It's an odd event to occur. Being sacked after tasting success in a competition. All managers who have suffered through this fate are probably perplexed by the decision. At the time of this writing, Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag's future is up in the air despite a shocking FA Cup final victory over cross city rivals, Manchester City. I, along with the majority of the fans, want ten Hag to continue.
Maurizio Sarri was the manager of Juventus when he suffered this fate. He had a mixed tenure while there. He arrived with the expectation of playing scintilating and high octane-football. He started off well with 14 wins out of 15 home games in all competitions.
In the domestic circuit, Sarri led Juventus to their ninth straight Serie A title. However, it was their performances in Europe and the Champions League that ultimately sealed his fate. They headed to the exit door at the Round of 16 at the hands of Lyon. They were eliminated on away goals. He got sacked two weeks after winning the Serie A title.
Recently, Juventus won the Copa Italia. However, Massimiliano Allegri lost his cool in stoppage time when he grew angry at a decision, ripped off his jacket and earned a red card for sarcastically applauding the referee as Juventus beat Atalanta 1-0.
Juventus said in a statement that Allegri's behaviour was not in line with their "values."
"The firing follows certain behaviours during and after the Italian Cup final that the club deemed incompatible with the values of Juventus, and the behavior that those who represent it should have," the club said.
Next up is Laurent Blanc. If, in recent times, it hasn’t already been clear, the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) board’s treatment of Blanc and other managers have confirmed the suspicion that the Champions League is the club’s priority. The former World Cup winner had just led the Parisians to a third consecutive Ligue 1 title by a margin of 31 points but that – together with two domestic cups – wasn’t enough to spare him the chairman’s bullet after PSG failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals of Europe’s biggest competition.
Blanc must have felt even more hard done by the following season, when Unai Emery was spared the sack despite failing to win the title and also falling short on the continent.
Speaking of which, the current Aston Villa manager, Unai Emery, got the sack when he managed PSG. He made the arrival in Paris in 2016. He came from Sevilla. During his time in Sevilla, he won three UEFA Europa League victories. It was widely expected of him to translate that success into the bigger stage that is the Champions League. That certainly didn't happen.
In his debut season, he lost out on the Ligue 1 title to a once-in-a-lifetime ensemble AS Monaco team. This was led by Kylian Mbappe. To add salt to the wounds, they were on the receiving end of Barcelona's legendary remontanda where PSG lost 6 - 1 after having a four goal lead in the 1st leg of the Champions League.
He redeemed himself in the league by winning Ligue 1 the following season. However, it was the exit in the Round of 16 in the Champions League that was the straw that broke the camel's back. He had both Neymar and Mbappe at his disposal.
Over in England, Antonio Conte suffered that fate after winning the FA Cup. In his first year in charge, he won the Premier League. This came after troubling performances the season prior which saw them finish 10th. He won the Premier League seven points clear of 2nd placed Tottenham and 15 above Manchester City. In his second and final season in charge, he finished fifth and, as mentioned above, won the FA Cup.
Arsene Wenger isn't immune to this. Long after he stopped winning Premier League titles, he kept churning out FA Cup wins with Arsenal but they only offered a stay of execution.
Eleven months after lifting the trophy for a seventh time, in May 2017, Arsenal announced their longest-serving manager was effectively being sacked.
Going back to Chelsea, it could be argued that Robert Di Matteo did a remarkable job as an interim manager. If winning the FA Cup wasn’t enough, he also delivered the Champions League – a first for Chelsea – months after taking the reins in 2012.
He was rewarded with a new two year contract. This was followed by the sack after being eliminated from the Champions League three months into the next season.
They showed little sentiment when it came to Jose Mourinho in 2007. Four months after winning the FA Cup, the club’s most successful manager ever was on his way “by mutual consent” amid tensions behind the scenes.
Carlo Ancelotti delivered Chelsea’s first ever league and cup double in 2010 but – not entirely out of character – Blues overlord and then-owner, Roman Abramovich, only gave him so much grace.
A year later, and just minutes after the final whistle went in Chelsea’s last game of the season, Ancelotti was sent packing to become one of the most decorated coaches of all time.
Louis Van Gaal got sacked after winning the FA Cup. He arrived the season before after having a glamourous World Cup campaign with the Netherlands. In his first season, he finished fourth and 5th in the second season and won the FA Cup - the first since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.
