Scott Parker to make Champions League history at Club Brugge
Scott Parker will become only the FOURTH English manager to lead a team in the Champions League knockout stage tonight when Club Brugge take on Benfica… just 169 days since he was sacked by Bournemouth
- Scott Parker was fired by Bournemouth after a humiliating 9-0 loss by Liverpool
- He took over at reigning Belgian champions Club Brugge on New Year’s Eve
- Now he leads them into a Champions League last-16 tie against Benfica
It’s a piece of trivia that doesn’t provide the greatest endorsement for English managers.
Only three have taken charge of a team in the Champions League knockout stages and given the competition is over three decades into its existence now you’d really hope for a few more.
There was Harry Redknapp, whose Tottenham side beat AC Milan in 2010-11 before being eliminated by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
Craig Shakespeare was in charge of reigning Premier League champions Leicester City after Claudio Ranieri was surprisingly sacked following a 2-1 defeat by Sevilla in the 2016-17 last-16.
Shakespeare guided the Foxes to a 2-0 win in the second leg before they were knocked out by Atletico Madrid in the last eight.
Scott Parker takes charge of Belgian side Club Brugge against Benfica in the Champions League last-16 this week
The club defied all expectations to qualify for the knockout rounds before Parker arrived
Parker guided Bournemouth back into the Premier League last season but then suffered a humiliating 9-0 defeat at Anfield and criticised a lack of investment in his squad
And then there was Frank Lampard, whose Chelsea side were thrashed 7-1 on aggregate by eventual champions Bayern Munich in the 2019-20 round of 16.
Those numbers will at least swell from three to five this Wednesday.
Graham Potter takes charge of Chelsea against Borussia Dortmund and, slightly off the radar of the average English football fan, Scott Parker leads Belgian champions Club Brugge into their tie with Benfica.
Parker, last in the consciousness of many when he was axed by Bournemouth 72 hours after a humiliating 9-0 defeat at Liverpool back in August, took over at the Jan Breydel Stadium on New Year’s Eve.
The 42-year-old, who had guided Fulham and then Bournemouth into the Premier League, was enjoying his first extended break from football since he was a teenager.
But when the phone call ‘out of the blue’ from Brugge, Parker knew it was time to step back onto the never-slowing treadmill of management.
As he told the Daily Telegraph this week: ‘You know when you have that feeling? The opportunity was just a great one at a club that is used to winning and wants to win.
‘I could only see it as me growing, me becoming even better, me taking myself out of situations which I am familiar with. In England, that is pretty rare.
‘I just felt like from where I was in my career, I wanted something different. I liked the idea of moving abroad, I liked the idea of a different culture.
Harry Redknapp (left) took charge of Tottenham against Jose Mourinho’s (right) Real Madrid in 2011 but English coaches in the Champions League knockout rounds are rare indeed
Craig Shakespeare (left) was in charge of Leicester when they lost to Atletico Madrid in the 2016-17 Champions League, while Frank Lampard (right) was Chelsea boss when they were thrashed 7-1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich in 2020
Parker is about to become the fourth English boss at this stage of the Champions League – with Chelsea’s Graham Potter making it five on the same night
‘Going into another Championship club didn’t feel like it was going to get me where I needed to be.’
Parker’s results at Club Brugge so far
All Belgian Pro League
January 8 Genk (A) L 1-3
January 15 vs Anderlecht (H) D 1-1
January 19 vs Sint-Truidense (A) D 1-1
January 22 vs Charleroi (H) D 2-2
January 29 vs Zulte Waregem (A) W 2-1
February 5 vs Royal Antwerp (A) D 0-0
February 10 vs Union Saint-Gilloise (H) D 1-1
Of course, Parker had nothing to do with Brugge reaching the Champions League knockout rounds for the first time.
Carl Hoefkens, a former defender at Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion, was the coach who guided them to a second-placed finish behind Porto in their group and ahead of Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid.
Their performances raised plenty of eyebrows across the continent but it wasn’t enough to keep Hoefkens in his job amid poor domestic form.
Expectations are high at Brugge after they won the Pro League in five of the last seven seasons but Parker would have to work miracles to keep that run going from here.
They sat fourth in the table when Parker arrived and they remain fourth, some 20 points behind leaders Genk and with Union Saint-Gilloise and Royal Antwerp also ahead of them.
The objective is to finish in the top four and make the Championship Play-offs in May, when the regular season points totals are halved and the quartet play one another again home and away.
The league winner enters next season’s Champions League in the play-off round and the runner-up starts in the second qualifying round.
So far, Parker has taken charge of seven games, winning one, losing one and drawing five, the latest of which was a 1-1 against Union Saint-Gilloise on Friday night.
Brugge’s Kamal Sowah celebrates after scoring against Atletico Madrid in the group phase
The club won their opening three group games and ultimately finished in second to Porto
In Europe, having made it through their group against all expectations, Brugge then swerved the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich to land a less daunting tie against Benfica, who topped Group H ahead of Paris Saint-Germain.
The 29,000-capacity Jan Breydel will be at its partisan and atmospheric best for the first leg on Wednesday night, with fans excited about witnessing Champions League history for the club.
There is a patient mood to allow Parker to build something and an acknowledgement it was always going to be a transitional season after their star player, Charles De Ketelaere, was sold to AC Milan last summer.
The 21-year-old scored 18 goals and contributed 10 assists last season, so was always going to be difficult to replace.
Spanish forward Ferran Jutgla, signed from Barcelona last summer, has netted 10 times so far but has been sidelined through injury in recent weeks.
Captain Hans Vanaken applauds the Brugge fans after their 2-0 home win over Atletico
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet (right) is a familiar name in the Brugge team
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet is a familiar face on the Brugge teamsheet, having left Anfield to return to his homeland in 2019.
They also have the English keeper Josef Bursik, who was at Stoke, ex-Fulham full-back Denis Odoi (well known to Parker), Scotland international defender Jack Hendry, and former Man City and Celtic man Dedryck Boyata.
Benfica currently enjoy a five-point advantage at the top of the Portuguese league and will represent tough opposition.
In the group stage, Brugge thrashed another team from that country, Porto, 4-0 away from home on matchnight two only to then suffer defeat by the same scoreline in the return.
Parker is steadying the ship to ensure Brugge play somewhere between those two extremes, with results so far perhaps not quite matching performances.
The club’s motto of ‘No Sweat, No Glory’ will have to apply if their English boss wants to make even more history.
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