What is the difference between a coach and a manager? I’m asking seriously, because I notices that there are clubs where the manager is an icon whereas others in which it’s the coach (or at least I think so).
Are there situations in which the manager and coach are one and the same?
Who are some famous coaches - especially ones that might be accidentally considered managers?
Again, these questions are asked seriously.
The differences depend on the role that the coach/manager has in their respective club.
A head coach is normally responsible for the tactics, lineup selection and preparation of their squad. Decisions such as player transfers and contract negotiations would be handled by a sporting director/ director of football or someone else in their respective clubs hierarchy.
A manager traditionally has the same responsibility as the head coach while also having a larger role in player transfers, contract negotiations and the clubs academy. The most notable example of a manager is that of Sir Alex Furgeson.
These are not consistent across all clubs and their respective roles vary depending on the structure of a club, some managers will still work under/along side a sporting director (David Moyes at West ham and Russel Martin at Southampton) and some head coaches will have a greater say in transfers. The two terms are normally interchangeable and often have very little differences on a club to club basis.