The top 15 football managers of all time have been named, with three active managers making the cut.
Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho, and Pep Guardiola have all had successful managerial careers in the twenty-first century.
Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff are among the top five football visionaries.
Football fans enjoy a good debate, and few discussions are more nuanced than those over who the greatest manager of all time is. Choosing the finest football player in history is difficult enough, but the impact a head coach can have on his club is even more difficult to see from the outside looking in.
A manager’s role has evolved from de facto secretary to the team’s public face. At times, the figure patrolling the perimeter of their technical area can be larger than the players rushing around on the pitch.
There have been innovators and individualists, caring souls and cunning schemers. Every coach has contributed to the rich tapestry of the beautiful game. Here’s a look back at the best to ever do it, from modern-day legends like Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti to trend-setters who have influenced a long line of outstanding coaches.
Ranking factors and trophies.
Longevity
Style of play, Legacy, and Influence
The Greatest Football Managers Of All Time
Rank
Manager
Career Span
1
Sir Alex Ferguson
1974–2013
2
Rinus Michels
1965–1992
3
Pep Guardiola
2007-Present
4
Johan Cruyff
1985-1996
5
Helenio Herrera
1945-1981
6
Bill Shankly
1949-1974
7
Carlo Ancelotti
1995-Present
8
Ernst Happel
1962-1992
9
Sir Matt Busby
1945-1971
10
Giovanni Trapattoni
1974-2013
11
Arrigo Sacchi
1982-2001
12
José Mourinho
2000-Present
13
Brian Clough
1965-1993
14
Valery Lobanovskyi
1968–2001
15
Vicente del Bosque
1987–2016
15 Vicente del Bosque Double Champions League winner and manager of all-conquering Spain side
Vicente del Bosque spent his entire playing career at Real Madrid, winning five La Liga titles and four Copa del Rey crowns. He also won the Champions League twice and two La Liga titles while managing the club from 1999 to 2003. Interestingly, Madrid did not renew Del Bosque’s contract when it expired in 2003, and he stayed for another four years.
14Valeriy Lobanovskyi
Dynamo Kyiv legend and innovator
Valeriy Lobanovskyi is a name that many football fans may not recognise, but he is one of the most accomplished managers in history. The steely drill sergeant spent the majority of his coaching career in his home Ukraine or Russia, winning over 30 awards. Lobanovskyi led Dynamo Kyiv to exceptional success, winning eight Soviet league titles and six Soviet cups in his first two spells in charge, before returning for a third tenure and winning five Ukrainian titles and three Ukrainian cups.
Lobanovskyi, who is recognised with being one of the first managers to use a scientific and analytical approach to football, also frequently advanced Dynamo to the final stages of the European Cup, a competition dominated by Western European sides. Lobanovskyi managed the Soviet Union in various international events, including a second-place result at Euro 1988.
Valeriy Lobanovskyi Honours List
Team
Titles
Dnepro Dnipropetrovsk
Soviet First League
Dynamo Kiev
Soviet Top League: 8; Soviet Cup: 6; Soviet Super Cup: 3; Ukrainian National League: 5; Ukrainian Cup: 3; UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 2; European Super Cup, Commonwealth of Independent States Cup: 3
Kuwait
Arab Gulf Cup
13Brian Clough
Double European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest
Brian Clough is admired as much for his charisma as for his managerial successes, which says a lot about his personality given that he led Nottingham Forest to two European Cups – more than Arsenal, Manchester City, and Tottenham Hotspur put together. Clough’s achievements with Derby County and Forest are widely regarded as among the best in the history of English football.
