Football though spread its roots in England, the nation that was the founding father of the game, it spread the glory of the game from European to South American nations. But football is not only played internationally but also domestically and the greatest clubs have held a long legacy in the sport.
With millions of players who have played the sport under several jerseys, the teams have enjoyed major success under the reign of managers who with their tactical geniuses have made these teams shine with individual glory. From time to time several managers have worked with different teams and have left an unprecedented mark in the history of football.
Today we will list the 10 most widely popular managers in football history who have turned fortunes for several sides by their tactical brilliance.
10. Bill Shankly
Famous manager Shankly was more widely known during his managerial career than during his playing days with the Scottish side. He had a vast managerial career which spanned over 25 years but the peak of his career came during his time with Liverpool
For Liverpool, he managed the club on a 15-year-long stint and rebuilt Liverpool as a major European force as he earned them a promotion to the top level of the first division in 1962. With Liverpool, he managed to win several FA Cups and even a UEFA Cup.
9. Johan Cruyff
Though Cruyff was a widely-known player for both Ajax and the Dutch side during his playing days, when he entered his managerial career he managed the same teams as Ajax and Barcelona.
With Ajax, he led a young sporadic side to the European Cup Winners Cup and later went to Barcelona where he was the main architect in building Barcelona’s Dream team as he included several greats of the game in their squad and led them to be crowned as the top team in Europe.
8. Manuel Pellegrini
Pellegrini is one of the most senior managers of modern football and has had a managerial career spanning over 30 years. Despite 20 years of his career, he came into the major front with his successful reign with Villarreal.
It was then that Real Madrid removed him after a very quick season to fancy the arrival of Jose Mourinho. However, after Villarreal, he turned Malaga and later Manchester City to their first-ever Champions League quarter and semifinals respectively. He came back to Spanish football with Real Betis in 2020 and earned them their first trophy in 17 years as they won the Copa Del Rey under him in 2022.
7. Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte has been the most fated manager who has managed the best of sides across several widely known leagues which included clubs from Serie A, PL and even the national side of Italy from 2016 to 2018.
Conte’s most successful reign came under the prolific days with Chelsea and later Inter Milan as he, unlike other managers, believed in a higher work rate and hence played with a defence line composed of wing backs who could trail the entire field with their agility and excellence.
6. Arsene Wenger
Wenger was Arsenal’s most successful manager as he spent his illustrious career with the Reds from 96 to 2018 and in his vast career with the side he built the best 11 of their side.
He was the first foreign manager to win a premier league and FA Cup. He also led Arsenal in the season of 2003/04 when they were invincible. During his days Arsenal got through to 3 Premier Leagues and seven FA Cups and remains a prominent name in the books of the Gunners.
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5. Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp has been a sensational manager as he has dominated professionally as a football manager. He first attained success in a major league when he took Borussia Dortmund and turned their fates bringing them the German titles in 2011 and 12 and ending Bayern’s monopoly in Bundesliga. With Dortmund, he went on a 28-match unbeaten stint where he reached the Champions League finals in 2013.
With his stunning counter-attacking ability he established Liverpool as another major force in EPL, and alongside the Premier League, he also secured the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup in 2020. Klopp’s success is quite astonishing in modern club football.
4. Carlo Ancelotti
Ancelotti is an obvious inclusion on this list, as he has had an illustrious career with several sides across different leagues of Europe. A career spanning over 3 decades Ancelotti has filled his trophy cabinets with numerous accolades. To date, he remains to be the only manager to have won all major European top league cups.
He managed Milan, then Chelsea in the PL and then PSG and Real Madrid. On all occasions, he enjoyed immense success with all these teams after he won the top-level leagues in all 4 European nations alongside his Champions League success for AC Milan and Real Madrid. The later days of his career he spent with Bayern and Napoli and later returned to Real Madrid in 2021 where once again he won the Champions League with them in 2022.
3. Jose Mourinho
One of the most celebrated managers, Mourinho can easily be referred to as the greatest manager of all time. He has an alluring success rate, as he delivered wonders with whichever club he went on to play with.
Mourinho formulated the most unbreakable stats in football history, starting from Porto’s Champions League victory back in 2002. His later reigns with Inter Milan and Real Madrid also led them to amazing Champions League glory however the later days of his career with Man U and Spurs he failed to portray equal prominence for which he is widely known.
2. Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Ferguson is a pioneer manager in football best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He was best known for his tactical brilliance and his sense of making future stars from youngsters.
Under Alex Ferguson, Man U recognised players like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and later Paul Scholes. Not only the players from the early 90’s they also gave the world the two greats of the forward line Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Under him, Manchester United won a total of 38 trophies, of which they had 13 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups and 2 unbeaten Champions League glory before retiring with them in 2013.
1. Pep Guardiola
During a great career as a deep-lying defensive playmaker, he was part of Barcelona’s dream team under Johan Cruyff. However, he is known widely for his brilliance in his managerial career. Guardiola first started the La Liga with the team he had spent most of his career with, in his 4 years stint with Barcelona he set a record for the club with 14 trophies which also included 2 Champions League trophies.
From there he moved to the Bundesliga where with Bayern he found national success but his brilliance worked once again with the huge spending Manchester City when he built an invincible squad and led to City’s miraculous glory in 2017 and set a PL record to attain 100 points in a single season. He also led Man City to consecutive Champions League finals and won their debut league final in 2022-23.
Internationally he is the best manager to have won the FIFA Club World Cup on four occasions while managing teams like Barcelona, Bayern and also Manchester City.