Best football managers in the world

We are blessed to be in an era when some of the best managers ever are plying their trade. Clubs around the world are very lucky to be able to call on some of the game’s master tacticians, but who are the best in the world currently? Read on to find out.

Pep Guardiola 

Having enjoyed a distinguished career as a player for Barcelona, Pep Guardiola was tasked with managing the club’s B team in 2007. He immediately impressed and after just one year in senior management, he was made first team boss. Though it appeared a risky move on paper, the decision soon paid off with Barcelona winning the treble in Guardiola’s first season. Though he made sweeping changes early on, both in terms of personnel and tactics, his style of play received rave reviews and the Catalan giants went from strength-to-strength under his tutelage. He went on to win a total of 14 trophies in four seasons in Spain, including three La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies.

After a year away from the game, Guardiola took over at German giants Bayern Munich in 2013, where he claimed a further seven trophies, with a domestic double in his first season one of the highlights of yet another successful stint in club management.

Having done such brilliant jobs in both Spain and Germany, the logical next step was England and the Premier League. In 2016, Guardiola stepped into the hotseat at Manchester City, who were seeking to turn themselves into the European powerhouses that Pep’s sides were known for. A trophy-less opening season wasn’t an ideal start, but since then City, for the most part, have dominated the Premier League with back-to-back titles as well six other domestic trophies.

29 different trophies speak volumes of just how good a manager Guardiola is and who would bet against him adding plenty more before he retires? We certainly wouldn’t!

Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp is another manager who is more than deserving of his place on the list. Having started his managerial career at Mainz in 2001, the club he made over 300 appearances for as a player, he moved to Borussia Dortmund in 2008. He was immediately successful, winning the German Supercup in his first season in charge, while he led the club to a sixth-place finish in the league. After securing European football the following year, Dortmund improved immeasurably the season after and won the title, the club’s seventh success in the German top-tier.

They then proved that was no fluke as they successfully defended the Bundesliga title in the 2011-12 season and their points total of 81 was the largest in league history. A domestic double in 2012 soon followed and although they were defeated by rivals Bayern in the 2013 Champions League final, Klopp’s tenure at the club was an overwhelming success.

In October 2015, Klopp signed a three-year deal at Liverpool and although they finished eighth in the league, he guided them to the Europa League final, their first European final since 2007. They lost 3-1 to Sevilla however, despite taking the lead through a Daniel Strurridge goal. Further European misery came soon after, this time in the Champions League, where Klopp’s Reds were defeated at the final stage by Real Madrid. Though both were bitterly disappointing defeats, it didn’t take long for Liverpool to go one step further. The German masterminded his side’s first Champions League trophy since 2005 and the club’s sixth in total and with European dominance now confirmed the next task was doing it on a domestic level.

This season, Klopp’s team have absolutely dominated the Premier League and sit 25 points clear at the top. They just need two wins for a first title since 1990 and if Klopp can deliver that elusive Premier League crown, he’ll most certainly go down as one of the club’s great managers.

Jose Mourinho

Perhaps one of the most controversial figures ever to grace the dugout, but whether you love or hate him, Jose Mourinho’s record means he is more than deserving of his place in our list. The Portuguese began his managerial career at Porto where he won six trophies, including the Champions League in 2004, however it was at Chelsea where his career really took off.

In just over three years at Stamford Bridge, his side won over two-thirds of their matches as well as six trophies. He brought the Blues their first and second Premier League titles and masterminded a side that was amongst the best in Europe. He was sacked in 2008 and after successful spells at both Inter Milan and Real Madrid, he returned to win another Premier League title as well as the League Cup.

Another acrimonious departure took place in December 2015, however it wasn’t to be the last time we would see Mourinho in the Premier League. He won three trophies at Manchester United, before again losing his job and now manages Tottenham. It hasn’t been the strongest of starts for the 57-year-old at the north London club, but his record speaks for itself with 25 trophies and it’s almost guaranteed that results will pick up dramatically as he imparts his wisdom on the Spurs squad.

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