Frank Lampard (left) and Steven Gerrard clashed as Everton and Aston Villa managers, but are unlikely to ever again will meet in the Premier League soon Photo: Getty Images/Michael Regan
It was perhaps never the best example of the Golden Generation, when England coaches placed players in different positions just to get them into the squad. Whether Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard could play in the same midfield was a mystery that the highest paid managers of the noughties never solved.
As managers themselves, this is a generation of talent that has won Premier League and Champions League titles. but never repeated success at the Three Lions reveals that winning in the dugout is not easy. Gerrard and Lampard faced each other once in the technical area when Aston Villa beat Everton last season, and it doesn't look like they'll be meeting Gerrard again in Saudi Arabia anytime soon.
But Gerrard and Lampard are far from the only members of this golden generation facing management hurdles. Wayne Rooney became the latest to be sacked, with Birmingham City realizing their mistake in replacing a manager who was changing results. Gerrard lasted a year at Villa, while Lampard was Chelsea's keeper last season and won just one game.
Wayne Rooney's disastrous tenure as Birmingham City manager lasted just 83 days. Photo: Getty Images/George Wood
Lampard's first spell at Stamford Bridge saw him finish fourth and lay the foundation for Thomas Tuchel's Champions League triumph. but since he returned to Everton or Chelsea, not much has gone well.
Other members of the Golden Generation tried. Sol Campbell should have had a better chance than Macclesfield and Southend. John Terry and Ashley Cole were assistants but were not number one, while Gary Neville's tenure as Valencia manager was short-lived and saw him return to pundit as the most visible string to his bow. It was the same path that Paul Scholes took when he was Oldham's manager and caretaker at Salford.
Gary Neville' His period as Valencia head coach ended with Rapido. Photo: Jeff Pugh
The rest have simply gone into expert work, ignoring the management merry-go-round in which a string of bad results can lead to unemployment and your name joining the other ex-pros with coaching badges. Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen, Owen Hargreaves and Joe Cole will be seen in the TV studio before they are seen on the training ground.
This is an anomaly for a generation of players that does not produce coaches who reach the top of their profession when they retire. The Barcelona Academy saw Pep Guardiola, Xavi and Mikel Arteta learn the game at the same time as teenagers and now compete against each other at Europe's biggest clubs. The Argentina squad that lost to England's Golden Generation in Sapporo at the 2002 World Cup included Diego Simeone and Mauricio Pochettino.
Southgate's management stands in stark contrast to those days
In England, it was the player who won his last matches as the Golden Generation took off who changed football in the country for the better through his leadership. Perhaps Gareth Southgate has learned from everything he saw as wrong as England's descent into celebrity cult.
His leadership stands in stark contrast to the times. The 2006 World Cup media circus took place in Baden-Baden and Southgate prefers his team to be isolated from any distractions. They have been relatively distant at the last two World Cups and will be at the Euros again and not at the center of a paparazzi frenzy. Fabio Capello wanted a Golden Generation «legend» on the 2010 World Cup bench, and Southgate joked: «In my opinion, Steve Holland is a legend.»
So no David Beckham on the bench will. bench soon, as was the case in South Africa when he was injured. Beckham has become a football owner like his best friend Neville, and the appeal is clear: running a club means total control. Neville has been through a number of managers at Salford and is well aware of the climate in which young managers live, even those who were part of England's golden generation of footballers.
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