So many people have wondered if a former athlete can turn out to be a good coach. Well, the answer is a resounding, MAYBE. The fact remains that just because a player was good at football doesn’t ever mean he will be an excellent manager. This article will show you five individuals who should have never have stepped out of their playing boots and into the dugout. They are the five great players who flopped as coaches. Recently, former Arsenal star player, Thierry Henry was sacked as Monaco’s coach.

Of course, some good players became successful coaches, such as Zidane during his incredible stint at Real Madrid, Guardiola who had a fabulous time at FC Barcelona, and Neil Harris at Millwall.

But in most cases, the great players failed as coaches, and you will get once find out 5 of them.

5 Great Football Players Who Flopped As Coaches

5. Sir Bobby Charlton

Bobby Charlton was arguably one of the greatest players in England. He was lauded as the best midfielder in English football.

When he was playing, the former Manchester United forward helped the United to European Cup success.

He even won the World Cup and Ballon D’Or in 1966. Then Bobby Charlton became the coach of Preston North End in 1973. In his first season at the club, they were relegated.

4. Tony Adams

The super captain won multiple titles with Arsenal. Tony Adams was a great footballer and leader on the pitch. Thus it seemed like he was the perfect footballer to enter into coaching. During his time as a player, he was an exceptional leader and solid centre-back.

Adams began his coaching career in League One with Wycombe Wanderers. Subsequently, the team were relegated to the English League Two. He moved to Portsmouth managed just 16 games with them. Finally, his last absurd job was at Spain with Granada,. He was named as Granada’s coach on April 2017, The team were struggling with relegation at that time. At the end of the season, Tony Adams-led Granada were relegated from the first tier of Spanish football. That relegation ended their 8-year stay in La Liga. Adams had lost all his 7 games as Granada manager and was sacked.

3. Gary Neville

Gary Neville was undoubtedly one of the greatest right-backs in Premier League. Gary Neville is a Manchester United legend. He spent a lot of time with Manchester United greatest coach, Sir Alex Ferguson. Immediately, after his retirement as a footballer, he became a football pundit and match analyst.

Thus, it was no surprise that he joined his former teammates in the world of football coaching.

Nonetheless, Neville stated out in the England national team backroom staff as a member of the technical team. He soon quit his role in the England national team backroom staff to take become the manager at Valencia, where his brother Phil was already a coach.

Neville’s coaching career at Valencia lasted for just four months. During that time he won only three games as Los Che were nearly relegated.

YOU SHOULD ALSO READ: 5 Good Strikers Who Flopped At Chelsea

2. Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer is considered one of the greatest players to ever play in the English Premier League. He is the all-time Premier League top goalscorer.

He was announced as Newcastle manager in 2009. That year, the Magpies were involved in a tough relegation battle, and they turned to their legendary striker, Alan Shearer to guide them out of the
drop zone.

However, former England striker was able to muster just five points in this time arthritis club. The Tyneside club was relegated out of the English top flight. That was Alan Shearer’s only stint as a football manager.

1. Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona was one the greatest footballer of his time. The World Cup winner had a splendid football career, he won trophies and broke records. He even captained the Argentinian team.

However, Maradona’s career has been a far different story. In 1994, he began his coaching career with Mandiyú de Corrientes, and Racing Club was his had very little success and was even sacked. He led the Argentinian national team to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and crashed out embarrassingly.

By May 2011, he was appointed as manager of Dubai club Al Wasl FC in the United Arab Emirates. Unsurprisingly, Diego Maradona was sacked on July 2012.

In 2017, Maradona became the head coach of Fujairah, a club in the UAE second division. However, he left at the end of the season due to his failure to secure promotion at the club.

Diego Maradona is currently the manager of Mexican second division side Dorados, a position he has held since September 2018.

As you can see, many great footballers flopped as coaches. Right now they many former players who just began their coaching career. Former players such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gennaro Gattuso, Santiago Solari and Filipe Inzaghi.