When Chelsea open their season against Manchester United in August, Frank Lampard will become the latest man to both play for and manage the same Premier League club.
In total, 35 permanent or caretaker managers have preceded the new Chelsea head coach in this achievement.
Indeed, Lampard's first match in charge at Chelsea will pit him against one of the most recent managers to do so, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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Chelsea lead the way
Lampard is also not the first Chelsea manager to have featured as a player for the club. In fact, the Blues have given the most managerial opportunities to former players.
Lampard follows in the footsteps of four others: Glenn Hoddle, Ruud Gullit, Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Di Matteo.
And encouragingly for Lampard, all but one won silverware in their first season at Stamford Bridge.
First title-winner?
However, none of the 35 have claimed the Premier League title, offering Lampard the chance to emulate an honour he claimed three times as a Chelsea player.
The former player with the best record as manager is Tim Sherwood, who won just under 60 per cent of his matches in charge of a Tottenham Hotspur side for whom he made 93 Premier League appearances.
Best winning records for ex-players
Manager | Club | Matches | PL win % as manager |
---|---|---|---|
Tim Sherwood | TOT | 22 | 59.1 |
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | MUN | 21 | 57.1 |
Roberto Di Matteo | CHE | 23 | 52.2 |
David O'Leary | LEE | 145 | 51.7 |
Darren Moore | WBA | 6 | 50.0 |
Gordon Strachan, of Coventry City, took charge of the most matches of the club he played for in the Premier League, with 178.
Man Utd's Ryan Giggs made the most appearances as a player for a club he managed, with 632.
Only one man has managed two former clubs for whom he played in the Premier League. Mark Hughes wore the shirts of Blackburn Rovers and Southampton before standing in their dugouts.