic, but was sacked on January 26, 2023, after a winless run left the club at the bottom of the Championship.
8. Vasili and Aleksei Berezutski
Meet soccer coaches who are not just brothers, but twins: Vasili and Aleksei Berezutski.
Vasili Berezutski is currently a first-team coach at Shanghai Shenhua. He began his career at 17 with Torpedo Moscow and earned 100 caps for the Russia national team.
After retiring in 2018, he joined Vitesse as an assistant coach with his twin brother Aleksei. They later returned to CSKA Moscow, and Vasili followed coach Viktor Goncharenko to FC Krasnodar in 2021.
After a brief return to CSKA, he moved to Shanghai Shenhua in early 2024 to become an assistant coach.
Did you know that both Vasili and Aleksei Berezutski retired from playing soccer on the same day? July 21, 2018.
Aleksei Berezutski spent most his club career at CSKA Moscow and the Russian national team.
Aleksei Berezutski joined Vitesse as an assistant coach with his twin brother Vasili in January 2019.
In February 2021, he returned to CSKA Moscow to assist Viktor Goncharenko, but after Goncharenko left, Aleksei became CSKA’s caretaker manager in June 2021 and was confirmed as head coach in July.
He was named Russian Premier League’s coach of the month in March 2022 but left CSKA in June 2022. Aleksei returned to CSKA as an assistant manager to Marko Nikolić in June 2024.
9. Lars and Sven Bender
Lars and Sven Bender are another set of twins are soccer coaches. The former German soccer players even played in the same position.
The Bender brothers enjoyed relativity soccer playing careers and both retired recently. They are also just beginning their managerial career.
Lars Bender began his professional career with 1860 Munich, making his debut at 17 and becoming the youngest captain in the club’s history.
He moved to Bayer Leverkusen in 2009, where he played 256 Bundesliga matches, scored key goals, and served as team captain.
Despite injury struggles, he remained a crucial player until his retirement at the end of the 2020/21 season.
Bender’s final professional match was on May 22, 2021, where he scored a penalty in a 3-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund. He also was a part of the Germany Olympic football team that won the silver medal in 2016.
In June 2022, the German Football Association named Lars Bender as the new assistant coach for the German U-15 national team.
Sven Bender, on the other hand, also began his career with 1860 Munich before moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2009, where he won two national championships and the DFB-Pokal.
He joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2017 to reunite with his brother Lars. Both retired after the 2020/21 season.
In June 2022, Sven became the assistant coach for the Germany U-16 national team and then moved to the U-17 team in summer 2023.
On December 29, 2023, he left the German Football Association and, along with Nuri Şahin, was appointed assistant manager to Edin Terzić at Borussia Dortmund, starting January 1, 2024.
