Successful 2nd spells at clubs

[FeedTheGoat]

How often does a returning manager/player actually come close to being as good in his second spell at a club in modern football? Feels like "return" stories always ends up underwhelming. Could be a topic for a thread on it's own actually

Something I have wanted to discuss for a fair bit. A saying in life is to "never go back" and I feel this is particulary a thing in football. It really is hard to actually name any player or manager in modern football that ever come close to having the same impact after coming back to the same club for a second spell in his career. There could be some obvious ones I forget obviously, and plenty have probably been more than solid enough hirings/signings but has there ever been a re-signing that has truly lived up to the expectations fans have when a hero comes back?

In recent memory Ancelotti at Madrid and Griezman at Atletico is some of the few I can recall actually really working out to the same level as before. Aspas at Celta Vigo? Zlatan at AC Milan? Bellamy at Liverpool was maybe better in his second spell but I might be scraping the barrell a bit with him.

Other than those I am really struggling to think of high-profile returns that didn't end up very underwhelming. Ronaldo at United is obviously a very prominent one where it didn't end well. For my club, I remember the fondness and excitement when a still relatively young Shaun Wright-Phillips came back but he were never close to be as good as he was the first time. Lukaku at Chelsea and Pogba at United I'm not sure even counts because of their limited play time in their first spell, but they will probably go in the failure category (mixed opinions about Pogba maybe). Dalglish second spell as Liverpool manager were poor

Have I forgotten some obvious ones?

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Ronaldo at United is one of the most successful examples of this. He was carrying the team at one point.

Bellamy at Liverpool is actually a good example although it didn’t last too long.

Crouch at Spurs is an example of a successful 2nd spell when nothing happened in the first spell. There’s probably a few like that, Pogba I guess as you mention.

Defoe at Spurs is one of the best examples. Billy Sharp at Sheffield Utd had successful 2nd and 3rd spells.

Heh, super successful, that one. Fairy tale ending too.

 

[Charlie Foley]

Mark Hughes surely

Diego Costa’s second spell at Atletico (was there first 07-09) though I don’t know if the first one was enough of an impact to qualify. Similarly Matic at Chelsea

Zaha at Crystal Palace

Hummels has been at both Bayern and Dortmund twice

Zlatan at Milan?

 

[Offside]

Heh, super successful, that one. Fairy tale ending too.

Just putting it out there. The way it ended and the fact he was a Ballon D’or winning serial league champion in his first spell makes people think it was a terrible thing. He was carrying us as I said.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Just putting it out there. The way it ended and the fact he was a Ballon D’or winning serial league champion in his first spell makes people think it was a terrible thing. He was carrying us as I said.

For a few games in the CL. It was a shit signing all in all. So successful we won nothing.

 

[led_scholes]

Carasco at Atletico. I think his first spell was better. But the second one was decent.

 

[Offside]

For a few games in the CL. It was a shit signing all in all. So successful we won nothing.

Is this what the thread is asking though? Otherwise let’s say Drogba’s 2nd spell at Chelsea is the best example where he won the league, despite scoring 20 less goals than Ronaldo did in his second spell at United.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Is this what the thread is asking though? Otherwise let’s say Drogba’s 2nd spell at Chelsea is the best example where he won the league, despite scoring 20 less goals than Ronaldo did in his second spell at United.

The Ronaldo signing was a mistake, ended badly and we won nothing. When you pay a player that much and it turns out that way - there’s no way it can be called “successful”.

 

[Abizzz]

Heynckes did alright.

 

[dazjoe]

Mark Hughes surely

Sparky's the absolute obvious one. Brilliant first time and even better the 2nd.

Beardsley was class for Newcastle when he went back in 1993.

Rush excellent again for Liverpool after his time in Italy.

Surely one of Coppell's stints at Palace was a success after his 1st time; he returned about 5 times.

Less known but Hearts all time record scorer John Robertson, scored 129 goals for Hearts, left for Newcastle for a brief spell, flopped, went back to Hearts and added another 142 goals for them.

 

[HTG]

Ze Roberto and Pizarro both did very well on their second spell with us.

 

[The Urban Goose]

Ronaldo at United is one of the most successful examples of this. He was carrying the team at one point.

good one!

Just putting it out there. The way it ended and the fact he was a Ballon D’or winning serial league champion in his first spell makes people think it was a terrible thing. He was carrying us as I said.

Oh, you're being serious...

 

[njred]

I would say Ian Rush. Came back and scored 90 goals.

 

[whitbyviking]

Juninho at Middlesbrough, actually never used to mind going to watch them a bit with the old fellar when he was playing. Think he actually had two successful returns, one might have been on loan and the other permanent. What a player he was!

 

[WeePat]

David Luiz.

 

[didz]

Guardiola, Xavi, and Luis Enrique all did okay in their 2nd spells at Barca. Fair enough they had to change jobs.

Daley Blind at Ajax hasn't been mentioned I don't think.

Edit: Pique at Barca. You could argue a case for Fabregas or even Delofeu too.

Edit 2: Pepe at Porto maybe? Definitely Wilfred Zaha for Palace too.

 

[Ole'sgunnarwin]

Ronaldo at United is one of the most successful examples of this. He was carrying the team at one point.

Bellamy at Liverpool is actually a good example although it didn’t last too long.

Crouch at Spurs is an example of a successful 2nd spell when nothing happened in the first spell. There’s probably a few like that, Pogba I guess as you mention.

Defoe at Spurs is one of the best examples. Billy Sharp at Sheffield Utd had successful 2nd and 3rd spells.

