The former Spain coach has been sacked at the Bernabeu, and has earned his place amongst some of the game's biggest failures on the bench

Getty Images1Steve McClaren | England

The Wally with a Brolly. Steve McClaren's time in the England job has gone down in national folklore as one of the worst managerial tenures ever, encapsulated by the famous image of the boss sheltering under an oversized umbrella as his team crashed and burned. 

McClaren took over from Sven Goran Eriksson as Three Lions manager in 2006 after previously serving as his assistant, and had also impressed during a five-year spell with Middlesbrough. But life with England proved rather more difficult, despite a positive start to qualifying for Euro 2008. 

A mixed campaign meant England needed only to avoid defeat in their final game at home to already-qualified Croatia in order to make the cut. But the nation fell 3-2 amid torrential rain at Wembley, marking the first time England had failed to qualify for a major tournament since the 1994 World Cup. 

That defeat unsurprisingly marked the end of McClaren's time in charge, having held the job for little over a year.

AdvertisementGetty Images2Ciro Ferrara | Juventus

Thanks to Juventus' recent record as far and away the kings of Italian football, it is easy to forget that not so long ago things were far from rosy for the Turin club. Ciro Ferrara's short-lived tenure in particular was a low point for the Old Lady. 

A favourite at the Delle Alpi as a player, Ferrara oversaw an ambitious attempt to knock dominant Inter off their perch, with stars like Fabio Cannavaro, Diego and Felipe Melo joining the club. But the team failed to click on the pitch, falling down the table and exiting the Champions League group stage with a pitiful 4-1 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich. 

The Europa League also ended in embarrassment for Juve with defeat at the hands of Fulham in the last-16, by which time Ferrara was already long gone. A Coppa Italia loss in January to Inter had sealed the coach's fate, and Juve would eventually finish a lowly seventh in Serie A as Jose Mourinho's Nerazzurri went on to win a famous treble. 

3John Barnes | Celtic

Another wonderful footballing talent who proved distinctly less than wonderful when handed managerial responsibilities. 

Barnes got his break on the bench in June 1999, working under director of football Kenny Dalglish in what had been touted as a 'dream team' for Scottish giants Celtic. That dream, however, soon turned into a living nightmare for the Bhoys. 

The former Liverpool and England star lasted just over eight months in the hotseat, and was sacked with Celtic trailing Rangers by 10 points in the SPL. The final straw, however, was a Scottish Cup defeat at the hands of tiny Inverness Caledonian Thistle, which inspired one of football's most famous headlines, courtesy of the "Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious." They truly were.

Getty4Andre Villas-Boas | Chelsea

Chelsea splashed out a reported £13.3 million to free Villas-Boas from his Porto contract in June 2011, with the hope that the Portuguese would repeat the success of compatriot and predecessor Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately for club and manager, lightning does not strike twice in the same place. 

A string of defeats and curious team selections saw the pressure mount on the 31-year-old's shoulders, as Chelsea dropped out of the top four and faced elimination from the Champions League thanks to a 3-1 reverse at the hands of Napoli.

Finally, in March 2011 and having stayed at the team for less than a year, Villas-Boas was removed from his post. He could only look on in frustration as, with caretaker Roberto Di Matteo at the helm, the newly invigorated Blues miraculously turned around their tie against Napoli and went on to win their first-ever Champions League title.