Wayne Rooney is one of the greatest English football players to have graced the turf in England, he is highly regarded as one of the best in his generation. However, his career in management has not hit the same heights.

When the curtain came down on his time as Birmingham manager, it was hard to see which direction Manchester United's all-time top scorer would go in. Last Saturday, we found out his next move when Plymouth Argyle appointed Rooney as their new head coach.

The 38-year-old has returned to the technical areas determined to repair the damage done to his reputation by his four months at the Blues. His journey to Plymouth has not been plain sailing.

The transition from playing at the top level to coaching does not go smoothly for everybody, Rooney included. While some get it right, such as Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, not all do.

Many legendary stars have made the step from the pitch to the dugout, but they do not always reap the same rewards they did as a player when they are watching from the sidelines.

Here, Mail Sport looks at six football legends who have had an up and down time in management after they hung up their boots.

Wayne Rooney is looking to rebuild his reputation as a head coach at Plymouth Argyle 

Fabio Cannavaro 

A great place to start will be with one of the greatest defenders of all time, Fabio Cannavaro. His career on the pitch was littered with gold.

As captain of Italy he guided his country to 2006 World Cup glory, and in the same year took home the Ballon d'Or, a feat no defender has managed since he got his hands on the trophy

He also won several league titles with both Juventus and Real Madrid but has not managed the same success since he moved into coaching after his retirement in 2011.

Cannavaro has struggled to settle in one place during his managerial career, he has coached at eight teams in 10 years, including a spell at Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, and stints in China.

However, despite the up-and-down nature of his life in management, things are starting to look up for the Italy legend. He recently guided Serie A side Udinese to safety after arriving in April with the club looming over the drop zone.

He may have endured a rocky road during his decade in coaching, so far, but it seems Cannavaro has now found his feet in the dugout.

Patrick Viera

The first of five midfield legends on this list, Patrick Viera has had his highs and his lows during an 11-year coaching career.

As a player, Viera was one of the most graceful, but aggressive, players you will ever see. A serial winner, his leadership skills, partnered with elegance in the middle of the park, was the driving force behind Arsenal's success in the early 2000s.

After an illustrious 18-year career that saw Viera win multiple league titles and a World Cup with France, he decided to dip his toe into the world of coaching in 2013, starting at Manchester City's Elite Development Squad.

The Frenchman then took the reigns at MLS side New York City, and Ligue 1 side Nice, before working his way up to Premier League management with Crystal Palace.

Prior to his arrival in south London Viera's managerial career was on an upward trajectory, and his first year at Palace stayed on that trend, but his path hit a big stumbling block when he was sacked after 18 months.

Suddenly, Viera's stock was not quite as high, but he is rebuilding it at Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, who he guided to a 13th-place league finish this year. Who knows, we could see him back in England's top flight again someday.

Steven Gerrard

One of the best midfielders in Premier League history, arguably the greatest, Steven Gerrard had a playing career that most professionals could only dream of.

Gerrard was the heartbeat of Liverpool for over 17 years, before ending his career at MLS Galaxy.

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The former Reds and England captain dragged the Merseyside club through some of their darkest times. Gerrard played for his boyhood club over 700 times, winning seven major trophies, including the Champions League.

His first taste of coaching came at the Reds' academy, and his achievements there soon took him to Scotland, as he was appointed Rangers manager back in 2018.

In the early years of his managerial career, Gerrad was flying, he took Rangers back to the promised land by marshalling them to the Scottish title in 2021. All roads then seemed to be leading to more success.

But then Aston Villa came calling. At the time it seemed like a natural progression after an impressive stint across the border, however, he couldn't keep going from strength to strength, like in his playing career.

Gerrard was sacked after just 11 months in Birmingham, and less than a year later he arrived in Saudi Arabia at Al-Ettifaq.

From once seemingly on the yellow brick road to Anfield to become a future boss of Liverpool, his dream job looks like it is out of sight, for now.

Clarence Seedorf

It seems most legendary midfielders fancy their chances in management. Clarence Seedorf is just another of the plethora of midfield players to chance his arm in coaching after hanging up his boots.

Seedorf enjoyed a glittering career as a player, he was one of the finest midfielders of his generation. He was the complete package, blessed with an incredible technique that was used to perfection due to his remarkable intelligence, there were not many better.

The Dutch legend was capped 87 times by his country and won 16 major club honours in his career. He is known for becoming the first player to get his hands on the Champions League with three different clubs.

I could go on, and on, about Seedorf as a player. The same does not apply regarding Seedorf as a coach. His career in management never got off the ground.

Unlike many of the former players on this list, the Dutchman was thrown in at the deep end. He hadn't even finished playing when his former side AC Milan came calling. It was an offer he could not pass on.

Seedorf sat in the Milan hotseat having never coached a team before, and the risk did not pay off. After winning only 11 out of his 22 matches, he was given the boot after four months.

Three managerial jobs then came and went at Shenzhen in China, Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga, and even the Cameroon international team.

Seedorf has now not taken to the technical area since 2019, only lasting five years as a manager. He may come back in the future, but for the moment, he is staying away from management.

Frank Lampard

Another midfielder who worked wonders on the pitch, but has had mixed fortunes in the dugout, is Frank Lampard.

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Like Gerrard, Lampard is one of the greatest midfielders to grace the Premier League. Not many midfielders could find the back of the net with the frequency that Lampard could while he was at Chelsea, he was a machine.

It was not all just goals, he led from the front alongside John Terry, as well as his ability to make space and pick out a pass. He had it all.

Lampard took the plunge into management back in 2018, taking to the dugout at Derby County. He only spent one year in the East Midlands, and he certainly showed his credentials, taking them to the Championship play-off final.

Unfortunately for Derby fans, that would be the beginning of their dramatic downfall, they lost to Aston Villa, and then Lampard, as Chelsea brought him back home in the summer of 2019.

It was like Lampard had completed his managerial dream just one year into his career on the sidelines, and his first season in charge proved relatively successful. So where did it all go wrong?

In the following three seasons, Lampard would hold three different managerial positions. He was sacked by the Blues in January 2021 and spent a whole year away from management.

Lampard returned to the technical area with Everton in January 2022, but despite leading them to survival, was sacked 12 months later. January isn't a good month for him.

He did return to Chelsea for a brief spell as interim manager later in the season, but only managed a dismal one win in his 11 matches. He hasn't been seen in management since, and we wait to see what his next move will be.

Andrea Pirlo

A trend seems to be occurring. Three of the managers in this list have returned to their former clubs, and on every occasion, it hasn't quite worked out. Andrea Pirlo is the third of those coaches.

Pirlo was seen as one of the coolest characters on the pitch during his glory days as a centre-defensive midfielder. He made the game look effortless, floating passes left and right with precision.

During a playing career that spanned over 20 years, Pirlo won a World Cup, two Champions Leagues, and six Serie A titles. He spent the majority of his club career at Italian giants AC Milan but also anchored the Juventus midfield for four years.

The latter of those clubs is where he started his managerial career, and this time his nonchalant but classy aura did not bring the results on the pitch. Pirlo's inexperience as a coach was questioned when he was appointed by the Old Lady in 2020, and within a year those questions had answers.

Pirlo was not ready for a job of that magnitude, and after Juventus relinquished their stranglehold on Serie A in his first season at the club, finishing fourth , he was given the boot.

A tumultuous period at Turkish Super Lig club Fatih Karagumruk followed before he took the reigns at Sampdoria, a fallen Italian giant lying in Serie B.

After a challenging first few years in management, Pirlo is battling to prove he can bounce back from adversity, something he didn't face too much as a player.