The appointment of Thierry Henry as Monaco manager is still being felt across the footballing world.
An incredible footballer during his playing days, Henry remains as France’s all-time leading goalscorer, his appointment is another reminder of the changing landscape.
A perfect microcosm is UEFA’s major club tournaments, the Champions League and Europa League, everywhere you look there are players from his generation large and in charge.
Consequently, it’s possible to draw up a players-turned-managers XIs from those competitions.
Champions League
There’s only one place to start. Julen Lopetegui (Real Madrid) keeps goal in a Marcelo Bielsa inspired 3-3-3-1 system. In front of him is pass master Pep Guardiola (Man City), operating as the libero, with Marinos Ouzounidis (AEK Athens) and Mauricio Pochettino (Spurs) either side.
Ahead of them is an intriguing, if not combative, midfield consisting of Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid) – playing the deepest – Mark van Bommel (PSV) and Niko Kovač (Bayern Munich).
Providing the width are Sérgio Conceição (Porto) and Eusebio Di Francesco (Roma) both playing the dual role of winger and full-back. Expecting to bag the goals is, of course, Thierry Henry (Monaco) though he will be supported by the willing Carlo Ancelotti (Napoli) operating in the space behind.
Europa League
Between the sticks is arguably one of the greatest and Michel Preud’homme (Standard Liège) has got a back-four ahead of him. Pablo Machín (Sevilla) and Ludovic Magnin (FC Zürich) are the capable full-backs with Philippe Clement (Genk) and Ricardo Gomes (Bordeaux) sandwiched between them.
Utilising a diamond midfield allows Phillip Cocu (Fenerbahçe) to dictate proceedings in the ‘number six’ role. He’s got capable support in the guise of two-time European Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso (Milan) and Sabri Lamouchi (Rennes) with Steven Gerrard (Rangers) playing just off the centre-forwards.
And it’s a respectable pairing we’ve got here with Simone Inzaghi (Lazio) alongside former Manchester City striker Uwe Rösler (Malmö).
The post Best XI of players-turned-managers in this season’s Champions League and Europa League appeared first on Squawka News.
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