Henry, Fàbregas and co.: When a team-mate becomes the boss | OneFootball

Every now and then, at the start of their coaching career, a big-name player has to manage a former team-mate.

As of Friday, ex-Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas now plays under former colleague Thierry Henry at AS Monaco.

Here are some other big names who have gone through the experience in recent history.

AS Monaco: Cesc Fàbregas and Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry was the star man in Arsenal’s golden era and Fàbregas took the mantle as the club transitioned into the second half of Arsène Wenger’s time in charge. There was, though, an overlap.

As the Spaniard broke into the team at 17, he started the first of three years playing alongside Henry.

As well as a lot of great football, those years brought us this fantastic interview.

More of the same, please!

Manchester United: Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs

After David Moyes’ ill-fated spell at Old Trafford, Giggs took over on an interim basis.

He’d shared the pitch with all the players at the club but Rooney was the most prominent, playing alongside the Welshman for an entire decade.

Rooney played just one of the four games under Giggs, scoring twice in a win against Norwich City.

Barcelona: Carles Puyol and Pep Guardiola

Hard to believe, we know, but Pep Guardiola is seven years older than the former defender. You’d never guess.

“Guardiola told me to start thinking about Luis Figo and doing my homework,” Puyol says of his first taste of El Clásico, way back in 2000. Guardiola, of course, was Puyol’s team-mate at the time.

Sure enough, Puyol played at right-back and kept Figo quiet as Barcelona won 2-0.

The pair were reunited when Guardiola was appointed Barcelona head coach in 2008 and the rest really is history. With Puyol as his captain, Guardiola led Barcelona to 14 trophies in just four seasons.

Real Madrid: Sergio Ramos and Zinedine Zidane

For just one year, a young Sergio Ramos had the privilege of playing with Zinedine Zidane.

Reunited in 2016, the pair won three Champions League titles in a row with Ramos as captain and Zidane head coach.

And that pretty much sums it up!

Juventus: Gianluigi Buffon and Antonio Conte

Before his stint as manager, Conte spent 13 years on the pitch for Juventus. For the last three, 2001-2004, he was joined by a young Gianluigi Buffon.

Buffon was still there in 2011 when Conte arrived to manage the team, and there in 2014 when Conte left the club again.

Together they won three Serie A titles in as many years and helped set Juve up for their incredible domination of Italian football.

AC Milan: Ignazio Abate and various

From 2009 to 2012, Ignazio Abate played alongside AC Milan legends Filippo Inzaghi, Clarence Seedorf and Gennaro Gattuso.

Abate still plays at San Siro. In the seven years since, all three of the aforementioned legends have been in the dugout. Gattuso is still there today and seems to be faring better than Inzaghi and Seedorf did.

Even though Abate is 32 now, appearances are pretty regular for the right-back.

Atlético Madrid: Fernando Torres and Diego Simeone

When the pair played together for Atlético, from 2003 to 2005, the club was still in the shadow of Real Madrid.

The shadow remains but it’s become a lot smaller since Simeone took charge. With Torres on the pitch, Simeone led Atlético to a Champions League finals in 2016 and Europa League glory last season.

On top of that, the pair ushered in a new era with the opening of Atlético’s new Wanda Metropolitano stadium opening for the 2017/18 campaign.