Few eyebrows are raised when a player returns to a former club, as it is often seen as a homecoming of sorts or a show of real commitment and love for a team.
But you rarely see a manager return for a second time unless they are reviving the fortunes of a club they enjoyed great success at. We have seen that in the last few weeks and here are some tacticians who were convinced to give things another go.
Neil Lennon (Celtic)
Returning to Celtic two weeks ago after Brendan Rodgers left for Leicester City, Lennon said that it was “an honour” to manage the club for a second time. The Northern Irish manager won five Scottish Premiership titles during his first spell in charge, before quitting. His life away from the pitch often grabbed the media’s eye, and at times clouded his success. But with Celtic going for a ‘triple treble’ this season, those difficulties could well be quickly forgotten.
Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
After winning the Champions League with Porto in May 2004, all eyes were on the ‘Special One’ when he took the Stamford Bridge reins the following month. Bankrolled by a sizeable Roman Abramovich chequebook, Mourinho went on to deliver his promise of trophies -earning back-to-back Premier League crowns, ending the club’s barren 50-year run without a title in the process. Frosty relations with the owner saw him leave the club at the start of the 2007/08 season. His return to the club six years later rose expectations of further success, and again Mourinho delivered the goods but things went south soon after, seeing him dismissed in December 2015.
Fabio Capello (Real Madrid)
Long before he became public enemy number one among England fans, Fabio Capello was one of the continent’s most revered football managers and his success in his native Italy prompted a move to the Bernabeu in 1996. He won the league title in that singular season as well as bringing in stars like Roberto Carlos. Inevitably though, the board sacked him due to personal disagreements. A decade later, he was back and charged with the task of ending Los Blancos’ four-year trophy drought. He succeeded, clinching La Liga on the final day, but his reign was again just that single season.
Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich)
Heynckes’ Bavarian love affair started in the late 1980s where he won two Bundesliga titles and reached three European semifinals, only to lose each time to the eventual winners. Yet, a poor start to the 1990/91 campaign prompted his dismissal -only for Heynckes to return almost two decades later. He helped turn around Bayern’s 2009/10 season by earning Champions League qualification, before taking the job on permanently two years later. A historic treble in 2013 looked like the perfect way to sign off, but he wasn’t done just yet. He returned one final time in October 2017 to steady the Bayern ship once more, winning 22 of his 26 matches in charge to retire with a fourth Bundesliga crown under his belt.
Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool)
King Kenny morphed from leader on the pitch to leader on the touchline when he became player-manager in the mid-1980s. Dalglish inspired the Reds to three First Division titles and two FA Cups, continuing on the good work established by legendary figures Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly. With the club in disarray following Roy Hodgson’s brief spell in charge, 20 years later, Dalglish stepped in to the breach -but unfortunately he was not able to bring the glory days back to Anfield.
Kevin Keegan (Newcastle)
‘King Kev’ took Newcastle United from the depths of the old Football League Division One (now the Championship) into the Premier League, transforming them into title challengers in just a few years. After winning the second tier of English football in his first full season, Keegan bought in the likes of Andy Cole and Rob Lee to challenge Manchester United, who had begun to dominate proceedings at the top of the English football pyramid. Upon his return though, all hell broke loose with owner Mike Ashley and he resigned less than a year into the jobGuus
Hiddink (Chelsea, PSV & Valencia)
The evergreen Dutch boss turned PSV into a giant of European football when he led them to a treble in 1988, a year after winning the league 10 matches into the job. His second spell saw him add three more Eredivisie titles (six in total with the club) as well as earning a Champions League semi-final appearance. At Valencia, he made no real headway, but his reputation in England was forged during two spells as Chelsea’s interim boss. His first one ended with an FA Cup win and a Champions League semi final exit. He returned six years later to fill the void left by Jose Mourinho.
Leonardo Jardim (Monaco)
Ligue 1 strugglers Monaco reappointed Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim in January to replace former Arsenal great Thierry Henry. Jardim, 44, led Monaco to the French league title as well as the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 2017, while departing from his duties last October following poor performance into this season. The club then hired old boy Henry but he failed to spearhead them out of crisis, leaving the club second from bottom on the table at the time of his dismissal.
Claudio Ranieri (AS Roma)
Roma appointed former coach and player Claudio Ranieri last week as their new coach until the end of the season. It marks a return to Roma for Ranieri, who almost led them to a domestic double during the 2009-10 campaign. The 67-year-old is vastly experienced, having worked at the likes of Juventus, Inter, Napoli, Fiorentina, Cagliari and the Giallorossi in his native Italy. He led Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2016 but was sacked by Fulham only a matter of weeks ago.
Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
There is only one place to start. Real Madrid
From the list, who is your favourite and why?