Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the most successful managers ever, was a mediocre player. He was shuffled around Scottish clubs, never really getting the chance to shine as a striker but putting in good performances that managers just didn't see as good enough.
Louis Van Gaal, one of the most decorated managers in Europe, was also a mediocre player. He played in the second team of Ajax as a midfielder when the first team had Cruyff before being sent to Belgium where he spent four years there, his team rising up to be runners-up in the league but not winners. After that he moved around a few teams, only really making it when he became assistant manager and then full manager of Ajax.
Jurgen Klopp jumped around youth clubs before being signed by Mainz 05. From 1990-2001 he made 337 appearances, first as a striker and then as a defender, scoring 52 goals his entire professional career.
Jose Mourinho joined youth teams but lacked the ability to make it professionally, setting his sights on coaching from early on.
Arsene Wenger was much like Mourinho; he lacked the pace to make it as a professional and set his sights on management.
Ferguson, Van Gaal, and Mourinho combine to make three of the most decorated managers ever. Yet of the three, none of them shined as a world class player or even as a great player. And how often do we as fans see star players bomb as managers? Shearer, Robson, Ossie Ardiles, Tony Adams, Paul Merson, Gascoigne, John Barnes, Maradona, and of course Souness are all seen as colossal failures despite being fantastic footballers (and at least one of them is a full-on legend of the game).
It seems logical that a great player would be great at being a manager. And many are- Beckenbauer, Klinsmann, Guardiola, and Ancelotti just to name a few (it's too soon to rule on Luis Enrique IMHO). But for some reason, most great players do not make great managers and the very best managers (no disrespect to Beckenbauer but I rate the three above over him in the depth and range of LVG and Mourinho's careers and the very nearly sheer dominance of Sir Alex's career at United) tend to have been mediocre players at best. Why wasn't Shearer or Maradona a world class manager?
Sure, you can point to issues of alcoholism or chemical dependence in general to some of the stars that have bombed. Souness took over for Dalglish like Moyes took over for Sir Alex- both were doomed from the start and only dug themselves deeper holes. But why is it that four men, two of which couldn't even cut it as players and two who were shuffled around place to place and good but never great, have become the best in the world?
Perhaps some clue comes from what others have said about them before they entered management. All four are said to have had an eye for tactics and reading the game early on. Ferguson and Van Gaal even took roles in management in their playing careers (LVG became assistant manager and Sir Alex was player-manager). Klopp went from player at Mainz to manager.
That part of this conundrum is easier to see, actually. Reading the game is crucial for the manager and Wenger, Van Gaal, Mourinho, and Ferguson are all credited with being good readers of the game even if it didn't translate to playing well on the pitch. But you don't become a great player by being unable to read the game do you? What is it that the great players have that doesn't always transition into management?
I've found myself pondering this ever since it was announced that Louis Van Gaal would be training Ryan Giggs and when LVG retired Giggs would be taking over. I'm still not sure of the answer myself. What do you think makes a great manager that great players might not have?