After confirming his departure from Manchester City, the veteran defender is now heading down a route that hasn't been taken too often in recent years
Vincent Kompany has brought an end to a glittering 11-year spell at Manchester City in order to return to his boyhood club Anderlecht in a player-manager role.
Combining playing with managing is not a task which has been undertaken with regularity, especially in more recent times, indicating the size of the task facing the Belgian.
However, ahead of Kompany starting in his new position, Goal takes a look back at a few of the other high-profile football names who have tried to mix playing with coaching.
GettyKenny Dalglish | Liverpool
“King Kenny” became player manager at Liverpool in 1985, after former manager Joe Fagan resigned following the Heysel Stadium disaster.
Dalglish showed a knack for managing, guiding the Reds to a league and FA Cup double in his first season in charge, scoring the goal that secured the title for Liverpool in a 1-0 win over Chelsea on the last day of the season
The forward led Liverpool to the league title again just two seasons later, with his side only losing two out of 40 matches, before clinching a third league title in 1990.
The signings of Peter Beardsley and then John Aldridge, along with the return of Ian Rush, ensured Dalglish’s appearances were infrequent during the final seasons of his playing career.
From 1985 to 1990, when he played his last match, Dalglish only made 42 league appearances, scoring nine times in those games.
AdvertisementGettyRuud Gullit | Chelsea
The Dutch midfielder became player manager at Chelsea in the 1996-1997 season, following Glenn Hoddle leaving the club to take up the role of England manager.
The appointment was a success, and Gullit guided the Blues to FA Cup glory in 1997, and the following season was also going well, with Chelsea sitting in second in the league and in the quarter-finals of two cup competitions, until he was sacked following a breakdown in talks over a new contract.
Whilst serving as player manager, Gullit chose to play a reduced role on the pitch, only making 18 league appearances, scoring just once.
Getty ImagesRyan Giggs | Manchester United
Giggs became the interim player-manager of Manchester United for the last four games of the 2013-14 season after Sir Alex Ferguson's replacement David Moyes was sacked following poor results.
Of those four games, Giggs’ side won two, lost one and drew one.
In his brief time as player-manager, the United legend made just one appearance as a substitute, in the Red Devils’ last home match of the Premier League season against Hull in what was the final game of his glittering playing career.
Anton Want/ALLSPORTGlenn Hoddle | Swindon Town & Chelsea
Following a spell with Monaco, Tottenham legend Hoddle returned to England towards the end of the 1990-1991 season, when he took over as player-manager at Swindon Town.
He saved the Robins from relegation, before guiding them to promotion to the Premier League in 1993. He made 67 league appearances, scoring two goals, for Swindon before resigning at the end of the 1992-93 season to join Chelsea as player-manager.
Hoddle guided Chelsea to the FA Cup final in his first season in charge and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final in his second season, but he made just 31 league appearances, as his playing career wound down.
Hoddle retired from playing at the end of the 1994-95 season, when he decided to focus on managing full time.