He got the sack after a few hours after the Cup victory. It was widely reported that Jose Mourinho would replace him. This, was, indeed the case.
Derby’s continued failure to win promotion to the Premier League means they have gone through a fair few bosses in recent seasons. In the early-to-mid-1970s, though, the Rams were one of the country's best sides, winning the First Division in 1972 and 1975.
Yet, within 18 months of each of those triumphs, Derby's victorious managers were gone. First, Brian Clough resigned after a relationship breakdown with the board. Dave Mackay was sacked in November 1976 after asking the club's hierarchy for a vote of confidence. The Scot blasted the directors, calling them "deluded" for expecting a trophy every season; 42 years later, the East Midlanders are still waiting.
Perhaps sensing that life at Wigan wasn’t going to get any better, Roberto Martinez jumped ship for Everton three weeks after guiding them to an FA Cup-relegation double in 2013.
With great foresight, Guus Hiddink resisted overtures to stay on at Chelsea after winning the 2009 final in a spell as caretaker that he always insisted would be temporary.
Harry Redknapp stuck around for three months after his Portsmouth team won the cup in 2008, until Tottenham Hotspur came knocking.
In Germany, Udo Lattek faced the demise by Bayern Munich. Lattek, who had never previously coached a club side before his appointment at Bayern, won three consecutive championships and guided them to their first European Cup in 1974. When Lattek told the board things needed to change after the Bavarians languished 10th in the Bundesliga, the following year, his superiors agreed and the manager was given the boot.
Lattek later returned in 1983, again triumphing three times in the Bundesliga and also adding two German Cups to his collection. Yet even that wasn't enough: when Bayern lost 2-1 Porto in the 1987 European Cup Final, Lattek got the blame and was binned soon after.
Bayern Munich were at it again with Felix Magath. They have long been known to dismiss a coach or 10 – even when, like Magath managed in 2005 and 2006, the man in question has won back-to-back domestic doubles.
The future Fulham chief was nevertheless ditched by the ruthless Bavarians after his side collected one point in six matches in February 2007, the German's supposed disdain for tactics – “something for bad players,” apparently – not exactly conducive to glory on the European stage. He also kept his distance from the squad, reportedly refusing to speak to any of his chargers for 10 days during a training camp in Dubai.
Real Madrid turned to Fabio Capello after three years without a La Liga title between 2004 and 2006. The Italian returned for his second stint at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Italian succeeded in returning the championship crown to the capital club’s trophy cabinet but he was still sacked 11 days after the conclusion of the campaign for failing to guide los Blancos beyond the last 16 of the Champions League. Capello was also criticised for his style of football, which was considered excessively dull by those on the terraces. Six months later, he was hired by England.
Bernd Schuster fulfilled his remit of winning the La Liga title in his debut season at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2007-08, while the Madrid hierarchy were also pleased with the high-tempo, attacking football the team played under his guidance. Less positive was a failure to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League but the German still appeared to be in a strong position at the start of his second season.
Schuster, though, was sacked halfway through the 2008-09 season after Barcelona opened up a nine-point lead at the top of the table. His declaration that Madrid had no chance of winning the upcoming El Clasico at the Camp Nou probably didn't help his chances of staying.
Van Gaal suffered the same fate at Bayern Munich. In 2010, Van Gaal led Bayern to the Bundesliga title and the Champions League final, where they were defeated by Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan. The abrasive Dutchman fell out with club bosses the subsequent campaign, however, and was let go after Bayern slipped down to fourth place in the German top flight and exited Europe's premier competition, again at the hands of the Nerazzurri.
The strangest of all sackings was the one of Vincente Del Bosque by Real Madrid. This comes after winning two La Liga titles in four years. In four years at the helm, he won: 2 La Liga titles; 3 Champions League titles and three other trophies. He had a spectacular record of winning 104/186 games. The issue was disagreements with senior members at the club, including captain, Fernando Hierro. Del Bosque was allowed to leave Madrid amid political risks at the club, including president, Florentino Perez.
Being sacked is never a nice thing to happen to anyone. As it has been seen, a slight dip in form can lead to being fired even after tasting success. It baffles me for cases such as the Di Matteo one ended. A sacking should never occur immediately following a success. They should be granted some extra time to prove themselves further.