Even though they regained the Ligue 1 title this weekend to claim their 10th French league trophy, Paris Saint-Germain look far from satisfied with how their season went. The expectations were high this year, so a domestic success may not be enough for Mauricio Pochettino to keep his job.
PSG made a splash in the summer, landing the likes of Lionel Messi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi,Sergio Ramos, among others. The idea was to challenge for an elusive Champions League trophy, so failing to make the quarterfinals has been a huge disappointment. Real Madrid turned things around in Spain to destroy Paris’ continental aspirations andPoch’s days at the Parc des Princes seemednumbered since then.
According to Le Parisien, it’s just a matter of time before PSG confirm Mauricio Pochettino’s departure. The report adds that Antonio Conte has ‘offered himself’ for the position, something that has fueled speculation about a potential return of Poch to Tottenham. With that in mind, let’s take a look at other renowned managers with more than one stint at the same club.
Jose Mourinho
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A few years after taking Chelsea to new heights, Jose Mourinhoreturned to Stamford Bridge in 2013. His first tenure was perfect, as The Blues not only ended a 50-year drought without league titles in 2005 but also claimed back-to-back Premier League trophies. Despite The Special One also delivered a league success in 2015, his second stint didn’t end well as the club fired him following a poor start to the 2015-16 season.
Zinedine Zidane
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Zizou had two different spells in charge of Real Madrid, both of them very successful – especially the first one. Curiously, both timeshe took over with the season already underway. Zinedine Zidane‘s first stint began in January 2016, when he replaced Rafael Benitez and went on to win the Champions League for three years in a row.
He decided to step away at the end of the 2017-18 season, but he returned only a few months later as Santiago Solari was fired. In March 2019, Zidane was back for a second stint at the Santiago Bernabeu. It may have not been as successful as his previous tenure, but he still delivered a La Liga trophy.
Louis van Gaal
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The Dutchman knows very well what is like to have more than one stint at the same team. Louis van Gaal had a prolific first tenure atBarcelona, winning two league titles between 1997 and 2000. His return to the club in 2003, however, didn’t go as expected as he was fired halfway through the season due to poor results in the Spanish top-flight.
van Gaal has also coached the Netherlands national team on various occasions. His first stint didn’t go well as he failed to lead the team to the 2002 World Cup, but things would change in the road to the 2014 World Cup as not only they did qualify for the tournament but eventually finished in third placein Brazil. After taking a few years off, he took the reins of the national side again in 2021 and guided them to Qatar 2022.
Jupp Heynckes
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Jupp Heynckes also knows a thing or two about coaching the same team on more than one stint, as he did so in three different clubs. He started his managerial career in 1979 at the helm of Borussia Monchengladbach, where he returned in 2006. Heynckes also had two spells at Athletic Club, where he worked from 1992 to 1994 before coming back in 2001 for another two-year tenure.
His most successful work, however, came at Bayern Munich, where he had four different stints. Heynckes first worked for the Bavarians between 1987 and 1991, helping them win two leaguetitles, and would later take over for just five games in 2009 in an interim role. In 2011, however, Heynckes took charge of Bayern again and would last longer, as he not only won another Bundesliga title but also a Champions League trophy. His fourth and final stint started in October 2017 to replace Carlo Ancelotti only for that season, in which he steered the ship on time to win the league trophy.
Fabio Capello
The Italian manager has had more than one stint at two of the biggest clubs on Earth. Fabio Capello had three different tenures at AC Milan, the first one in 1987 in an interim role while the other two (1991-1996, 1997-98) lasted longer and saw him deliver four Italian league titles and one Champions League. Capello also worked for Real Madrid in two different seasons, winning La Liga both in 1997 and2007.
Carlo Ancelotti
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After coaching many of the biggest clubs on the continent, Carlo Ancelotti was appointed by Real Madrid in 2013 and it immediately paid off, as they won the long-awaited Décima (10th Champions League trophy) after several years of wait. He left two seasons later without winning a single La Liga title, but he seems close to do so in his first season since returning to the club in the summer of 2021.
