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Tottenham Hotspur’s match against APOEL is something of a dead rubber. The White Hart Lane club have already qualified for the knockout stages as the winners of Group H.
But what the game does provide is an opportunity for fans of obscure Premier League players to catch up with what Giorgos Donis, formerly of Blackburn Rovers, is up to.
And if you want to make a venture of tracking the careers of ex-top flight stars plying their trade as a manager with football’s lesser known teams, Sportsmail has you covered.
We’ve put together a list of some of those occupying dugouts around the world below.
Dan Petrescu was part of a Chelsea side that picked up quite a few trophies between 1997 and 1998, winning the FA Cup, League Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup and the Super Cup. He has already shown the same propensity for success as a manager, winning the Romanian Liga I with Unirea Urziceni in 2009, the Russian First Division in 2010 and the Chinese FA Cup in 2015. He’s now in charge of Cluj, who top the Romanian top flight.
Full-back Abel Xavier had quite the nomadic career in England. He played for the likes of Everton, Liverpool and, after a brief jaunt around Europe, Middlesbrough. He has similarly not stayed with any club for particularly long as manager, having spells at Olhanense, Farense, Aves and now Mozambique, who have not won any of their last four matches under him.
Tony Popovic represented Crystal Palace for five years but only played 23 Premier League games for them. He’s already shown his managerial nous. The 44-year-old had a trophy-laden spell in charge of Western Sydney Wanderers, winning the A-League and the AFC Champions League. But his current side, Karabukspor, are bottom of the Turkish Super Lig.
Best known for his role in the Leeds United side that reached the Champions League semi-finals in the 2000-01 season. Also spent time on loan with Aston Villa in the Premier League. Eirik Bakke is now manager of Sogndal, the club he started his career with. The Norwegian led his team to 14th in the Eliteserien but they got relegated via the play-offs.
Former defender Igor Stimac represented two Premier League sides in his career - Derby County between 1995 and 1999 and West Ham over the following two seasons. His managerial career has included spells at Hajduk Split, Zagreb and the Croatian national team. He now manages Al-Shahania in Qatar.
Spent most of his career in the English top flight at likes of Spurs, Manchester United, Portsmouth and West Ham but already showed his propensity for an obscure move with a loan spell at Djurgardens back in 1985. A spell at Stevenage did not work out, but he’ll be hoping for more success at ATK in the Indian Super League. Robbie Keane is in his side.
Did not set the world alight during his five years at Liverpool, making just 72 Premier League appearances. He was part of the side that famously won the Champions League in 2005. Igor Biscan has developed over time as a manager, winning the Croatian Second League with Rudes last season and leading Olimpija Ljubljana to the Slovenian Cup and second in the top flight this campaign.
Robert Molenaar was known as ‘The Terminator’ during his time at Leeds and was the sort of bruising defender who very few players like to come up against. He also had a spell at Bradford City. Now manages Roda in the Eredivisie in his native Holland. He might need to turn around their form soon - they are currently bottom with just three wins from 14 games. Milan Mandaric is his chairman.
Very few players have moments like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did in the 1999 Champions League final. He lived up to his reputation as a ‘super sub’ by coming off the bench to score a last-minute winner against Bayern Munich. Retired while at Manchester United in 2007, becoming reserve team manager. Left for Molde in Norway before a brief spell as Cardiff boss. Now back with Molde, who came second in the Elitserien this year.
David Healy made Premier League appearances for Manchester United, Fulham and Sunderland over an extended career best defined by his goal against England and hat-trick against Spain for Northern Ireland. Picked up the treble last season as Linfield manager, winning the league title, the Country Antrim Shield and the Irish Cup. He managed them against Celtic this campaign.
A useful player in the early years of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. Remi Garde actually joined the club on the same day as Patrick Vieira, although he was mainly used as a backup to his compatriot. Picked up medals for the double in 1997-98. Garde had an unsuccessful spell in charge of Aston Villa, lasting just five months in the hot seat. He has been in charge of MLS side Montreal Impact for the past month.
Even the most eagle-eyed of football watchers could have missed Carl Robinson’s spell in the Premier League. He played six games over spells at Portsmouth and Sunderland. But Robinson has managed to be a totem of managerial stability in MLS. He has been in charge of the Vancouver Whitecaps for the last five years and will lead them into the 2018 season.
Like his colleague in MLS Garde, Patrick Vieira was part of Arsene Wenger’s ultra-successful early years at Arsenal. But he had a much bigger role than his compatriot, the captain and leader of a side that went an entire season unbeaten. Also spent time at Manchester City. Now managing their sister club, New York City, he has posted the second-best record with his side in MLS in each of the last two seasons.
American Brad Friedel had an 18-year relationship with the Premier League over spells at Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur. Has proven his salt as a manager as United States U19 boss and was handed the New England Revolution job on November 9 this year.
Not exactly the most well-remembered player in Premier League history. Time at AC Milan, Real Madrid and Inter Milan was followed by an eight-game loan spell at Chelsea in the 2000-01 season. After a post-football career that included an appearance on the Italian edition of Dancing with the Stars, Christian Panucci managed Livorno and Ternana before taking over as Albania boss in July.
Aliou Cisse spent time at Birmingham and Portsmouth between 2002 and 2006, playing a total of 59 matches in the Premier League. He has since worked his way up the system at Senegal. Cisse was assistant and then manager of the nation’s Under-23s between 2012 and 2015. He became senior boss in 2015 and led them to the World Cup by beating South Africa in November.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst represented Arsenal during a career that also saw him play for Barcelona and Rangers. His two year spell at Highbury brought a Premier League title and an FA Cup before he moved on. He has been in charge of Feyenoord, his boyhood club, since 2015 and led them to a first Eredivisie title in 18 years last season.
Li Tie spent six seasons in England, five in the Premier League, during his playing career. But he only played 34 league games, all of them coming in his first two seasons in the country. His loan at Everton was negotiated by sponsors Kejian. Spent a year in charge of Hebei China Fortune before being made general manager of Wuhan Zull in November.
Michael Reiziger would not count his 22 Premier League appearances for Middlesbrough among the greatest achievements of a career that included time with Ajax, AC Milan and Barcelona and a Champions League medal. He has returned to Ajax to take charge of their Jong side, who compete in Holland’s second tier.
Graham Potter had a fairly nomadic career across England’s lower leagues, which included time at Stoke, West Brom and Northampton Town. Also played in the Premier League for Southampton. Has since become an example of what English managers can achieve overseas. Managed to take tiny Ostersunds into the Europa League this season by beating Galatasaray and PAOK over two legs. On track to lead them into knockout stages.
Spent years at Crystal Palace and Wolves but might be most famous for a tunnel bust up with Neil Warnock in a documentary produced during the Cardiff manager’s time at Sheffield United. Kevin Muscat is now boss of Melbourne Victory, who are sixth in the A-League table. Won a Premiership-Championship double with them in 2014-15.
John Aloisi had three years in the Premier League with Coventry City after a spell at Portsmouth in the second tier. He developed as a manager at Melbourne Heart and Melbourne City, working with their youth teams, before moving on to Brisbane Roar. Led the Roar to two top-four finishes before signing a new three-year deal in May of this year.
Mido struck 13 goals in 36 games on loan at Spurs, convincing them to spend several million on him. Struggled once he signed permanently and was then shipped out to Middlesbrough. Also failed to impress there before loans at Wigan and West Ham. He has managed Zamalek twice and recently took charge of Wadi Degla, only to be sacked on Monday.
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