Strikers who became great managers

Dans

Correctly predicted Portugal to win Euro 2016
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Obviously this is related to OGS somewhat but I was trying to think of strikers who became great managers....... And off the top of my head I couldn't think of too many. I was a striker, I was an instinctive player.....I scored goals but was never one for tactics and strategy. Now I may not be representative of most strikers but I'll bet there are many like me. So who's been an unqualified success as a manager after banging in the goals during his career?


Perhaps Dalglish?
 
I think klopp was a striker that turned rb.
 
SAF
Clough
Dalglish
Jupp Heynckes
Mancini
Klopp
Cruyff (didn't he play all attacking positions?)
Ottmar Hitzfeld
 
Fergie, Clough, Michels, Lattek... I don't think that Heynckes or Lobanovski should count as they were forwards, not really strikers (even though Heynckes was ridiculously productive). Anyway, projecting your own experience as a player onto those who have achieved true greatness is hardly a good idea.

The most productive position was probably a central midfielder — off the top of my head Guardiola, Busby, Ancelotti, Shankly, Paisley, Happel, van Gaal etc.
 
roonster09 said:
Cruyff (didn't he play all attacking positions?)
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roonster09 said:
Dalglish
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Considering the premise (scoring goals & not thinking too much) I doubt that any forwards/second strikers should qualify. So, no.

Heynckes can probably get in, considering that his sole purpose was scoring goals even though he rarely played as a real number 9.

JPRouve said:
Lobanovskyi.
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Certainly not. Showboating left winger/wing-forward who was more concerned with looking good, scoring directly from corners and all of that stuff. Basically, the absolute opposite of an archetypical Lobanovskyi's player — he himself stated multiple times that if he had managed his younger self, he would've benched/sold him immediately :lol:
 
harms said:
Certainly not. Showboating left winger/wing-forward who was more concerned with looking good, scoring directly from corners and all of that stuff. Basically, the absolute opposite of an archetypical Lobanovskyi's player — he himself stated multiple times that if he had managed his younger self, he would've benched/sold him immediately :lol:
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I think I missed the context here but to my defense I have considering forwards more than strikers since the OP mentioned instinctive players. :angel:
 
Dans said:
Obviously this is related to OGS somewhat but I was trying to think of strikers who became great managers....... And off the top of my head I couldn't think of too many. I was a striker, I was an instinctive player.....I scored goals but was never one for tactics and strategy. Now I may not be representative of most strikers but I'll bet there are many like me. So who's been an unqualified success as a manager after banging in the goals during his career?


Perhaps Dalglish?
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Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Kenneth Dalglish, Brian Clough, Bobby Robson, Luis Aragones, Herbert Chapman, Jupp Heynckes, Udo Lattek, Jurgen Klopp (though he switched), Mario Zagallo, Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Nereo Rocco, Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff……
 
NasirTimothy said:
Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Kenneth Dalglish, Brian Clough, Bobby Robson, Luis Aragones, Herbert Chapman, Jupp Heynckes, Udo Lattek, Jurgen Klopp (though he switched), Mario Zagallo, Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Nereo Rocco, Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff……
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That's a very loose definition of a striker right there.
 
Sepp Herberger, Helmut Schön and César Luis Menotti all won The World Cup as a manager after a playing career as a striker.
 
harms said:
Considering the premise (scoring goals & not thinking too much) I doubt that any forwards/second strikers should qualify. So, no.

Heynckes can probably get in, considering that his sole purpose was scoring goals even though he rarely played as a real number 9.
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So we are narrowing it down to poacher role?

All these players played way before I was born, so I have no idea how they played.
 
harms said:
That's a very loose definition of a striker right there.
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There aren't many great managers as is so tightening the definition to only goal poachers wouldn't be fair.

Also at the highest level every player knows about tactics. OP comparing his Sunday league loitering around the goal to a professional striker is ridiculous
 
harms said:
Considering the premise (scoring goals & not thinking too much) I doubt that any forwards/second strikers should qualify. So, no.

Heynckes can probably get in, considering that his sole purpose was scoring goals even though he rarely played as a real number 9.


Certainly not. Showboating left winger/wing-forward who was more concerned with looking good, scoring directly from corners and all of that stuff. Basically, the absolute opposite of an archetypical Lobanovskyi's player — he himself stated multiple times that if he had managed his younger self, he would've benched/sold him immediately :lol:
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No need to waste time with these uneducated plebs, we already have a readymade database to define what constitutes as a striker.

http://xtraimmortal.blogspot.com/2014/02/The9x100.html
 
NasirTimothy said:
Which one?
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Zagallo was a left winger (first — an outside left in a front five then a left winger in a 4-2-4 and his latest role was even resembling a one of a left midfielder in a 4-3-3).
Lobanovsky was a left winger/left forward who only once in his career scored more than 10 goals in one season.
Rocco was a winger.
Cruyff was usually interchanging between the roles of attacking midfielder, false 9 and left wing-forward — again, hardly a striker in a traditional sense of the word.
Dalglish usually played paired with a striker like Rush, dropping deeper and performing like a number 10 of sorts, but I may give you this one.
Heynckes usually played wider but he was so focused on scoring goals that I won't argue about him.

