The 50 greatest football managers of all-time
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France Football, the publication behind the famous Ballon d’Or award have ranked the top 50 football managers of all time and it’s fair to say that their list has caused quite the stir, especially at the top. Here’s a rundown of the men they decided are the 50 best managers of the thousands who’ve managed professional teams over the years.
50. Jean-Claude Suaudeau
Jean-Claude Suaudeau had two spells in charge of French side Nantes and guided them to two Ligue 1 title wins; one in 1983 and the other in 1995.
49. Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte transitioned from a title-winning player to a title-winning manager. He won Serie A three times whilst in charge of Juventus, before moving to Chelsea, where he won the Premier League in his first season.
48. Marcelo Bielsa
Current Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has managed sides all over the world and is credited by many as being one of the most tactically astute managers in history.
47. Raymond Goethals
Raymond Goethals’ coaching career spanned for almost 50 years. He enjoyed success at Anderlecht and Standard Liege but his crowning achievement was guiding Marseille to a Champions League win in 1993.
46. Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel was THE manager for underdog sides looking to cause a stir. He won two Bundesliga titles with Werder Bremen before joining Bayern Munich. Things didn’t quite work out for him there so he moved to Kaiserslautern. He got them promoted and then, incredibly, they won the Bundesliga in their first season back in the big time. Added to that, Rehhagel was the mastermind behind Greece’s Euro 2004. Quite the CV!
45. Frank Rijkaard
After a stellar playing career, Frank Rijkaard moved into management and it was at Barcelona where he had the most success, winning the league and Champions League double in 2006.
44. Luis Aragones
Luis Aragones went into management in 1974 and it wasn’t long before he guided Atletico Madrid to the title. 34 years later, he was the man to finally lead Spain to major glory, winning Euro 2008.
43. Stefan Kovacs
Stefan Kovacs’ success at Steaua Bucuresti earned him the chance to move to Ajax and he took the opportunity with both hands. He turned the Dutch side into the best team in Europe in the early 1970s.
42. Tomislav Ivic
Tomislav Ivic managed teams in 14 different countries, along with four national teams. He won eight league titles in six different countries.
41. Mircea Lucescu
Mircea Lucescu was in management for 40 years. In that time, he won league titles with Dinamo Bucuresti, Rapid Bucuresti, Galatasaray, Besiktas and Shakhtar Donetsk.
40. Dettmar Cramer
Dettmar Cramer is the man who led Bayern Munich to the 1975 and 1976 European Cups.
39. Bobby Robson
One of the most beloved English managers ever, Bobby Robson won league titles with PSV Eindhoven and Porto. He also took England to the semi-finals of the World Cup.
38. Hans "Hennes" Weisweiler
Hans “Hennes” Weisweiler won major titles with Borussia Monchengladbach and FC Koln in the 1970s before winning the Swiss league with Grasshoppers in 1983. He was responsible for the training of hundreds of coaches from all over the world in the 1960s and has a coaching centre named after him in Germany.
37. Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez’s first major honours came with Valencia, as he guided them to two La Liga wins as well as the UEFA Cup. He then moved to Liverpool, winning the Champions League in his first season. He’s also won trophies in charge of Inter Milan, Chelsea and Napoli and he guided Newcastle back into the Premier League in 2017.
36. Vic Buckingham
Vic Buckingham was one of the first English managers to manage top European sides like Ajax and Barcelona, with whom he won silverware.
35. Tele Santana
Tele Santana led Atletico Mineiro to their first Brazilian championship title. Whilst he was unable to win the World Cup whilst in charge of Brazil, he went back into club management, where he managed Sao Paulo as they won the Brazilian title in 1991 and the Libertadores Cup in 1992 and 1993.
34. Jock Stein
Jock Stein was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup as he led Celtic’s ‘Lisbon Lions’ to success back in 1967. He also won ten league titles and eight Scottish Cups whilst in charge of the Hoops.
33. Vicente del Bosque
Vicente del Bosque won two league titles and two Champions Leagues at Real Madrid. He also led Spain to World Cup glory in 2010, as well as to success at Euro 2012.
32. Arsene Wenger
Credited as the man who modernised English football, Arsene Wenger led Arsenal to three league titles and seven FA Cups.
31. Diego Simeone
Diego Simeone has done an amazing job with Atletico Madrid. He famously led them to a La Liga win in 2014. He’s also won the Europa League with them twice.
30. Udo Lattek
Udo Lattek won 15 major titles as a manager, most famously with Bayern Munich, Borussia Monchengladbach and Barcelona.
29. Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink has managed all over the world. He enjoyed the most success with PSV Eindhoven, with whom he won six league titles.
28. Albert Batteux
Albert Batteux led Reims to five league titles in the 50s and 60s, before winning a further three with Saint-Etienne later in the decade.
27. Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp won two league titles with Borussia Dortmund, upsetting the mighty Bayern Munich. He’ll be hoping to end this season with more silverware as Liverpool push for Premier League and Champions League glory.
26. Bob Paisley
During his nine-year tenure as Liverpool manager, Paisley won an incredible six league titles, three European Cups, three League Cups and the UEFA Cup.
25. Jupp Heynckes
During his managerial career, the great Jupp Heynckes won four league titles with Bayern Munich. In 2013, he added the Champions League and DFB-Pokal to win a historic treble. Add to that, he guided Real Madrid to Champions League glory in 1998. Not bad!
24. Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman led Arsenal to their first FA Cup win as well as to two First Division titles before his sudden death in 1934.
23. Viktor Maslov
Viktor Maslov is seen as one of the most influential managers of all time. He invented the 4-4-2 formation, along with the notion of pressing and counter-pressing.
22. Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane is now back in the Real Madrid hot seat after a brief time away. In his first spell in charge, he won three Champions League titles in a row, as well as one La Liga and the FIFA Club World Cup.
21. Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello’s honours list is quite something. Five Serie A titles, two La Ligas and a Champions League, as well as a few other trophies too!
20. Bela Guttmann
Bela Guttmann was the man who guided Benfica to back to back European Cup wins in 1961 and 1962.
19. Ottmar Hitzfeld
Ottmar Hitzfeld won a total of 18 major titles as a manager, most notably with Grasshoppers, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. He is one of only five managers to win the European Cup/ Champions League with two different clubs.
18. Louis van Gaal
Louis van Gaal recently retired from management and did so having won league titles with Ajax, Barcelona, AZ and Bayern Munich.
17. Nereo Rocco
Nereo Rocco is regarded as one of the best managers in Italian football history. He led AC Milan to domestic and European glory in the 1960s. He now has a stadium named after him in his hometown of Trieste, Italy.
16. Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi’s crowning achievement came as he led Italy to the World Cup in 2006. What preceded that wasn’t too bad either as he won five Serie A titles and the Champions League with Juventus.
15. Brian Clough
After winning the First Division with Derby County, Brian Clough helped turn Nottingham Forest from a second division side into back-to-back champions of Europe, as well as the champions of England.
14. Miguel Munoz
Miguel Munoz is one of the most successful and greatest managers ever, winning two European Cups and nine La Liga titles with Real Madrid.
13. Jose Mourinho
Love him or loathe him, you can’t deny that Jose Mourinho is a winner. He has won 25 major honours, making him one of the most successful managers of all time.
12. Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni has won a combined 10 league titles in Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria, as well as the European Cup and three UEFA Cups.
11. Sir Matt Busby
Sir Matt Busby became the first manager of an English team to win the European Cup when he led Man United to glory in 1968. He also won five league titles and two FA Cups.
10. Bill Shankly
The man who put Liverpool back on the map; Bill Shankly won three league titles, two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup at Anfield.
9. Ernst Happel
Ernst Happel is one of six managers to have won league championships in at least four different countries as he had success in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Austria. He also won two European Cups.
8. Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is one of only three managers to have won the Champions League three times, twice with Milan and once with Real Madrid. He also won league titles with AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich.
7. Helenio Herrera
During his career, Helenio Herrera won four La Liga titles, with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, as well as three Serie A titles in Italy with Inter Milan. He also guided Inter to European glory, winning back-to-back European Cups in 1964 and 1965.
6. Valeriy Lobanovskyi
In 1975, Valeriy Lobanovskyi’s Dynamo Kyiv became the first side from the Soviet Union to win a major European trophy when they won the Cup Winners’ Cup.
5. Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola holds the record for the most consecutive league wins in La Liga, Bundesliga and the Premier League, and he’s won all of those competitions as a manager. He’s also won the Champions League and he’ll be looking to add even more silverware this season as his Man City side remains on course to win a historic treble.
4. Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff’s impact on football goes beyond trophies, although he did win a few of those! His football philosophy has influenced managers for years and continues to do so to this day.
3. Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan side are widely considered to be one of the best sides in history. The Italian won a Serie A title in his first season and they went on to win two consecutive European Cups.
2. Sir Alex Ferguson
Perhaps a shock that he’s not at number one! Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen side enjoyed huge success in Scotland before he moved to Man United. At Old Trafford, he won an incredible 13 league titles, two Champions Leagues and numerous other honours.
1. Rinus Michels
France Football declared Rinus Michels as the greatest manager of all time. He won theEuropean Cup with Ajax La Liga with Barcelona and the 1988 European Championships with the Netherlands. Michels is credited with the invention of ‘Total Football’, which is why he sits at number one in this list.