5 managers who controversially managed rival clubs

Managers are the bearers of a club's honour. They are fired when a club under-performs and hailed when the club excels. A club's honour includes never playing nice with rivals, something the following men seemed to have forgotten when they assented to a job offer.

It is true that a couple of these jobs came to these managers in bleak circumstances. However, it does not make it any less controversial.

Here are five managers who made the switch from one half of a city and rivalry to the other:

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#5. George Graham (Arsenal and Tottenham)

George Graham served both North London teams

George Graham is an Arsenal legend. He won two league titles and two League Cups, one FA Cup and a UEFA Cup Winners Cup. Despite a controversial sacking because of his alleged involvement in shady transfer deals, Graham remained popular with the Arsenal faithful.

He initially moved to Leeds United after his sacking from Arsenal. He guided Leeds to fifth in his second season at the club before being appointed Tottenham Hotspurs boss in 1998-99. He guided the Lilywhites to a League Cup win that season, securing UEFA Cup qualification for the following season.

He was sacked by the new owners ENIC after a major and ugly wrangling over transfers. He never finished higher than tenth with Tottenham in his two and a half years at the club. He remained controversial with most fans because of his Arsenal past in spite of leading the club to it's first trophy in nine years.

#4. Alex McLeish (Birmingham and Aston Villa)

An applauding Alex McLeish

Alex McLeish began his managerial career in Scotland where he had managed Motherwell, Hibernian and Rangers, winning multiple trophies. He earned the Scotland National Team job after impressing many suitors.

After the World Cup Qualification campaign draw, McLeish was approached by Birmingham City to take over the club. He failed to keep the Blues up in his first season at Birmingham City but the club returned to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

In 2009-10, he guided Birmingham to 9th in Premier League, their highest position in decades. The next season he won the League Cup with Birmingham but managed to get relegated the same season.

McLeish sent a resignation letter to Birmingham by email. A few days later rivals Aston Villa announced him as their new manager. Birmingham City protested the appointment saying that McLeish was still under contract and filed a complaint against Aston Villa.

Villa fans were dissatisfied with the appointment as well as many instances of anti-McLeish graffiti were found on the Villa training grounds. He was involved in a relegation scrap at Villa before being sacked in his second season.

#3. Leonardo Araujo (AC Milan and Inter Milan)

Leonardo Araujo played for a number of good teams and then managed some more

A versatile player, the Brazilian played for a host of big teams, and most notably for Valencia, PSG and AC Milan in Europe apart from playing for Flamengo, Sao Paolo and Kashima Antlers. He had two spells as a Milan player and made 97 appearances for them.

He was named Carlo Ancelotti's replacement at AC Milan after the legendary Italian decided it was time to move on. AC Milan finished 3rd under Leonardo and were knocked out of the Champions League and Coppa Italia in the Round of 16.

Araujo quit Milan at the end of the season after admitting to have a difficult relationship with then Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi.

In December 2010, Araujo was appointed as the successor to Rafa Benitez taking over Inter Milan in a controversial appointment because of stints at Milan. He stayed for six months at Inter, winning the Coppa Italia and finishing second, six point behind Milan. He resigned in June 2011 as Inter manager.

#2. Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth and Southampton and back)

Harry Redknapp has served both sides of the South Coast Derby

Harry Redknapp left West Ham United in the 2001-02 season and took over as Sporting Director at Portsmouth. Midway through the season, manager Graham Rix was sacked and he took over the manager's role.

He led Portsmouth to promotion to the Premier League in the 2002-03 season. In the 2003-04 season, Redknapp kept Portsmouth up but had many disputes with the team's owner over coaching appointments. At the end of the season, he agreed to join Southampton FC, Portsmouth's biggest rivals. He was instantly vilified by Portsmouth fans.

In the 2004-05 season Portsmouth stayed up but Redknapp's Southampton were relegated. He stayed with Southampton in the first season in the Championship but when Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin was sacked, he was linked to a return to his former club.

Redknapp resigned from Southampton in December 2005 and was appointed Portsmouth manager once more. He was quoted referring to Portsmouth as his 'spiritual home'. Redknapp stayed till 2008 when he won the FA Cup with Portsmouth. He left the club to manage Tottenham Hotspur for the 2008-09 season.

#1. Jorge Jesus (Benfica and Sporting CP)

Jorge Jesus found more success at Benfica than he has at Sporting CP

The Portuguese manager served as Benfica manager between 2009-2015. In his spell there he managed to win three league titles, three Portuguese League Cups (Taca de Liga) and one Portuguese Cup(Taca de Portugal) and one Super Cup apart from finishing runners-up in the Europa League for two consecutive years.

Benfica were keen to keep Jesus on as manager and announced that they had concluded negotiations over a renewal of contract for Jesus, whose contract was due to expire on 30th June 2015.

A few days later Sporting CP, Benfica's biggest rivals announced Jorge Jesus as their manager. This led to a huge outcry from the fans of Benfica. They accused the board of being inept and lashed out at Jorge Jesus.

In his spell at Sporting CP so far, Jesus hasn't won any major honours apart from the Super Cup. He has finished second and third in the last few seasons, but signed an extension to his deal till 2019. He reportedly pockets €6 million a year.