Legends who won Champions League as a player then manager

Sport360 staff 13:57 29/05/2016

As a player for a top European club, winning the Champions League is arguably as good as it gets.

Few get to taste this glory and only a handful of legends have retired from the pitch and returned once more to win it again, but this time as a manager.

In 1966, the first double victory as player and then manager belonged to legendary Real Madrid star Miguel Munoz, who went just two years between winning the European Cup as a player and then manager.

And, after a wait of 14 years and a nail-biting period of extra time and penalties, Zinedine Zidane added his name to this illustrious list on Saturday night.

Sport360 has checked and double checked the record books to find the footballing legends who accomplished the unthinkable double.

Get in touch and let us know which player/manager you think was the most successful using #360fans.

MIGUEL MUNOZ

After being born in Madrid in the 1920s, Munoz went on to play for his boyhood side in the 1950s, winning the European Cup on three occasions between 1956-1958. The following year he was appointed as head coach of the main squad after a successful spell in charge of Real Madrid’s reserve team, now called Castilla.

That was all the experience Munoz needed as manager and in 1960 he took the team to the European Cup Final and guided the club to victory over Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt, by a 7-3 scoreline! He is Real Madrid’s longest-serving and most successful manager to date.

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI

With almost 300 appearances for AC Milan, Trapattoni won the European Cup in both 1963 and 1969, and was the heartbeat of the Rossoneri side in the middle of midfield. But his contribution to Italian football would not end there.

At the helm of Juventus, the Italian led the team to a European Cup victory in 1985 over Liverpool.

JOHAN CRUYFF

As a player, the Dutchman was part of the unstoppable Ajax team of the 60s and 70s, winning the European Cup three years in a row from 1971. In the 1972 final, he scored twice to seal a comfortable victory for the Dutch giants against Inter Milan.

After managing Ajax for a few years after retirement, Cruyff found success at Barcelona in the 1992 European Cup final over Sampdoria at Wembley, where his defensive sweeper Ronald Koeman scored an extra-time winner.

CARLO ANCELOTTI

In AC Milan’s back to back Champions League victories of 1989 and 1990, Ancelotti starred in the midfield.

The Italian came back to Milan to coach the team to victory in 2003 and 2007. But he is most recently remembered for taking Real Madrid to their 10th Champions League title, in 2014’s Madrid derby against Atletico, identical to the match fans saw this year.

FRANK RIJKAARD

In the same Milan team as Ancelotti in 1990, the Dutchman scored the only goal of the match against Benfica to give his team the European Cup. But after moving to Ajax in 1993, Rijkaard found further success, winning the Champions League with them in 1995 against his former team.

Rikaard then took charge of Barcelona and led them to their 2006 Champions League final triumph over Arsenal in Paris.

PEP GUARDIOLA

Under the guidance of Johan Cruyff as manager, Guardiola was part of the Barcelona team that won the European Cup final in 1992. Towards the end of his career, Guardiola moved to Doha to play for Al Ahli in the Qatar Stars League but retired soon after.

Less than a decade later, he was appointed head coach of Barcelona which at the time had waved goodbye to stars Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o. Thankfully, Guardiola didn’t have much to worry about, Lionel Messi delivered goals in both of his Champions League final victories in 2009 and 2011.

ZINEDINE ZIDANE

The Frenchman played in two Champions League finals for Juventus but finished as runner-up on both occasions.

And the legendary World Cup winner had to wait until 2002 to finally get his hands on the famous trophy as he scored a spectacular winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow.

Appointed as Los Blancos boss earlier this season after spells managing the club’s Castilla side and being assistant to Ancelotti, Zidane brought a slightly different style of play to Real Madrid as they beat city rivals Atletico Madrid at the San Siro.

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