Clough led Derby, a team with little previous success, to the First Division title in 1972, having been promoted from the Second Division only three years before. Clough won another top-flight title in 1978, just a year after being promoted, as well as four League Cups and back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, during his tenure at Forest from 1975 to 1993.
| Brian Clough Honours List | |
|---|---|
| Team | Titles |
| Derby | First Division, Second Division, Texaco Cup, Watney Cup |
| Nottingham Forest | First Division, European Cup x 2, League Cup x 4, European Super Cup, Community Shield, Anglo-Scottish Cup, Full Members Cup x 2
|
12Jose Mourinho
Pragmatist who won the lot
Jose Mourinho’s playing career never really took off, and he retired at the age of 24, preferring to focus on coaching. After serving as an assistant to Sir Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal at Barcelona, Mourinho decided to forge his own path, and after brief stints with Benfica and Uniao de Leiria, the Portuguese made a name for himself as Porto manager.
Mourinho’s pragmatic method did not always earn praises, but it did win silverware, and he followed up his Champions League title with Porto in 2004 with excellent spells at Chelsea and Inter Milan, where he won another European Cup. Mourinho’s methods are no longer as effective as they once were, with many managers preferring more broad approaches, yet few of those coaches will ever have a CV as impressive as his.
Jose Mourinho Honours List
Team
Titles
Porto
Primeira Liga x 2, Champions League, UEFA Cup Taca de Portugal, Supertaca. Candido De Oliveira
Chelsea
Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Community Shield.
Inter Milan
Serie A x 2, Champions League, Coppa Italia, and Supercoppa Italiana
Real Madrid
La Liga, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España
Manchester United
Europa League, League Cup, and Community Shield.
Roma
Conference League
11Arrigo Sacchi
Manager of the great Milan side of the late 80s
Arrgo Sacchi was never a professional football player and worked as a shoe salesman before becoming a manager. When a journalist questioned his credentials when he was signed by AC Milan in 1987, he eloquently replied: “I never realised that in order to become a jockey, you have to have been a horse first.”
Sacchi is considered as one of the most inventive tacticians of all time, and his Milan club played with a fluidity that was unprecedented, particularly in Italy. Italian teams at the time prioritised defence above offence, although Sacchi was a big believer in the high-pressing concepts pioneered by Dutchman Rinus Michels in the 1970s.
Milan won the Scudetto in Sacchi’s debut season in charge, followed by back-to-back European Cup victories in 1989 and 1990. Sacchi’s Milan team is regarded by many as one of the best club teams of all time, and he also led Italy to second place in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Arrigo Sacchi Honours List
Team
Titles
Parma
Serie C1
AC Milan
Serie A, European Cup x 2, European Super Cup x 2, Intercontinental Cup x 2, and Supercoppa Italiana
10Giovanni Trapattoni
Serial Serie A winne
Football fans under a particular age in the British Isles may remember Giovanni Trapattoni mostly for his five-year tenure as manager of the Republic of Ireland national side. Trapattoni performed admirably in that role despite having few tools at his disposal, but his achievements with Ireland will never compare to those from earlier in his managerial career.
Trapattoni’s greatest success as a manager came during his two spells with Juventus, where he won six top-flight titles, two Italian Cups, and the 1985 European Cup. Trapattoni has also won league titles for Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Benfica, and Red Bull Salzburg.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s Honours
Team
Titles
Juventus
Serie A x 6, Coppa Italia x 2, European Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Cup x 2, European Super Cup, and Intercontinental Cup
Inter Milan
Serie A, Supercoppa Italiana, and UEFA Cup
Bayern Munich
Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and DFB-Ligapokal
Benfica
Premeira Liga
Red Bull Salzburg
The Austrian Bundesliga
Republic of Ireland
Nations Cup
9Sir Matt Busby
Manchester United legend who revived club after Munich tragedy
Sir Matt Busby spent the most portion of his playing career with Manchester City and Liverpool, but his managing exploits with Manchester United are what he is mainly renowned for. Busby put a major focus on developing academy players and the youthfulness of the successful United side he formed in the 1950s earned his club the nickname ‘The Busby Babes’.
The Busby Babes had won back-to-back First Division titles in 1956 and 1957, and were on track for a third when tragedy struck, with eight United players among the 23 people killed in the Munich Air Disaster in 1958. Busby suffered serious injuries and was read the last rites twice while in the hospital.
