Many players who starred under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United have ended up going into management themselves, no doubt looking to emulate the great Scot.
Ferguson is simply one of the greatest managers to have ever lived and his influence has been enormous.
We saw one of his former players come so close to dumping United out of the FA Cup on Sunday with Mark Robins taking Coventry City to the brink of a Wembley upset.
The like of Steve Bruce, Gordon Strachan, Mark Hughes, Bryan Robson, Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Jaap Stam, Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have all turned to management after working under Ferguson.
The success rate is pretty mixed but we saw Solskjaer step up to become United boss and fare better than many would have expected.
Carrick is doing fine work at Middlesbrough whilst ex-United striker David Healy has been a trophy-winning machine at Linfield in Northern Ireland.
Robin van Persie nearing management
The latest reports now suggest that Robin van Persie is about to join the ranks.
Van Persie only spent the one season working under Ferguson at Old Trafford, but was a memorable one.
The Dutchman smashed 30 goals in all competitions during the 2012-13 season, helping United win the Premier League title.
Van Persie ended his career back with hometown club Feyenoord before starting his coaching career with the Rotterdam giants.
Having coached Feyenoord attackers, Van Persie has been managing in the club’s youth setup for the last three years.
The time appears to have come for Van Persie to make a huge leap with a deal to become Heerenveen boss now believed to be close.
Algemeen Dagblad in the Netherlands claim that an agreement with Heerenveen is in the pipeline with Van Persie poised for a first managerial role.
Ironically, Van Persie will be replacing a former Feyenoord teammate in the Heerenveen hot seat with Kees van Wonderen set to leave this summer.
Another ex-United striker turned down the job
This is a massive step for Van Persie and it could set him a path to stardom as a manager.
What’s interesting is that Van Persie is now becoming the top target for Heerenveen after they missed out on another ex-United striker.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was wanted after losing his job at PSV Eindhoven last summer, but he turned down the move to his former club.
Heerenveen are now moving onto Van Persie and will seemingly have more luck with this move.
Van Persie will have learned plenty from Ferguson as well as Arsene Wenger, but only time will tell whether he can become a success a manager, just as he was as a player.
