Arsenal take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon – a contest in which the two rival clubs and managers have a proud history.
Mikel Arteta and Frank Lampard both enjoyed considerable FA Cup success as players, with the former tasting victory at Wembley on two occasions, and the latter lifting the famous trophy four times.
With victory on Saturday, either Arteta or Lampard will join a select group of men who have won the same trophy as a player and manager. Let’s take a look at the current members of this elite club.
Ramsey began his managerial career at Ipswich/Express/Getty Images.
Sir Alf is perhaps best known for what he won with England in 1966, but he enjoyed a brilliant club managerial career before landing the top job in 1963.
Ramsey spent his playing days with Southampton and Tottenham, winning the First Division with the latter in 1950/51.
It’s no secret that some of England’s most successful managers are bred at Ipswich Town, and it’s where Ramsey began his career in the dugout. He led the Tractor Boys from the third tier to a remarkable First Division title in 1961/62 before winning the World Cup with England. History will repeat itself at Portman Road in 2020/21 with Paul Lambert.
Paisley led Liverpool’s dominance in the 70s and 80s/Getty Images/Getty Images
As all-time greats go, they don’t come much bigger than Bob Paisley on Merseyside.
Paisley played over 250 times for Liverpool, and hung up his boots with a First Division title during the 1946/47 season to cap off his playing career.
He went five better as a manager. Paisley guided the Reds to six league titles between 1976 and 1983, as Liverpool dominated English football.
As a manager, he also lifted the European Cup three times and won the UEFA Cup. greedy
Dalglish won quite a few trophies throughout his career / Getty Images / Getty Images
There are 33 years between Kenny Dalglish’s first domestic victory in England – the First Division title in 1978/79 – and his last – the League Cup in 2012.
King Kenny won a lot as a player with Liverpool: five First Division titles, four League Cups, three European Cups and an FA Cup.
Dalglish won the First Division three more times as manager with the Reds – and once with Blackburn when the top flight switched to the Premier League – and he twice guided Liverpool to FA Cup glory. The Anfield icon was parachuted in again in 2011, winning his final honors with the club in the 2012 League Cup Final defeating Cardiff on penalties.
He also enjoyed success as both a player and manager in his native Scotland, despite only being in temporary charge of Celtic for four months. Dilgesh won the Scottish League Cup in 1975, and again in 2000 as manager.
Kendall led Everton to the most successful spell in the club’s history / Fox Photos/Getty Images
Those around Stanley Park have also enjoyed their fair share of success, with Howard Kendall the mastermind behind the most prolific era in Everton’s history.
The midfielder won the First Division with the Toffees in 1969/70. He initially took the Goodison Park hot seat as player-manager in 1981 – but only played four games as a player before officially hanging up his boots.
Kendal would enjoy more success in the dugout than he did on the pitch, winning the First Division title twice in three seasons between 1985 and 1987.
Graham hits big in the Arsenal dugout / Sean Bottrell / Getty Images
George Graham is the last man to win the league title as a player and manager in England.
Graham’s first piece of silverware came as a player with Chelsea, as he lifted the League Cup in 1965, before winning the League and Cup double with Arsenal in 1971.
He won every domestic trophy as Arsenal manager in the 80s and 90s, including the famous league title victory over Liverpool on the final day of the 1988/89 season.
Cruyff was as good in the dugout as he was on the football pitch / Gary M Prior/Getty Images
Imagine being Johan Cruyff. Imagine being one of the most talented, artistic, beautiful footballers of your generation and winning so much… and then doing it all again as a manager.
The Dutch icon’s illustrious career was bookended with spells in his native Holland – starting with Ajax, before ending again with Ajax and finally Feyenoord. He was part of the brilliant Ajax team that won three European Cups in a row, and won Holland’s domestic cup – the KNVB Cup – on five occasions with his boyhood club, and once with Feyenoord.
Sandwiched between his success in his homeland was a five-year spell at Barcelona, where Cruyff won La Liga in 1973/74 and the Copa del Rey in 1978.
He returned to both Ajax and Barcelona as a manager, winning the KNVB Cup twice with the former. Although he never guided Ajax to league success as a manager, he won four La Liga titles in Spain in addition to the Copa del Rey in 1990 and the European Cup in 1992.
Lennon guides Celtic to domestic dominance / Ian McNicol / Getty Images
In any list, Johan Cruyff’s natural successor is of course Neil Lennon.
Lennon did not play for Scotland until he was 29, but won 20 domestic honors there as a player and manager.
The Northern Irishman won five Scottish Premier League titles, four Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups with Celtic between 2000 and 2007.
Lennon has had two separate spells in the Celtic Park dugout, adding a further five Scottish titles to his trophy cabinet, three Scottish Cups plus the League Cup in 2019/20.
Di Matteo has a proud history in the FA Cup / Sean Bottrell / Getty Images
Lampard will hope to follow in the footsteps of Roberto Di Matteo on Saturday – the last Chelsea man to win the FA Cup as both a player and manager.
Di Matteo scored with an absolute belter after just 42 seconds as Chelsea beat Middlesbrough in the 1997 FA Cup final, and won the same competition with the Blues three years later.
The Italian guided Chelsea to FA Cup glory during his ridiculously successful spell as caretaker manager at Stamford Bridge, his 2012 FA Cup triumph slightly overshadowed by the small matter of his Champions League victory.
Conte starts Juventus’ dominance in Serie A / Claudio Villa / Getty Images
Conte spent 13 brilliant years as a player with Juventus, and was always expected to return to lead the club after starting his managerial career.
Conte won five Serie A titles during his time as a player – four of them as captain. He finally returned in 2011, six years after leaving Juventus.
The Italian led Juventus to their first Serie A title in nine years during his first season in charge. He won three league titles on the bounce before leaving the club in 2014, and has since been the catalyst for an extraordinary decade of Juventus dominance.
Guardiola won the Champions League twice with Barcelona / GLYN KIRK/Getty Images
As sporting and managerial careers go, Pep Guardiola has done well for himself.
He won La Liga on six occasions during his 11 years at Barcelona, before returning to his boyhood club as manager and winning it three more times.
Guardiola also tasted European Cup triumph with Barcelona in 1997 – a competition he would win twice in a three-year spell in the hot seat at the Camp Nou.
Zidane wins his second La Liga title in 2019/20/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Another pedigree talent, Zidane has actually won more honors as a manager at Real Madrid than he did as a player.
The Frenchman spent five years as a player in the Spanish capital, winning the Champions League in 2002 and La Liga in 2002/03.
Zidane has been in the Real Madrid hot seat for just over three-and-a-half years – over two separate spells – and has already guided the Spanish giants to two La Liga titles and a hat-trick of consecutive Champions League crowns.
You wouldn’t bet against him eventually completing his list of double honors by winning the World Cup as France boss one day.