Busby considered retiring following the debacle, feeling guilty for pushing on United’s participation in the European competition despite the wishes of the English Football League. His wife persuaded him to stay and rebuild the club, though. United won the FA Cup in 1963, and two more First Division titles followed in 1965 and 1967. Busby then led United to their first European Cup in 1968.
Sir Matt Busby Honours List
Team
Titles
Manchester United
Five First Division titles, two FA Cups, five Community Shields, and one European Cup
8Ernst Happel
European Cup winner with Hamburg and Feyenoord
Ernst Happel was the first manager to win the European Cup with two separate clubs, guiding Feyenoord and Hamburg to victory in 1970 and 1983, respectively. Happel is also one of six managers to have won league titles in at least four different countries, having done so with Feyenoord in the Netherlands, Hamburg in Germany, Club Brugge in Belgium, and Swarovski Tirol in Austria.
Happel entered international management with the Netherlands, leading them to a second-place finish at the 1978 World Cup. Happel only led his native Austria for a few months before dying of lung cancer the same year he was appointed (1992), but his contributions to the game saw Austria’s national stadium renamed the Ernst Happel Stadium.
Ernst Happel Honours List
Team
Titles
ADO Den Haag
Dutch Cup
Feyenoord
Eredivisie, European Cup, and Intercontinental Cup
Club Brugge
Belgian Championship x 3; Belgian Cup
Standard Liege
Belgium Cup
Hamburg
European Cup, Bundesliga x 2; DFB-Pokal
Swarovski Tirol
Austrian Championship x 2; Austrian Cup
7Carlo Ancelotti
Five-time Champions League winner
Carlo Ancelotti, one of several Italian managers on this list, has the most European Cup victories of any coach in the competition’s history. The unassuming statesman has five, having won two while at AC Milan and three as manager of Real Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti is the only manager in history to win top-flight titles in each of Europe’s top five leagues, having done so with AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Madrid, and Bayern Munich. He is known for his tactical flexibility and ability to achieve excellent results regardless of the players available to him. He is also known as an excellent man-manager.
6Bill Shankly
The man who laid the foundations for Liverpool’s success
Billy Shankly may not have won as many trophies for Liverpool as his successor, Bob Paisley, but he was the driving force behind the club’s rise to global prominence. Shankly managed Liverpool from 1959 to 1974, during which time the club was promoted from the Second Division and went on to win three First Division titles, two FA Cups, and one UEFA Cup.
While his achievements as a manager are impressive, the trophies he has won are not what he is remembered for. Shankly recognised the significance of Liverpool’s supporters and established a bond between the club and its fans that remains an important part of the club’s identity today.
Bill Shankly Honours List
Team
Titles
Liverpool
First Division x 3, Second Division, FA Cup x 2, UEFA Cup, and Community Shield x 3
5Helenio Herrera
Football’s first famous manager
Helenio Herrera was one of football’s pioneering tacticians, starting his management career in 1945. His most significant tenure were at Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and Inter Milan, where he won many league titles with each.
Herrera won two European Cups with Inter, using a defensive style, and it was at the Nerazzurri that he probably became the first manager in football history to be credited for the manner his club played. Previously, players received the majority of the credit for the team’s successes; however, under Herrera, Inter became known as ‘Herrera’s Inter’, emphasising the manager’s influence on their style of play.
Helenio Herrera Honours List
Team
Titles
Atlético Madrid
La Liga x2, Copa Eva Duarte
Barcelona
La Liga x2, Copa del Rey x2, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup x2.
Inter Milan
Three Serie A titles, two European Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups
Roma
Coppa Italia; Anglo-Italian Cup
4Johan Cruyff
Modern football’s greatest influence
More often than not, great players do not become great managers. Johan Cruyff, nevertheless, is remembered as one of the best players of all time as well as one of the best managers of all time. Cruyff’s top-level management career was not a particularly long one – his tenure in command of Ajax and Barcelona together extended just 11 years – yet he won 14 titles during it, including the 1992 European Cup.
