Every England 2006 World Cup player who become a manager – & how they fared | OneFootball

Ashley Cole has surprised the footballing world by taking charge of Serie B side Cesena in his first job as a manager.

He isn’t the only player from England’s so-called Golden Generation to step into management, although he has gone further afield than many of his former teammates when starting out.

So, which of Cole’s former England teammates – we’ve focused on players from the 2006 World Cup – have gone into management and how have they fared?

Gary Neville (Valencia)

The job Neville did at Valencia was comically bad and has haunted him for years since, so much so that he has vowed to never manage again.

The former right-back only lasted just shy of four months in charge of Valencia, where he lost 11 of his 28 games in charge.

Not being able to speak Spanish probably didn’t help, but his ill-fated tenure completely extinguished his ambitions in coaching.

Before taking the Valencia job, Neville had worked with England as an assistant coach, but he hasn’t rekindled any coaching interests since.

Ashley Cole (Cesena)

Cole has spent time coaching for the likes of Chelsea, Everton and Birmingham City, as well as for the FA.

The left-back has now stepped up to the helm with Cesena, who are battling for a place in the play-offs from Serie B.

He has an all-Italian backroom team behind him, which he will be hoping can provide him with a solid base to consolidate his ideas in his new surroundings.

But Cole will hope to have a better experience than his last one in Italy. He played for Roma in the 2014-15 season, but it’s one of the few places he’s remembered as a flop rather than one of the best in his role.

Steven Gerrard (Rangers, Aston Villa, Al-Ettifaq)

A natural leader on the pitch for Liverpool, Gerrard always looked likely to go into management.

After guiding some Liverpool youth teams, the midfielder was appointed by Rangers in the summer of 2018. There, he won the Scottish Premiership title in the 2020-21 season.

Gerrard was seemingly destined to return to Liverpool one day, but his first job in the Premier League came with Aston Villa and he didn’t do particularly well in it.

Sacked after just 11 months in charge, Gerrard ended up in Saudi Arabia for his next job with Al-Ettifaq, where he remained for 18 months.

Having rejected a return to Rangers in October, Gerrard is still awaiting a potential return to management.

Frank Lampard (Derby, Chelsea, Everton, Coventry)

Unlike his fellow midfielder Gerrard, Lampard has managed the club he is best remembered for his time with as a player: Chelsea.

After guiding Derby County to the Championship play-offs in his debut season in 2018-19, Lampard got the Chelsea job that summer and brought through some promising talent while navigating a transfer ban.

He ran into trouble the next season, though, and was sacked halfway through. It would be another 12 months before he got another job, taking charge of Everton.

His spell on Merseyside was mixed. Lampard secured Premier League survival for Everton by the end of the 2021-22 season, but he was ultimately sacked just short of a year into his reign.

A caretaker spell with Chelsea followed, but he has had to rebuild his managerial career back in the Championship, where he has Coventry City in contention for automatic promotion.

Wayne Rooney (Derby, DC United, Birmingham, Plymouth)

Rooney followed in Lampard’s footsteps by starting his managerial career at Derby County, although in his case it was straight on the back of playing for the club.

Rooney’s reign at Pride Park lasted from November 2020 to June 2022, before he resigned and took charge of another of his former playing clubs, DC United.

One of England’s greatest ever goalscorers, Rooney returned to his homeland to take charge of Birmingham City in October 2023, but was sacked after only winning two of his first 15 games in charge.

A spell at the helm of Plymouth Argyle was similarly short-lived, comprising five wins from 25 games, and he has been without a club since his departure by mutual consent at the end of 2024.

Sol Campbell (Macclesfield, Southend)

Campbell had to be patient for his opportunity in management and when it came it was down in League Two with Macclesfield Town.

He took them from bottom of the table to safety, although he left the crisis club at the end of the 2018-19 season.

The ex-Spurs and Arsenal defender then stepped up to League One with Southend United, where he won just four of his 23 games in charge.

Campbell hasn’t managed anyone else since his departure in 2020.

David James (Kerala Blasters)

The last club James played for were Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League, where he was a player-manager in 2014.

The goalkeeper embarked on a second spell in charge of the same club in 2018, this time without being a player as well.

However, they remain James’ only two jobs as a manager. His combined win rate across both tenures was 29.27%.

Michael Carrick (Middlesbrough, Man Utd)

Carrick has inspired a turnaround of fortunes for Manchester United after returning to his former club in January to see out the season in the wake of Ruben Amorim’s sacking.

It’s Carrick’s second spell in charge of United, although both have been on a caretaker basis and the first only lasted for three games.

In between, the midfielder managed Middlesbrough for nearly three years, winning 63 of his 136 games in charge.

Despite his seven wins from nine games with United, it looks unlikely he’ll be kept on in the full-time role beyond the summer, but the 44-year-old will surely appeal to other clubs.