Sol Campbell has started life as manager of bottom of League Two Macclesfield Town with a claim, labeled arrogant, that he was one of the best footballers in the world.
A good footballer doesn't necessarily make a good manager. Pep Guardiola proves that they can but Diego Maradona perhaps suggest they don't whilst Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho certainly could have had better playing careers.
In recent times Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Thierry Henry have all given up their cushty jobs on the sofas of BT Sport and Sky Sports in order to take up managerial roles at Rangers, Derby and Monaco respectively.
Former Spurs and Arsenal defender Sol Campbell has not been able to get a job in management over the years despite playing at the very top level.
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Yesterday Macclesfield announced the former England centre back as their new boss. The Silkmen currently sit bottom of League Two.
Speaking at the press conference to announce him as manager Campbell started in good fashion saying, "I think I have got to take this opportunity with both hands. I've studied a lot, and yes this is my first full-time job - I understand that - but I have got to start somewhere. I'm honoured to be here and I will work my socks off."
Then though the 44 year old made the type of arrogant claim that has led people to mock him in the past adding, "I will bring all of my wealth of experience [to this job]. I know football inside out. I know how to manage people. I can communicate and I've looked at what I can do at the club. I think it's a great place for me to start.
"I know some Macclesfield fans will probably be saying 'what is going on here?' But you've got an international footballer, who has been one of the best footballers in the world, coming to your club. I think it's a nice mutual balance there."
The former Portsmouth player has previously been criticised for claiming that he believed if he was white he 'would've been England captain for more than 10 years.'
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And last year insinuated that those claims had stopped him getting jobs before saying, "Some clubs may be thinking: 'We don't want to talk to Sol because of his history,' but that's what an interview is for - meet the person and get to know what he's actually like."
It's excellent that Campbell has finally got himself a job in management and hopefully he can prove the naysayers wrong, but he might want to leave a bit of cockyness at the door until he's achieved anything.
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