Plenty of managers have won more titles than Cruyff but few, if any, have had a bigger impact on current football tactics than the Dutchman. Cruyff developed on the Total Football system that he played in under its architect, Rinus Michels, at Ajax and Barcelona. He was one of the first managers to begin choosing smaller, more technical players over stronger, more physical guys, and put a huge focus on winning with elegance.
Cruyff impacted a generation of young managers, including a pair who played under him at Barcelona in Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique, and he is one of the reasons that football has become such an attractive form of entertainment. His legacy could hardly be any greater.
Johan Cruyff Honours List
Team
Titles
Ajax
KNVB Cup x 2, European Cup Winners’ Cup
Barcelona
La Liga x 4, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana x 2, European Cup, Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup, European Super Cup
3Pep Guardiola
Tactical master and relentless winner
Without Cruyff, there would have been no Pep Guardiola. A similar statement will most likely be made about Guardiola and one of the numerous managers he has impacted over the last 15 years.
Guardiola is the finest manager of his generation, having won 12 league titles in 15 years of senior management with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City. He has also won three European Cups, with only Ancelotti having more.
For many football fans, his Barcelona team from 2008 to 2012 was the greatest of all time, and the way they operated marked a shift in how football is played at the highest level around the world. Many young managers look up to Guardiola, and many of the people he’s worked with – both players and staff – have gone on to manage some of the world’s greatest clubs.
| Pep Guardiola Honours List | |
|---|---|
| Team | Titles |
| Barcelona | La Liga x 3, Copa del Rey x 2, Supercopa de Espana x 3, Champions League x 2, Uefa Super Cup x 2, Fifa Club World Cup x 2 |
| Bayern Munich | Bundesliga x 3, DFB-Pokal x 2, Uefa Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup |
| Manchester City | Premier League x 6, FA Cup x 2, League Cup x 4, Champions League, Community Shield x 2, Uefa Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup |
2Rinus Michels
Creator of Total Football
Rinus Michels developed the Total Football system, which set the groundwork for how football is played at the highest level today. The tactical theory proposed that players could leave their assigned positions on the pitch and be replaced by another player, allowing teams to play in a fluid style rather than a rigid, limited structure.
Michels achieved significant success with this technique, winning league titles with both Ajax and Barcelona, as well as the European Cup with the former. The Dutchman also managed his own country on multiple times, leading the Netherlands to victory at Euro 1988 and a second-place finish at the World Cup 14 years prior. In 1999, Michels was elected FIFA Coach of the Century, and France Football named him the greatest manager of all time in 2019.
Rinus Michels’ Honours List
Team
Titles
Ajax
Eredivisie x four, KNVB Cup x three, and European Cup
Barcelona
La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Inter-City Fairs Cup Trophy
FC Koln
DFB-Pokal
Netherlands
European Championship
1Sir Alex Ferguson
Best manager of all time
Manchester United was a sleeping giant when Sir Alex Ferguson took control at Old Trafford in 1986, but in the 27 years since, the Scot has re-established the club as one of the best in the world. Ferguson’s managing career does not begin and stop with United, however.
He was immensely successful as Aberdeen’s manager in the 1980s, winning 11 trophies and famously defeating Real Madrid in the 1983 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final. Ferguson won 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, and numerous other accolades while at United. With 49 titles won during his managing career, he is statistically the most successful manager of all time.
Sir Alex Ferguson Honours List
Team
Titles
St Mirren
Scottish First Division
Aberdeen
Scottish Premier Division x 3, Scottish Cup x 4, Scottish League Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and European Super Cup
Manchester United
Premier League: 13; FA Cup: 5; Football League Cup: 4; FA Community Shield: 10; UEFA Champions League: 2; UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, European Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup.
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