Yeah one of the best players ever coming back and being part of an absolute shitshow was very successful. He got a few goals but he was a disaster mainly because of his attitude.

 

[JJ12]

Just putting it out there. The way it ended and the fact he was a Ballon D’or winning serial league champion in his first spell makes people think it was a terrible thing. He was carrying us as I said.

He scored a couple of big goals he didn't carry us at all. He was fecking rubbish for the most part. Disaster.

 

[Oranges038]

Surely Roy Hodgson. Felt like he was at Palace about 15 times and only the last one was a bit of a failure.

Heynckes at Bayern
Ancelotti at Real
Mark Hughes at Utd
Moyes at West Ham

 

[Gio]

Walter Smith at Rangers. Returned for 4 seasons, reached the UEFA Cup Final in his first year back and then won 3 league titles and 5 cups. He was probably a better and more tactically astute manager second time round.

 

[Adz_99]

Moyes at West Ham.

Saved them from relegation and then won them a European cup. Their fans seem to hate him but he's turned them into a really solid PL side compared to how they were constantly flirting with relegation under other managers.

 

[AngeloHenriquez]

Scholes came out of retirement so effectively left and came back and was still very good?

 

[didz]

Veron didn't just have a successful 2nd spell at Estudiantes, he went and had a decent 3rd too.

 

[didz]

Also Bonucci at Juventus. Serie A must have a bunch come to think of it.

I'm starting to think that the main reason the thread exists is that we tend to remember when things go wrong before we remember when they go right.

 

[ROFLUTION]

Just putting it out there. The way it ended and the fact he was a Ballon D’or winning serial league champion in his first spell makes people think it was a terrible thing. He was carrying us as I said.

Okay, if if that's the lens you view football with then whatever examples you put forward to this thread is a bit dubious I'd say.

Carried us with a hattrick for one game maybe two, missed lots of sitters, made loads of drama, made a peak Bruno play worse, made the team play worse, made moral worse.

 

[saivet]

Zidane at Madrid too

 

[Offside]

Okay, if if that's the lens you view football with then whatever examples you put forward to this thread is a bit dubious I'd say.

Carried us with a hattrick for one game maybe two, missed lots of sitters, made loads of drama, made a peak Bruno play worse, made the team play worse, made moral worse.

Peak Bruno has been so good since Ronaldo left.

 

[AnotherLondonManc]

Context is quite important in cases like these. Normally, a team will only let a player go when their contributions drop off, or they've lost their form. When they return, they're not the same player anymore.

Alternatively, a team could accept a large bid, that player would go on to play through their prime elsewhere, and then return at the tail end of their career, when they're objectively not as good.

A lot of the players who failed when they returned to their old clubs were probably destined to fail wherever they went, and were simply poor signings dictated by nostalgia over logic.

 

[Glorio]

Is this what the thread is asking though? Otherwise let’s say Drogba’s 2nd spell at Chelsea is the best example where he won the league, despite scoring 20 less goals than Ronaldo did in his second spell at United.

It was an absolute car crash. The team regressed badly

 

[Offside]

It was an absolute car crash. The team regressed badly

I’m sure that fantastic side was held back by the only player who could put the ball in the net in the CL group stage. Ole’s ineptitude, Rashford’s can’t be fecked attitude, Bruno’s brainlessness, Cavani’s age and Greenwood’s antics had absolutely nothing to do with the regression.

 

[Herman Toothrot]

Just putting it out there. The way it ended and the fact he was a Ballon D’or winning serial league champion in his first spell makes people think it was a terrible thing. He was carrying us as I said.

On the other hand, some saw Ronaldo like a drowning man. Pulling anyone under if it meant his own survival.

 

[ROFLUTION]

Peak Bruno has been so good since Ronaldo left.

Well, he's been worse, but also not the overshadowing pivotal part of the team ever since Ronaldo came here. Hen or egg discussion.

 

[Glorio]

I’m sure that fantastic side was held back by the only player who could put the ball in the net in the CL group stage.

Yes - absolute top post. The team was held back and had to completely upend the way we played to accommodate an aging static egomaniac who refused to work out of possession and demanded every ball when we were in possession.

Sarcasm only works when I can be bothered to acknowledge it

 

[The Cat]

Jose's first season back at Chelsea?

*Edit looks like I was thinking of his 2nd season back*

 

[IRN-BRUno]

Eddie Howe at Bournemouth.

 

[top1whoisman]

Isn’t Di Maria doing well at Benfica this season?

 

[Frank Grimes]

Jonny Evans has come back and has us on the verge of qualifying for the Europa conference. Am I doing this right?

Seriously though Frank Rijkaard would be my shout.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Frank McAvennie managed to have second spells at three different clubs - St Mirren, Celtic and West Ham. None of them were particularly successful though.

As regards success stories, Bertie Auld returned to Celtic from Birmingham and was a key player in their European Cup winning team.

Bayern have fared well with returnees, with greats like Matthaus, Breitner and Effenberg all having strong second spells there.

 

[Red in STL]

Frank McAvennie managed to have second spells at three different clubs - St Mirren, Celtic and West Ham. None of them were particularly successful though.

As regards success stories, Bertie Auld returned to Celtic from Birmingham and was a key player in their European Cup winning team.

Bayern have fared well with returnees, with greats like Matthaus, Breitner and Effenberg all having strong second spells there.

You can probably count the fingers on your hands as to the number of posters on here who didn't have to Google him to know who he was!

 

[Iker Quesadillas]

Jesus Navas and Ivan Rakitic at Sevilla, Joaquin at Betis.