Sami Hyypia: the next Matt Busby or Bob Paisley or the new John Barnes?
Liverpool legend Sami Hyypia has been named as temporary Bayer Leverkusen manager after Robin Dut's sacking at the German club and Kopites will be willing their former defender to prove his mettle at the managerial helm. Many Reds players have gone on to forge excellent careers in the role of gaffer, with Kenny Dalglish's record of winning silverware for Liverpool in two separate spells as boss a testament to that fact. Not all ex-Reds have experienced success after making the switch to the dugout, however, as talkSPORT reveals…
THREE THAT KOPPED IT
JOHN BARNES
Probably the most skillful player in Liverpool's history, Barnes won two league titles, the FA Cup and League Cup at Anfield, playing more than 400 times for the club between 1987 and 1997. His managerial career is a completely different story, though, and his time in charge of Celtic during the 1999/00 season was summed up superbly by the newspaper headline: 'Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious'. That came after he had led the Glasgow giants to an embarrassing defeat against Inverness in the Scottish Cup - the axe fell shortly afterwards and it wasn't until September 2008 that Barnes took on another manager's role. He spent less than a year as manager of Jamaica, before being given the Tranmere Rovers job in July 2009. Barnes and his assistant Jason McAteer lasted until October, when they were sacked following a run of two wins in 11 games.
DIETMAR HAMANN
In four months in charge of Stockport County in 2011, Champions League winner Hamann won just three games at the crisis-hit club. The German walked away from the job with the team two points above the Blue Square Premier relegation zone, claiming that the collapse of Tony Evans' takeover at Edgeley Park was a key factor in his decision to quit, with unfulfilled promises hindering his work. Despite Hamann's poor record, the Istanbul hero - who was capped 59 times by Germany - said, “I see now that it [being a manager] is made for me and I want to carry on doing it.”
RONNIE MORAN
Taking over from Kenny Dalglish after the Scot's shock resignation in February 1991, with the club top of the table, former Liverpool defender and bootroom legend Moran guided the club to defeat at Luton in his first game in charge. Defeats to Everton and title rivals Arsenal followed and in his 10 games as temporary boss - which included a 5-4 win at Leeds where the Reds had been leading 4-0 (see the video below) - Moran lost five and won four. A 7-1 victory against Derby briefly suggested Moran could steer the Reds to title number 19, but the caretaker boss was far happier in the background at Liverpool and was relieved of his duties when Graeme Souness entered the Anfield hot-seat in April. Moran once more took over as caretaker the following season when Souness required heart surgery as the campaign reached its climax. During this time, a thoroughly unconvincing Liverpool scraped past Second Division Portsmouth on penalties in an FA Cup semi final replay, after grabbing a last gasp equaliser in the first game at Highbury. Despite a subdued Souness returning to the bench to oversee matters for the final, it was Moran that led the players out at Wembley, where they beat Sunderland. When Souness was eventually relieved of his duties in 1994, another bootroom stalwart, Roy Evans, leapfrogged Moran into the manager's chair on a permanent basis.
THREE RED HOT REDS
GRAEME SOUNESS
Liverpool fans who recall Souness' poor spell as manager at Anfield may question whether the Scot really was a success as a gaffer, but you can't argue that he's won more trophies than most. Souness won plenty of silverware as a player, too, with 15 major trophies, including five league titles and three European Cups at Anfield and he would go on to add to his haul as a manager. Appointed Rangers player-manager in 1986, Souness had the task of lifting a club that had finished fourth the previous season and he duly led the Ibrox side to the title in his first year. Two more titles followed, plus four Scottish League Cups, before he got the call from Anfield in 1991. His time as Liverpool manager was a major disappointment, however. In 18 seasons prior to Souness taking over, Liverpool had finished outside the top two just once (and they won the European Cup and League Cup that season), but he could only guide the Reds to sixth place during his two full seasons in charge. He did bring the 1992 FA Cup back to Anfield, however, but alienated fans by taking part in a controversial article in The Sun - a newspaper vilified by Liverpool fans for its coverage of the Hillsborough disaster - which was published on the third anniversary of the tragedy. He was dismissed in 1994 with Liverpool out of contention in all competitions and, from then on, held a string of jobs at home and abroad, taking charge at Galatasaray in Turkey, Benfica in Portugal and Torino in Italy, as well as helping Southampton stave off Premiership relegation. At Blackburn he guided Rovers to Premier League promotion and their first ever League Cup, adding to the Turkish Cup he'd won with Galatasaray. He also endeared himself to the Turkish club's faithful by planting the Galatasaray flag in Fenerbahce's centre circle…
MATT BUSBY
Making 125 appearances for the Reds following his transfer from Man City for £8,000 in 1936, Busby didn't miss a game for Liverpool over the next three seasons, where his his playing career cut short as a result of World War II. In 1945, he took up the role of Man United manager after rejecting the chance to become the Reds assistant boss. Despite his only managerial experience coming as a coach with the Army Physical Training Corps, he led United to five First Division titles, two FA Cups and the European Cups, surviving the 1958 Munich Air Disaster, in a remarkable 24 years at Old Trafford.
BOB PAISLEY
Like fellow Liverpool player Busby, Bob Paisley's playing career was interrupted by World War II, having joined Liverpool in 1939. When normal league service was resumed he won the First Division title in the 1946/47 campaign and stayed at the club until his retirement in 1954. Paisley then became the club physio and was retained on the coaching staff by a shrewd Bill Shankly when the Scot took charge in 1959, becoming his assistant and eventually (reluctantly) succeeding Shanks in the hotseat in 1974. In an incredible nine-year spell as manager, the unassuming, yet fiercely determined Paisley delivered six titles, three League Cups, a UEFA Cup and three European Cups. To date, he remains the only manager to win a hat-trick of the continent's greatest prize, although Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are hoping to join that exclusive club soon. It was Paisley who signed Kenny Dalglish in 1977 and two other players under his tutelage, Kevin Keegan and John Toshack, also went on to forge managerial careers for themselves. Keegan came close to winning the Premiership at Newcastle before taking charge of England, while Toshack won a La Liga title and the Copa del Rey as manager of Real Madrid.