5 brilliant footballers who were better as managers

It is the general consensus that being a footballer inherently equips a person to be a good manager and while it's not always true, there are plenty of examples throughout the history of the game to prove the statement correct.

Playing professionally gives one a feel for what it's like out on the pitch, gives one a unique understanding of the dressing room and how to control it, both vital skills to have for management.

It's like being given a head start in the race to become a manager, and we've seen countless examples of ex-players being hired by their clubs to take over as the coach, at any level or age group.

Some top footballers have never sought out the challenges of management, like Pele or Sir Bobby Charlton, instead intending to enjoy their lives after their careers; some others who one might not have expected to enter coaching have done so, like Zinedine Zidane and Luis Enrique.

There is a small amount, however, that enjoyed good playing careers but transcend their achievements on the pitch off it, and this slideshow lists the top 5 footballers who somehow became better as managers.

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#5 Diego Simeone

Simeone's Atletico still have a chance of winning La Liga this season

The Argentine has only enjoyed great success at one club so far in his managerial career but what success it has been. He took over Atletico, whom he played for during his career, in 2011 when the club was in the doldrums, lying mid-table with no future expectations.

The transformation was immediate and intense. They would end the season comfortably higher on the table and even more impressively as Europa League champions.

The Copa del Rey came in 2012/2013 before Atletico's miraculous league title the following season, as Simeone somehow masterminded wrestling La Liga from the firm grip of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

He made most of his resources, utilized what he had, and created the most tactically-disciplined yet devastating sides in Europe.

Unfortunately for Simeone and Atletico fans, they came close to winning their first ever Champions League title twice, in 2013/2014 and 2015/2016, but agonizingly lost out to arch-rivals Real Madrid both times.

He had molded the team after himself for as a player he was just as ferocious, aggressive, tactically-astute and defensive as his Atletico team.

He was already an icon at the club as he was a vital part of the midfield that won their previous La Liga all the way back in 1995/1996; to come back after such a long time and coach them to their next league win is how legends are made.

After arriving in European football with Sevilla in 1992, Simeone enjoyed a solid playing career in the Italian and Spanish top divisions, his combativeness and leadership qualities were always welcome for battling teams. He would win the UEFA Cup during his time with Inter Milan, before securing a Serie A title with Lazio in 1999/2000.

Simeone also lies fifth in the all-time appearance list for his national side Argentina, with 106 caps. It's a career to be proud of, and he was certainly one of football's best box-to-box midfielders of that decade, but Simeone's achievements as manager of Atletico outweigh them and, given he's still only 47 and a wanted man at top clubs around the club, the best may still be yet to come.

#4 Antonio Conte

Conte controls from the touchline in typically energetic style

He may be undergoing a rough spell currently, but Conte has emerged in this decade as one of the world's foremost coaches. His career shares many similarities with Simeone, as both were aggressive midfield battlers who went on to manage teams in this style (there's only a year apart in their age too).

Conte came to English football last season and, after a rocky start, comfortably returned the EPL title to Stamford Bridge. No team had an answer for Chelsea's excellent 3-5-2 formation, which gave Eden Hazard the freedom he needed to thrive and also made bit-part players like Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses into stylish wing-backs.

Conte has become a league specialist as a manager, as he guided Juventus to 3 consecutive league titles from 2012 to 2014. He transformed the club and returned them to the top of Italian football, and they haven't left their perch since.

In truth, Conte was a quite limited footballer - like an inferior Rino Gattuso - who used extreme work ethic and effort to make it on the top level. He possessed none of the skills of Zinedine Zidane but was almost as vital to Juventus's great team in the 1990's.

He won 5 league titles as a player with the Turin side, and a Champions League in 1996 as well, but that he only received 20 caps from Italy is a testament to his lack of natural talent.

Every side needs a workhorse, however, and Conte filled this role admirably. His commanding nature and leadership ability, though, were ready-made for a managerial career.

Conte is perhaps the best tactician behind one other EPL manager (who will follow in this list) in football. Time will tell if his future lies with Chelsea, but Conte will be a wanted-man around Europe if he does leave the club.