Not every player who had played ahead of central midfield is a striker, that's my general point.
 
shamans said:
There aren't many great managers as is so tightening the definition to only goal poachers wouldn't be fair.
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That was the point that OP was trying to make though, so it's weird to change the criteria that he had put forward — and there are already enough examples (including 2 managers who can realistically claim the top spot in any all-time managers list in Ferguson and Michels) to prove his point wrong.
 
harms said:
Considering the premise (scoring goals & not thinking too much)
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Is that the premise though? Brainless lump upfront? Somehow turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy. The OP himself suggest Dalglish as an option.

Also, does that describe Ole accurately?
 
antohan said:
Is that the premise though? Brainless lump upfront? Somehow turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy. The OP himself suggest Dalglish as an option.

Also, does that describe Ole accurately?
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Dans said:
I was a striker, I was an instinctive player.....I scored goals but was never one for tactics and strategy. Now I may not be representative of most strikers but I'll bet there are many like me. So who's been an unqualified success as a manager after banging in the goals during his career?
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I figured that it was. Maybe it wasn't, of course.
 
It's probably the most illustrious positional group after central/defensive midfielders and centerbacks, methinks.
  • Alex Ferguson: best manager of all time.
  • Rinus Michels: second best manager of all time by several measures.
  • Brian Clough: best English manager of all time.
  • Udo Lattek: excelled with West Germany, Bayern and Mönchengladbach.
  • Guillermo Stábile: most Copa América titles to date.
  • Sepp Herberger: World Cup winner with West Germany.
Not too shabby, especially considering most teams have traditionally deployed only one ‟striker” in a given XI throughout football history — vs. multiple central-ish midfielders, centerbacks, wingers and fullbacks; so they have their work cut out from a pure volume standpoint. :)
 
harms said:
Zagallo was a left winger (first — an outside left in a front five then a left winger in a 4-2-4 and his latest role was even resembling a one of a left midfielder in a 4-3-3).
Lobanovsky was a left winger/left forward who only once in his career scored more than 10 goals in one season.
Rocco was a winger.
Cruyff was usually interchanging between the roles of attacking midfielder, false 9 and left wing-forward — again, hardly a striker in a traditional sense of the word.
Dalglish usually played paired with a striker like Rush, dropping deeper and performing like a number 10 of sorts, but I may give you this one.
Heynckes usually played wider but he was so focused on scoring goals that I won't argue about him.

Not every player who had played ahead of central midfield is a striker, that's my general point.
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I was listing forwards because I though the general point of the thread is the supposition that they don’t think and therefore can’t be good managers. Are we just talking about out and out goal-getters?

I mean, are wingers deemed to be thinkers who see the whole pitch?
 
KiD MoYeS said:
A more interesting thread would be goalkeepers who became great managers.
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That's certainly an interesting talking point. Although there are so few of them around, especially at the top level, so this may come down to math. Nuno & Cherchesov are among those who are somewhat recognizable names in the management in the moment, but I can't think of any all-time greats that fit the description. Dino Zoff is probably the highest-profile goalkeeper to have a successful managerial career but he really comes up short when you compare him to the big names.
 
antohan said:
Is that the premise though? Brainless lump upfront? Somehow turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy. The OP himself suggest Dalglish as an option.

Also, does that describe Ole accurately?
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I'm reading that there's a distinction between a striker like @Dans who singularly focused on scoring goals - a no9 who typically plays off the shoulder and comes alive in the opposition penalty box - compared with an all-round forward like Dalglish, Mancini or Cruyff who had to bring others into play and owed much of their genius to their vision and anticipation of different phases of the game.

I agree with the principles though that:
  • players who only participated in part of the game have a weaker grounding for management, especially when compared with the central midfielders who were never far from the action
  • players who were big on communication, hard work and organisation - be it through their role or style - gain a stronger preparation for management.
Not sure if the premise stacks up here though - the likes of Clough, Ferguson, Lattek and Heynckes scored so heavily yet comprise a substantial proportion of the greatest managers of all time.
 
KiD MoYeS said:
I guess most of them become goalkeeper coaches. Nuno and there was some Russian guy who had relative success are the only two I can think of.
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Yes, probably just due to the fact that they won’t be seen as the best candidates to manage a team due to the fact that their skill set as players is so different from the 10 outfield positions.
 
KiD MoYeS said:
A more interesting thread would be goalkeepers who became great managers.
Click to expand...
KiD MoYeS said:
I guess most of them become goalkeeper coaches. Nuno and there was some Russian guy who had relative success are the only two I can think of.
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Goethals started his football career as a goalkeeper for Daring Brussels, rising through the youth ranks of the Belgian outfit, he remained at the club until 1947. He then moved to Racing Club Brussels and played for two more clubs – Hannutois and Renaisienne – before hanging his playing boots.

Goethals will foremost be remembered for being the first ever manager – and so far the only one – to have guided a French club to the European Cup. His success at Anderlecht and Standard Liege as well as with the Belgium national team cannot be understated but it is fair to say that Goethals’ European success with Marseille will always be foremost when his legacy is discussed.

Anderlecht
European Cup Winners’ Cup: 1977–78
European Super Cup: 1976, 1978
Belgian Cup: 1988–89

Standard Liege
Belgian First Division: 1981–82, 1982–83
Belgian Super Cup: 1981, 1983

Marseille
French Division 1: 1990–91, 1991–92
UEFA Champions League: 1992–93
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Portrait of an iconic manager – Raymond Goethals.
 
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