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It is a norm rather than an oddity for players to return to their former clubs to take up managerial roles nowadays.
And the track record for former players taking over the responsibilities of a gaffer has been propitious. Famous personalities like Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and in the recent years Antonio Conte and Zinedine Zidane have shown that former players are more than up to the task of leading the club from the sidelines as well.
In professional football, there is no bigger honour for a player than being named as the head coach of the very club where he developed his instincts, honed his skills and turned from a mere youth prospect into a future star.
Seldom does any player gets the opportunity to commence his journey as a manager, at the same club where he made his professional debut.
With the recent appointment of Thierry Henry at the helm of affairs at his youth club AS Monaco, here we take a look at the 4 footballers who made their professional debut and managerial debut with the same club.
#4 Jupp Heynckes
Josef "Jupp" Heynckes, who is quite well known for his managerial stints with Bayern Munich, made his debut as a player and a manager in the Bundesliga, but not with the Bavarians.
It was his hometown club Borussia Monchengladbach, with whom he would go on to take the first steps into his professional career first as a player in 1964 and then as a manager in 1979.
He was an excellent striker who won the Bundesliga title 4 times with his hometown club and would go on to become the third highest goalscorer in Bundesliga history with 220 goals.
After announcing his retirement he stayed with the club, initially working as an assistant manager and then after one year made his professional managerial debut for the club.
Though he didn't have the same kind of success during his time as the manager of the club as he had as a player, the experience that he gained at his hometown club would prove as a stepping stone for the two-time Champions League winning manager.
#3 Fernando Santos
We all know that the current Portugal head coach Fernando Santos, led Portugal to their first-ever major international triumph at the EURO 2016.
But, what most of us didn't know about the Portuguese is that he made his debut as a defender for Estoril in 1973. He would go on to have a very modest career with the club representing them in 156 games and scoring 3 goals in the process.
Having spent a total of 13 seasons at the club, he took up the job of assistant manager immediately after his retirement in 1987. In 1988 his youth club honoured him by offering him role of the head coach. After 3 seasons at the club, he helped them return to the Portuguese top flight.
After a fair stint as the manager at Estoril, he joined Portuguese giants Porto and finally won the league title with the Dragões in 1998-99 season.
#2 Pep Guardiola
The Catalan connection of Josep Guardiola is no secret. He was born in central Catalonia and joined La Masia when he was 13 years old.
He progressed through the ranks of Barcelona academy, having played for the C and B teams before making it into the main team to play under the legendary Johan Cruyff.
He left his childhood club after 15 years as a captain in 2001. But he would soon return to the Camp Nou, making his managerial debut as the manager of the Barcelona B team in 2007.
Within a year he had proved himself to be the perfect replacement for the departing Frank Rijkaard and was appointed as the head coach of Barcelona first team in 2008.
And the full circle of football was complete when he won the La Liga title in his first season in-charge at the helm of his childhood club.
#1 Johan Cruyff
One of the greatest footballers ever, both on and off the pitch, Johan Cruyff can be described as one of the most influential footballers the world has ever seen.
He was one of the only few footballers whose achievements as a player were matched by his achievements as a manager. The dictum that legendary players do not usually make great coaches did not apply to Cruyff.
He was the product of the Ajax youth academy and made his professional debut for the club at the age of just 17 years in 1964. And this is the club where he would learn all the tricks of his trade and earn a reputation for himself as the biggest player in Europe.
In his illustrious career in which he would help Barcelona secure first league title since 1960, he would go on to win 24 major trophies and become of the most decorated Dutch player of all times.
After few spells in the US, Spain he returned back home and announced his retirement in 1984. In the very next season, he reunited with his childhood club by becoming their head coach for the 1985 season.
He was already a legend by the time he retired, but he was not done yet and would go on to have an equally astounding managerial career with his former clubs Ajax and Barcelona.