#3 Carlo Ancelotti

Ancelotti's longevity in football is to be commended

The Champions League specialist, Ancelotti simply has one of the best CVs in managerial history: AC Milan for 8 seasons; Chelsea for 2; PSG in France; and most recently Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. What's more remarkable is that the Italian has enjoyed great success in each job, and has the trophy cabinet to show for it.

As a player, Ancelotti enjoyed a good career in his homeland and played over 150 times for both Roma and AC Milan.

He won his first Serie A title in Rome but it was with Milan where he found the most success. Under the legendary Arrigo Sacchi he was a part of one of Europe's finest ever club sides, he was the controller and passer in the midfield, keeping the team ticking over with his play.

Alongside players like Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten, Ancelotti won two European Cups (1989 and 1990) and two league titles (1988 and 1992).

He was sadly forced into a premature retirement at 33, due to persistent knee injuries, but would begin his time in management only 3 short years later, in 1995 and has been doing it ever since.

All those trophies as a player would be hard to top but Ancelotti is the only manager to win three Champions League titles, two with AC Milan and one with Real Madrid (and perhaps should have another, if it wasn't for the famous 'Miracle of Istanbul' final in 2005).

He has league title wins in France, Germany, England, and of course Italy. No manager has traveled to as many big clubs as Ancelotti and been as successful as he has. When he finally retires, his name will go down in managerial history.

#2 Pep Guardiola

The Spaniard holds his first trophy as Manchester City manager

Yet another central midfielder (perhaps there's something about playing this position that means one would make a good manager), Guardiola was a highly-regarded player in the 1990's, so much so that he was considered one of the best midfielders of his generation.

Before Xavi and Andres Iniesta, he was the classy playmaker for Spain and Barcelona. Guardiola was the deep-lying creative spark in Johann Cruyff's incredible Barcelona 'Dream Team' that brought the club their first ever European Cup in 1992. He also won 6 league titles as a player at the Camp Nou.

Only 10 years into his managerial career, however, and he's set to beat his league title wins as a player this season. So much has been said about Guardiola's success as a manager; he's simply transformed football more than anyone else in the last decade.

He created one of the best club sides of all-time with Barcelona from 2008 to 2012, a glorious team to witness with players like the aforementioned Xavi and Iniesta and Lionel Messi. He's now, after winning 3 Bundesliga titles in a row with Bayern Munich, helping Manchester City completely dominate English football in incredible fashion.

He took the lessons instructed to him by his mentor Cruyff and has fine-tuned them for the modern game, and his teams are full of pressing, possession, and tactical knowledge.

Amazingly, Guardiola is only 47, and is easily on his way to becoming the greatest football manager in history if he continues his upward trajectory. To be such a graceful and world-class midfielder is one thing, but then change football as a coach is unthinkable, but Guardiola has done it.

#1 Sir Alex Ferguson

Ferguson celebrating one of his many league title wins

Given he's perhaps the greatest manager of all-time, it's mostly overlooked that Sir Alex Ferguson was a decent forward in his day. He only played in his home country of Scotland, but scored goals at every team he found himself at.

He played for Rangers and he finished there with an excellent 35 goals in 66 games, including a good tally in Europe. He only left the Glasgow club due to off-field problems with management and could have achieved more with them if he had stayed.

Ferguson never won a major title as a player but swiftly ensured that wouldn't happen as a manager. First he somehow broke up the Celtic and Rangers dominance of Scottish football, with his superb Aberdeen side of the 1980's winning 3 league titles; they even famously beat Real Madrid to seal the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup, a crowning achievement for a provincial Scottish club.

It's amazing to think that Ferguson might not have enjoyed all the success he eventually did at Manchester United. So bad was his start with the club but their fans are still thankful that the United board persisted with him through the troubled times.

Ferguson eventually saw off every challenge to his dominance, from Arsene Wenger's foreign revolution at Arsenal in the late 1990's, to Jose Mourinho and Chelsea's spending spree at Chelsea in 2004.

The length of his time at Old Trafford is astounding but speaks so much of his mental power and managerial ability. He, without doubt, transformed English football, putting his club above Liverpool as the biggest in the country. He even retired on top, bowing out as a league winner yet again in 2012/2013.

13 EPL titles. 5 FA Cups. 2 Champions League wins. The record definitely speaks for itself.