Winning the UEFA Champions League is no mean feat. Winning it multiple times puts you among the pantheon of greats. But winning it as a player and then to win the ‘Big Ears’ as a manager puts you on an elite list of people. A list that contains only seven people.
We look at those who have lifted the trophy wearing team’s kit first followed by a well-tailored suit.
Note: This article was updated on 5 June 2017 following Zidane’s back-to-back triumph in the Champions League.
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1) Zinedine Zidane
One of the finest players of his generation, Zinedine Zidane has now won the Champions League three times as a player and manager (four if you count the fact that he also won it as an assistant manager).
Player: Zidane’s career spanned 18 seasons in the top flight in France, Italy and Spain. Having first made a name for himself at Juventus, Real Madrid paid the equivalent of £46.6m to sign him when he was 29. He was part of the ambitious Galactico project and had already won the Ballon d’Or apart from leading France to World Cup and Euro glory.
He was a success in his very first season and he made it a memorable one by scoring one of the greatest goals in Champions League history. In the 2002 final, he fired Madrid to the title with a thunderous volley with his weaker foot to score the winner in a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
Also read: Top 5 greatest goals scored in Champions League finals
Manager: No team had managed to win back-to-back titles ever since erstwhile European Cup was rebranded in the 1992/93 season and became what is now known as the Champions League. Clubs such as AC Milan, Juventus and Manchester United had all failed to do so when they reached consecutive finals. Then came Zinedine Zidane.
In managerial terms, Zidane barely has any experience at the top flight. Yet, here we are with the Frenchman having won three major titles and five trophies in all in just one-and-a-half years.
He took over a team in crisis following the sacking of Rafa Benitez midway through the season. Having been a world class player himself, he knew how to handle the big egos in the dressing room and he rallied his troops in 2016 to beat Atletico Madrid in the final.
A year later, Real Madrid looked a much better team under him in spite of not signing any big stars and this time they beat Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Juventus to win their 12th Champions League title.
2) Carlo Ancelotti
Arguably one of the most successful and respected managers of all time, Carlo Ancelotti has won the Champions League five times as a player and manager. The Italian manager, set to take over at Bayern Munich prior to the 2016/17 season, won four of those titles with AC Milan.
Player: In a 16-year career as a central midfielder, Ancelotti played for Parma, AS Roma and AC Milan. But it was at the San Siro that he made his mark on Italian and European football. Widely known as the predecessor to the now famous Andrea Pirlo role, Carletto was one of the finest of his era.
He was at his peak during his time at AC Milan and played alongside club legends such as Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten. Under the guidance of pioneering manager Arrigo Sacchi, Milan won back-to-back European Cups in 1989 and 1990 – the last side to defend the European Cup/Champions League title.
Manager: Ancelotti has managed top clubs across the continent, ranging from Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid and PSG. The Bundesliga will be the fifth different league he will work in – a unique achievement in Europe.
Again, it was at AC Milan where he made his mark. His first Champions League title came in 2003 when his side beat his former club Juventus 3-2 in a penalty shootout at Old Trafford. Although he managed to take Milan to the final in 2005, the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ saw Liverpool come from behind to win their fifth European title in a penalty shootout. However, Ancelotti would have his revenge in 2007 when Milan got the better of the Anfield side with a 2-1 win.
The Italian manager would then move to newly-rich PSG and find domestic success before helping Real Madrid win La Decima – their 10th Champions League crown – in his very first season at the club.
3) Miguel Munoz
When Real Madrid were dominating the continental football scene after the European Cup was formed, Miguel Munoz was one of the few people who had a hand in the club’s domination during the first decade of the competition.
Player: Munoz played for Real Madrid between 1948 and 1958 and won seven major titles which included four La Liga titles and three consecutive Champions League titles. As a midfielder, he played for Los Blancos in close to 350 matches.
Trivia: It was Munoz who scored the first ever goal in European Cup history in 1955 when he scored for Real Madrid in a 2-0 win over Swiss club Servette FC.
Manager: After he called time on his playing career at the age of 36, Munoz stayed at the Bernabeu and managed the club to a Champions League win in 1960. But he was more successful in La Liga where Real Madrid won nine titles between 1960 and 1972 – including five in a row between 1960/61 and 1964/65.
He would help them win the Champions League again in 1965/66 – the club’s sixth European title. The club came from behind in the final to beat FK Partizan 2-1.
