2000s Icons In Management

2000s Icons In Management

With reports surfacing today that Miroslav Klose is on the verge of extending his contract at 1. FC Nurnberg, it seems only right that Football Park does a breakdown of five current managers who reshaped the 2000s period of football.

Between them, a World Cup golden boot, Champions League trophies, and enough elite-level experience to fill several lifetimes. Yet each has had their own trials and tribulations on the touchline.

Their journeys show that even the greatest of players may struggle once the boots are gone.

Miroslav Klose

As a player, Miroslav Klose was a minimalist. No theatrics, no ego, just timing, clarity, and an eye for goal that is second to none.

His 71 goals for Germany is still second to none, and his 137 caps is only beaten by legendary midfielder Lothar Matthaus, who earned 13 more.

Most remembered for his World Cup theatrics, Klose won the 2014 World Cup with Germany and across his four appearances at the tournament, he scored 16 goals, making him the tournament's all-time top scorer.

But his time as a manager has not had the same level of success as his playing career.

Starting as a coach for the German national team in 2016, Klose then moved on to becoming Bayern Munich’s U17 coach, before partnering with Hansi Flick in May 2020 as assistant manager.

In 2022, he was offered his first head coach position at Austrian side Rheindorf Altac. After a disappointing campaign that saw Altac at the bottom of the league, the two parted ways before the relegation playoff began.

Klose is now back in Germany with second division side 1. FC Nurnberg. His first season at the club saw him finish mid-table in 10th place. The side is currently sat in 7th place after 12 matches.

🚨✍️ BREAKING | World Cup winner Miroslav #Klose is now on the verge of extending his contract with 1. FC Nürnberg.

The expiring deal with #FCN is expected to be renewed until at least 2028, with a basic agreement already reached between Klose/Chatzialexiou.

The signatures are… pic.twitter.com/RraXD1CFR7

— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) November 13, 2025

Frank Lampard

One of England’s and Chelsea’s finest ever midfielders, Frank Lampard has had a torrid career as a manager but has now finally found his feet at Coventry.

Starting at Derby in 2018, he did manage to finish 6th in the Championship and made the play-off final, going one step further than his predecessor, Gary Rowett, who had fallen short the previous season.

A year after taking the reins at Derby, Lampard had already moved on to bigger and better things. Chelsea.

It was a move that seemed inevitable, a storybook romance where the king returns to his place on the throne. But his kingdom began to fall.

After a promising first season at the Blues, Lampard was dismissed as Chelsea slumped to 9th in the league table in January 2022 after winning just two of their previous eight league matches.

A stint at Everton and as an interim manager for Chelsea offered little success, but now that Super Frank is back in the Championship, things seem to be going right again.

Coventry currently sits top of the table, with 34 points from 15 matches.

Championship manager of the month for October - Super Frank Lampard 💙 pic.twitter.com/Hbrfb0GDXW

— Chelsea Photos (@ChelseaInPhotos) November 14, 2025

Gennaro Gattuso

A tenacious defensive midfielder who would turn any duel into theatre, Gennaro Gattuso was the beating heartbeat of AC Milan in the 2000s.

But his passion and success on the field have not matched his managerial career.

Starting at Sion in Switzerland, Gattuso had stints at Palermo, OFI and Pisa before returning to the club that still had his heart, AC Milan.

Similar to Lamprd, this move was met with a mixture of intrigue and scepticism in the football community. But after two successive seasons without finishing in the top four, Gattuso and Milan went their separate ways by mutual consent.

Gattuso would move on to Napoli, where he won his first, and so far only, trophy of his managerial career. In the final of the 2019/20 Coppa Italia, Napoli defeated Juventus 4-2 on penalties after a tense, attritional contest.

In the following years, Gattuso would bounce around countries, managing Valencia, Marseille and Hajduk Split. He is now the manager of the Italian national side and has an unblemished record of five games and five wins.

🗣️ Gennaro Gattuso, Italy head coach: “It’s not fair that in South America six teams qualify and the seventh plays a play-off, while here the groups are so tight.

Seeing the South American group with six teams directly qualified for the World Cup makes me feel a certain… pic.twitter.com/rzZTCUtOPv

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) November 14, 2025

Hernan Crespo

An elegant Argentine forward, Crespo’s most successful time on the pitch came at Lazio, Inter Milan and Chelsea. In his career as a footballer, he scored 272 goals in 608 games.

But his time as a manager has flown under the radar.

Since July 2015, Crespo has managed Italian side Modena, Argentine sides Banfield and Defensa y Justicia, Middle Eastern sides Al-Duhail and Al Ain, and, on two occasions, including currently, managed Brazilian side Sao Paulo.

Despite most of these sides not being household names, Crespo has had considerable success as a manager, more than anyone on this list.

At Defensa y Justicia, he won the 2020 Copa Sudamericana, a year later, he won the Brazilian league with Sao Paulo, and maybe most impressively, he won the 2023/24 AFC Champions League with Al Ain, defeating Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Al Hilal on the way to the final.

Congratulations to Hernán Crespo on winning the AFC Champions League with Al Ain! 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/uFnb81ETFj

— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) May 25, 2024

Andrea Pirlo

Last, but certainly not least, on this list, is Andrea Pirlo.

A silky, classy midfielder, I still remember his iconic Panenka penalty against Joe Hart in the 2012 European Championship.

As a manager, he has had an odd career. He started with the Juventus U23 side, but after just nine days in the job, he was promoted to first team manager following the dismissal of Maurizio Sarri.

In his one season at the helm of the Old Lady, Pirlo managed 52 games, had a win rate of 65.38% and won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana.

But despite all of this and qualifying for the Champions League, Pirlo was dismissed after just 10 months.

Since then, Pirlo has had a relatively underwhelming managerial career. He moved to the Turkish side, Fatih Karagümrük, before coming back to Italy to take charge of Sampdoria.

The midfield maestro is now managing Dubai United in the United Arab Emirates, where he has won all five of his games.

UAE lower tier is hilariously bonkers 🇦🇪😭

Andrea Pirlo on an insane cup run with second tier club United FC

Alejandro Pozuelo & Papiss Cissé in the third tier with Palm City FC

Jonjo Shelvey, Ravel Morrison at Arabian Falcons

Connor Wickham at Dubai City FC

and finally… https://t.co/rNAm8Csnb3 pic.twitter.com/gm03AvUF9w

— dedo ⚽️ (@dlicps) October 16, 2025