Managers sacked after winning a game… Lampard, Capello, Blanc and more

Cameron Loftus
27 November 2021

Slavisa Jokanovic was relieved of his duties at Sheffield United despite the Blades beating Reading last time out but he’s not the first boss to lose his job after a win...

Slavisa Jokanovic was dismissed as Sheffield United manager despite his team defeating Reading 1-0 in midweek.

The same fate befell former Norwich manager Daniel Farke only a couple of weeks ago. So how common is it? Planet Sport looks at seven managers sacked following a victory, starting with the most recent.

Slavisa Jokanovic

The Blades have made no secret of the fact they are aiming for an immediate return to the top flight.

However, despite keeping the majority of their Premier League squad together and adding the exciting Morgan Gibbs-White on a season-long loan from Wolves, they have endured a stuttering start.

The South Yorkshire side are 16th, eight points from the relegation zone and eight from the play-offs.

"We'd prefer to be in a better league position," said United chief executive Stephen Bettis when explaining the sacking of Jokanovic.

Funnily enough, back in 2015 Jokanovic suffered a similar fate when at the helm of Watford. He was their fourth manager of the campaign, but even though he got the club promoted to the Premier League he was still handed his P45 at the end of the season.

Fabio Capello

Fabio Capello had already been sacked after delivering the La Liga to the Bernabeu when he took charge in 2006/07.

His downfall in 1997 came after a falling out with club president Lorenzo Sanz, with the controversial Italian also angering fans with his dour style and by playing Raul on the left wing.

Los Blancos fans once again struggled to accept Capello's defensive style in his second term in charge. However, Real Madrid had not won a trophy in three years and Capello was brought in to get some silverware. He duly delivered as they won the La Liga on a dramatic final day which saw them beat Mallorca 3-1 to pip Barcelona on head to head record.

Showing he had not mellowed from his first spell, Capello was again involved in a number of high-profile disputes, while his pragmatic style of play also remained.

His second spell finished the same way as his first at Madrid, with a title and a sacking.

Frank Lampard

Chelsea legend Lampard was appointed manager of the club in 2019, where he spent 13 years as a player.

In his first season in charge, Lampard was unable to bring in any fresh faces due to a transfer ban. In the circumstances, reaching the FA Cup final and finishing fourth was considered a decent showing.

The next summer, with the ban lifted, he spent over £200 million on seven signings, including Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. Improvement was expected.

It did not arrive, though, and with the club in ninth place and having only won one of their last five league games, Lampard's position was under threat.

A Tammy Abraham hat-trick helped avoid a potential FA Cup banana skin as the Blues beat Luton Town 3-1.

However, less than 24 hours later he had been sacked. Thomas Tuchel was appointed and the rest is history.

Daniel Farke

In November 2021, Farke became another sacking victim despite winning his final match in charge.

Without a win in ten, the Canaries went to Brentford and picked up their first win of the season.

The Norwich board had seen enough. Farke, who had been at Carrow Road for over four years and had already taken them down once, was out on his ear. Maybe it was the hope that killed him.

Convinced Norwich could actually survive in the Premier League, the club went all out to persuade Frank Lampard to take over. Frank wasn't convinced and instead Dean Smith was handed the reins. He got off to the best possible start, defeating Southampton 2-1 in his first match in charge.

Laurent Blanc

Blanc's first taste of management came in his native France with Bordeaux. In his first season in charge, he won the Ligue 1 Manager of the Year award as his team finished second. The next year, Bordeaux won the Ligue 1 title and in three seasons in charge he was able to win a hugely impressive four trophies.

A spell as France national coach was then followed by a 2013 move to Paris Saint-Germain, who had recently been taken over by Qatar Sports Investments.

In his first season, PSG won their first-ever treble. In his second, they went one better and won the quadruple, matching that feat in his third year.

The Parisians won the league by over 30 points from second-placed Lyon, rounding off their league campaign with a 4-0 win over Nantes.

The following week they beat Marseille 4-2 to win the French Cup final.

But still it wasn't enough for club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi who described the season as a failure due to their Champions League quarter-final defeat to Manchester City.

Blanc departed in the summer and PSG have still to win the Champions League.

Louis van Gaal

Louis van Gaal bowed out at Old Trafford not only with a win but a trophy.

United defeated Crystal Palace in the 2016 FA Cup final thanks to an extra-time winner from Jesse Lingard, but it was not enough to keep the Dutchman in a job.

Man United had only managed fifth place in the Premier League and the hierarchy prioritised that over an FA Cup triumph as Van Gaal and his backroom staff were given their marching orders less than two days on.

Van Gaal said on his departure that "the foundations are firmly in place for the club to move forward and achieve even greater success". Mmm.

Vicente del Bosque

Del Bosque was sacked as Real Madrid manager despite being associated with the club for the majority of his career. He played over 400 games for the club and then went on to manage their Castilla team and had two spells as caretaker manager, before finally being appointed by Madrid in 1999.

He spent three-and-a-half years at the helm and delivered two La Liga titles and two Champions League as well as four other trophies to Los Blancos.

However, even a title-winning victory over Athletic Bilbao in the last league match of the 2002/03 season was not enough to save him from the axe.

Two goals from Ronaldo and one from another iconic Brazilian, Roberto Carlos, saw Real Madrid secure a 3-1 victory to pip Real Sociedad for the crown, capping off a magnificent treble.

Despite his achievements, Del Bosque's contract was not extended, with the club offering him the role of technical director.

The Spaniard turned it down and went on to win the World Cup and European Championship with Spain.

Madrid went three years before landing another trophy.