Do Great Players Make Great Coaches?

The last 20 years have been a sporting gift to mankind. Living legends such as LeBron James and Lionel Messi have shaped the century and given birth to some of the greatest moments that sport has ever seen. However, in this modern sporting world, time moves quickly, and like it or not, the current outfit of legends are beginning to see the call to retirement. But it's not all bad news. Thanks to an athlete's undying love for their sport and huge sums of money, coaching positions have provided a great way for the love affair between athlete and sport to continue, but if not successful can leave an everlasting stain on their once great legacy.  

Let's start with the positives. On the most part, the conversion from a great player to a great coach usually works out. I say this because no matter where you look, many of your favourite clubs are managed or coached by once-great players. Real Madrid has had great success under Zinedine Zidane, winning 3 Champions League trophies alongside 9 other pieces of silverware. Comparatively, Steve Kerr has had great success as the coach of the Golden State Warriors. Granted, they are arguably the greatest team ever assembled, but every great ship still needs a rudder right? In his 6 years as coach, he has steered the Warriors to 3 Championships and 5 straight NBA Finals appearances. 

So, why is this? 

In my opinion, this is mainly down to athlete IQ. No matter how good of a coach you are, playing a sport to a high level develops a sixth sense that only former athletes can possess. This sixth sense allows the coach to place themselves in the athlete's shoes and see strengths or weaknesses that would be overlooked by regular coaches. This scenario of course deviates from sport to sport but can range from making a tactical substitution to adapting a player's entire gameplay style. For example, by engaging his sixth sense, Zidane may be able to see a pass that would open up an opposition's backline and lead to a scoring opportunity. Similarly, Kerr may be able to recognize a defensive rotation due to his own experience as a player and may be able to force a steal because of this. Of course, in order to become effective, players must be able to combine this athlete IQ or "Sixth Sense" with genuine coaching skills such as good communication and delivery. Unfortunately, this is where most great players will start to fall off and where the everlasting stain starts to appear. 

Some of the greatest athletes in Wayne Gretzky and Diego Maradona have produced some of the most abysmal coaching performances in recent history, showing inexperience and tactical naivety in their time as coaches. As most peoples choice as the NHL's greatest ever talent, Gretzky took over as head coach of the Pheonix Coyotes in 2005 and failed to produce a single successful season in his 4 years behind the bench. Furthermore, Diego Maradonna is arguably one of the greatest footballing talents of his generation but again was unable to produce at neither the club nor international level. In his 2 years in charge of the Argentina National Team, they produced uneventful and uninspired football, which led to their 4-0 embarrassment at the hands of Germany at the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals. The reason behind their failings is something that could probably never be fully recognised, but do showcase that even if you are the very greatest at what you do, it doesn't necessarily mean you can teach others to do the same. 

So, taking all this into consideration, answering the question "Do Great Players Make Great Coaches?" isn't a simple yes or no answer. I guess what I am trying to say is that being a great coach doesn't just require a high level of understanding and experience, but elite levels of leadership and communication. In generations to come, top teams will be taught by the quiet leaders of today, such as Draymond Green or Jordan Henderson. Now, these names may not leap off the page next to LeBron James or Lionel Messi, but what they lack in natural skill or talent, they will more than makeup for in elite communication and the ability to raise the performance of those around them. Now, as a coach on the sidelines, their presence may not fill up stadiums or present newspapers with endless headlines, but they will be at the very centre of the rise of the next generation of sporting heroes.