Frank Lampard has been appointed Chelsea manager as the Stamford Bridge favourite makes an emotional return to the club.
The Blues are simply continuing a long tradition of clubs bringing back crowd-pleasing figures in a managerial capacity. Sometimes the decision pays off handsomely, other times it's something of a disaster.
Sportsmail takes a look at 10 other club legends on the field who have returned as manager and how they fared.
Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
The Frenchman was a symbol of Real Madrid's 'Galactico' era of the early noughties, famously scoring a stunning volley to win the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen.
Zidane made 225 appearances for the Spanish club before hanging up his boots following the 2006 World Cup and that headbutt on Italy's Marco Materazzi during the final.
He returned to Real in 2014, first as coach of their Castilla or B team, before being promoted to first team manager after Rafa Benitez was dismissed in January 2016.
Zidane's impact was phenomenal, masterminding three consecutive Champions League triumphs as they defeated Atletico Madrid in the 2016 final, Juventus in 2017 and Liverpool in 2018.
Having left the Bernabeu in the summer of 2018, Zidane was back again for a second spell in March this year.
Pep Guardiola (Barcelona)
A gifted defensive midfielder, Guardiola became a firm fan favourite at Barcelona after emerging from their academy to win six league titles and the 1992 Champions League.
The 'pivot' of Johann Cruyff's 'Dream Team' of the early nineties, Guardiola would later prove himself just as talented a manager.
Having concluded his playing days away from Spain, he returned as Barcelona's B team coach in June 2007 and within one season he'd replaced Frank Rijkaard as first-team manager.
What followed was a sustained period of success as Barcelona won three league titles, two Spanish cups, two Champions League titles and two Club World Cups in just four years.
What's more, Guardiola's Barca side managed to elevate the game to a whole new level with their passing game.
Antonio Conte (Juventus)
A formidable midfielder, Conte won pretty much every possible honour during 13 years in Turin, including the Champions League in 1996.
He finished playing for Juventus in 2004, having made 418 appearances in all competitions, and was soon learning the ropes of management in Italy's lower leagues.
There was perhaps an inevitability that Conte would one day return to Juve and that was realised in 2011.
He didn't disappoint, with a win percentage of 67 per cent, Conte teed off Juve's continuing domestic dominance with three consecutive Serie A titles before departing for the Italy national team job in 2014.
Thierry Henry (Monaco)
Henry's free-scoring career sparked into life at Monaco, where he scored 28 goals in 141 matches during the mid to late nineties.
In those days, manager Arsene Wenger utilised Henry on the left wing to take full advantage of his lightning pace, but he was later moulded into the classiest of strikers by Wenger at Arsenal.
Henry made the move into coaching in Arsenal's academy and then as No 2 to Roberto Martinez for the Belgian national side.
But his first break as a manager came in familiar territory in October 2018 when Monaco dismissed Leonardo Jardim with the club 18th in Ligue 1.
Unfortunately, the job probably came too early for a coach of such inexperience and Henry oversaw just four wins in 20 matches as Monaco continued to flirt with relegation. He was sacked after just three months.
Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
The Argentine was an uncompromising defensive midfielder for Atletico Madrid between 1994 and 1997, helping them to a league and cup double during the 1995-96 season.
Though Simeone had assured himself a long-term place in the affections of their supporters, his return as manager in December 2011 would guarantee his legendary status forever.
In the years since, Simeone has helped establish Atletico as one of the major players in European football, twice winning the Europa League and reaching two Champions League finals.
In 2014, Atletico also broke the monopoly of Barcelona and Real Madrid by winning the league title, all while operating on a fraction of the budget.
Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan)
Milan are especially prominent in appointing club legends as manager, but often without the desired uplifting effect.
Former striker Inzaghi, who scored 126 goals in 300 appearances for them over 11 seasons and twice won the Champions League, replaced another ex-player in Clarence Seedorf.
Inzaghi had been in charge of the Primavera (under-19) team but didn't take well to the step up.
Milan finished his sole season at the helm in 10th position, their worst performance in 17 years, and Inzaghi was promptly dismissed.
Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool)
It really is little wonder Dalglish is known as 'King Kenny' at Anfield.
The Scottish forward scored 169 goals in 502 matches during 13 seasons as a Liverpool player, firing them to six league titles and three European Cup successes.
He then further embellished his reputation with three more league championships and two FA Cup wins during his first spell as their manager between 1985 and 1991.
Fast forward 20 years and Dalglish would take charge against in 2011 following the departure of Roy Hodgson.
Though he won almost half his matches during this second spell, and led Liverpool to League Cup success in 2012, he could only lead them to eighth in the league and was sacked.
Alan Shearer (Newcastle United)
Shearer really was on a hiding to nothing when he took the Newcastle manager's job with eight matches to go in the 2008-09 season.
The club were staring down the barrel of relegation following a shocker of a campaign that had seen Kevin Keegan's resignation, Joe Kinnear suffer health problems and Chris Hughton serve twice as caretaker.
Newcastle still had the chance to stay up but Shearer could manage just one win from those eight games and the team were relegated following a final day loss at Aston Villa.
Given Shearer's God-like status on Tyneside, he was never going to get the blame. Instead that fell at the door of owner Mike Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias.
Johan Cruyff (Ajax & Barcelona)
One of football's all-time greats as both a player and a visionary manager, Cruyff had the distinction of returning to his two principal clubs, Ajax and Barcelona, as a coach.
Cruyff inspired Ajax to a domination of Dutch and European football during the late 1960s and early 1970s before moving to Barcelona and helping them end a 14-year title drought.
Later entering management with a very clear philosophy of how the game should be played, Cruyff coached Ajax for three years, winning the European Cup Winners' Cup.
Joining Barcelona, Cruyff assembled a 'Dream Team' that could play his attractive brand of football. They won four league titles in a row, the Cup Winners' Cup and the European Cup in 1992.
His team also established the tiki-taka brand of football that would become a symbol of later Barcelona teams under one of his proteges, Pep Guardiola.
Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea)
Lampard isn't the first former player to return to Chelsea as manager and he'll certainly be looking to emulate the main success of Di Matteo's short-lived reign.
The Italian midfielder was a popular figure during the six years he spent as a player at Stamford Bridge, winning the FA Cup twice as well as the League Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup.
He returned as assistant to Andre Villas-Boas in the summer of 2011 and then found himself thrust into the top job the following March when the Portuguese was sacked.
Remarkably, Di Matteo led Chelsea to a much-cherished Champions League success, defeating Bayern Munich on penalties.
Owner Roman Abramovich had little choice but to appoint the caretaker full-time but things quickly unravelled, with Di Matteo sacked in the November.