4) Frank Rijkaard
Player: One of the most successful players in Dutch history, Frank Rijkaard was a class apart when he plied his trade at AC Milan and Ajax. In all, he won 22 trophies with the two clubs – including three Champions League titles.
Rijkaard was a key cog in Arrigo Sacchi’s all-conquering AC Milan side in 1989 and 1990 when they won the European Cup two years in a row. It was the Italian who was responsible for converting him from a centre-back into a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard had even scored the goal in the final as Milan beat Benfica 1-0.
His third title came with Ajax in 1995 when the Eredivisie side beat AC Milan 1-0 in the final. With the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Frank de Boer, Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids in the side, Louis van Gaal’s team had even seen of Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.
Manager: After his retirement in 1995, Rijkaard first honed his managerial skills with the Netherlands squad and even took them as far as the semi-finals of Euro 2000 before moving to club football. And his most successful reign was undoubtedly his five-year spell with Barcelona between 2003 and 2008.
Although he started slowly due to the relatively poor squad he had at his disposal compared to Real Madrid, he soon turned it around and built a squad around Ronaldinho and added players such as Samuel Eto’o and Deco. The squad soon went on to win the 2005/06 Champions League title with a 2-1 win over Arsenal in spite of going down 1-0 to 10 men.
5) Giovanni Trapattoni
Il Trap is arguably one of the most respected personalities in Italian football for his services rendered as both player and coach. He spent the majority of his playing career at AC Milan but managed a host of top clubs and international teams including Milan, Juventus, Inter, Bayern Munich and Italy.
Player: In a 13-year career, Trapattoni spent 12 seasons at AC Milan. He could play both as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder. With Milan, he won the Serie A title twice. But his biggest achievement with the club was winning the European Cup twice – in 1963 and 1969.
The 1963 final was special as he was tasked with keeping Benfica legend Eusebio on a leash. Although the Portuguese striker did score early on in the game, Trapattoni managed to mark him out of the game as Milan came back to win 2-1.
Manager: As a manager, Trapattoni won plenty of league titles, even winning them in four different countries. But he won the European Cup just once – during his stint with Juventus. The Old Lady reached the final in 1985 where they beat Liverpool 1-0 thanks to a Michel Platini penalty.
6) Pep Guardiola
One of the most wanted managers on the planet thanks to his tiki-taka revolution at Barcelona, Guardiola will go down in history as one of the finest teachers of the game. Having now managed in La Liga and found domestic success in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, it remains to be seen what he can accomplish at Manchester City.
Player: A defensive midfielder during his 16-year career, the Catalan native spent the majority of his career at Barcelona between 1990 and 2001. But he won the last ever European Cup in 1992 before it became the Champions League. It was also the Catalan club’s first ever major European title.
Playing alongside the likes of Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Ronald Koeman, the side managed by the legendary Johan Cruyff managed to beat Sampdoria in extra-time in the final when Koeman scored the goal that rewrote the club’s history books.
Manager: Taking over from Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona in 2008, Guardiola would go on to manage one of the greatest teams in football history. He won the treble in his very first season as manager with a team that consisted of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry among others. The Champions League final saw Barcelona dismantle Manchester United 2-0 in Rome with Messi and Eto’o getting on the scoresheet.
Guardiola would win the title again in 2011 – against the same opponents – at Wembley. This time, Pedro, Messi and David Villa helped his side win 3-1 and give Guardiola his third Champions League title as player or manager.
7) Johan Cruyff
The Dutchman has been hailed for laying the foundations that transformed Barcelona into the footballing superpower it is today and rightly so. Cruyff’s magic touch at Ajax helped him at the Camp Nou as well as he went on to build the ‘Dream Team’ that saw the club win its first European Cup in 1992.
Player: Cruyff spent most of his career at Ajax and Barcelona, but it was with the Dutch side that he became a football legend. He won the Eredivisie an astonishing eight times in 11 seasons that were spread across two stints.
But the highlight of his career was winning the European Cup three years in a row between 1971 and 1973 as Ajax saw off Panathinaikos, Inter Milan and Juventus in successive years.
Manager: Retirement from the game could not keep Cruyff away from football and he quickly became a manager, taking over the reigns at Ajax. The father of ‘Total Football’, the Eredivisie club was a learning curve before he enforced his philosophy at Barcelona.
The Spanish side went on to win four consecutive league titles between 1991 and 1994. But it was the Dream Team’s 1992 European Cup win that kick-started a new era for Barcelona. The Dutchman would eventually retire with 28 major trophies to his name as player and manager while also taking home three Ballons d’Or.
