Football remains the most celebrated sport, not only for the brilliance of the players on the pitch but also for the various strategies and tactics employed by coaches. These men are the brains behind the success and failures of the teams they manage. This post will discuss some of the brightest minds who have led their teams to success in the game of football.
Meet Some of the Best Soccer Coaches of All Time
1. Sir Alex Ferguson (83 years old)
Sir Alex Ferguson is regarded as the most successful manager in British football history. He was a born winner. Before heading to Manchester United, he helped a Scottish Second Division team become the 1977 First Division champions. He won multiple championships, including top-flight titles and UEFA Cup victories, as a manager in Scotland.
In 1986, Ferguson moved to Old Trafford, where he lifted more than 30 trophies in charge of the club. Champions League trophies. He had an impressive Premier League record of 528 wins from 810 matches. Sir Alex retired from active duty in 2013 and was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2023. The most prominent pieces of his silverware are:
- 13 Premier Leagues
- Five FA Cups
- Four League Cups
- Two UEFA Champions League
2. Arrigo Sacchi (80 years old)
In four full seasons, Arrigo Sacchi famously led the Italian club AC Milan to dominate European football, winning eight trophies. In his coaching philosophy, he chose to move away from the conventional approach of relying on a solid defense and then launching counterattacks. Instead, he taught his team to exert relentless pressure on the opposition in their own half of the field.
This strategy involved a high degree of physical fitness, skill, and coordination among the players, as they had to work together to swarm the opponent and disrupt their passing and shooting.
Through this approach, he aimed to dominate possession, create more scoring opportunities, and wear down the opposition’s defense. The results were astonishing, as the Rossoneri won the following trophies:
- Two Champions League titles
- One League title
- Two Club World Cups
- Two Euro Super Cups.
Read Also: 15 Chelsea’s Best Players Of All Time
3. Rinus Michels (1928–2005)
Rinus Michels coined the term totaalvoetbal, known in English as total football. This revolutionized the game forever. While other coaches adopted this style of play before him, Michels went about it in a way never seen before. For him, football wasn’t only about attacking and pressuring defenses; it was also about the shape-shifting fluidity of his team on the pitch.
From 1960–1992, Rinus Michels managed several football teams, including Ajax, FC Barcelona, and the Netherlands national team. He won major titles, such as:
- Four Eredivisie Championships
- One La Liga
- One European Cup
- One UEFA European Championship.
4. Pep Guardiola (54 years old)
Pep Guardiola is the well-known manager of Manchester City FC. Before now, he had successfully led Bayern Munich and Barcelona to attain glorious feats. It is safe to say that the silverware he has won as a coach can bring down his trophy cabinet. He has won everything that there is to win at club level, and he is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Since 2008, when he took on his first managerial role, Pep has won the following:
- Three La Liga
- Three Bundesliga
- Five Premier Leagues
- Four League Cups
- Two FA Cups
- Three UEFA Champions League trophies.
5. Giovanni Trapattoni (86 years old)
Giovanni Trapattoni is considered the most successful coach at the Italian football club level. He is among five coaches who have won league titles in four different European countries. His trophy cabinet includes:
- Seven Serie A championships
- One Bundesliga
- One Primeira Liga
- One Austrian Bundesliga
- One UEFA Cup WInners’ Cup
- Two UEFA Europa League
- One Champions League
6. Johan Cruyff (1947–2016)
Johan Cruyff, the Dutch football legend, not only made a name for himself as a player but also proved to be a capable manager. His influence on the sport is immense, as both Ajax and Barcelona still maintain his football philosophy. His legacy is not just limited to the teams he managed, as the list of players and managers directly or indirectly influenced by him is too long to count.
Cruyff’s impact on the sport can be seen in the way the game is played today. His innovative ideas and tactics have been widely adopted and continue to shape the way football is played and coached. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Johan Cruyff’s legacy, both on the field and off it, makes him one of the most important men in the history of football.
Johan was a coach from 1985 to 2013 and won the following major titles:
- Four La Liga
- Two UEFA Cup Winners Cup
- One UEFA Champions League
7. Ernst Happel (1925–1992)
Ernst Happel was a highly regarded European coach who made a name for himself in football. He began his coaching career at ADO Den Haag in the Netherlands in 1962, where he developed and popularized the innovative playing style known as “total football.” This style of play involved players constantly changing positions and was characterized by a high degree of fluidity and adaptability on the pitch. Happel’s pioneering approach to the game was instrumental in taking the Dutch national team to the World Cup final in 1978.
Happel had a successful career across multiple countries and leagues. He won league titles in four different countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Austria. His tactical versatility and managerial skills continue to inspire modern-day football strategies. He won the following major titles:
- One Eredivisie championship
- Three Belgian championships
- Two Bundesliga championships
- Two Austrian championships
- Two UEFA Champions League
8. Helenio Herrera (1910–1997)
Herrera perfected the famous Catenaccio, an overly defensive style of football developed in Italy by Giuseppe Gipo Viani and Nereo Rocco. Herrera, the Argentine coach, was a pioneer in implementing dietary plans and mandatory 12 hours of sleep for his players. In addition, he placed motivational messages in the dressing room to instill a fighting spirit and a winning mentality in his team. Winning was his ultimate goal, and he did whatever it took to achieve it.
Helenio Herrera was a coach from 1944 to 1981 and worked for big clubs like Atletico Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Inter Milan. He won the following major titles:
- Four La Liga
- Three Serie A
- Two UEFA Champions League
9. Jose Mourinho (62 years old)
Jose Mourinho, also known as the Special One, is regarded as one of the best coaches in the game of football. Wherever he goes, there is always a trophy for him to win. There are trails of silverware across Europe from clubs like FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and AS Roma. Mourinho was sacked recently by AS Roma, but there is no denying his genius. The Special One has been coaching since 2000 and has won the following major titles:
- Two Primeira Liga
- Three Premier League
- Two Serie A
- One La Liga
- Two UEFA Europa cups
- Two UEFA Champions League
10. Bob Paisley (1919-1996)
Bob Paisley led Liverpool to an incredible 20 trophies between 1974 and 1983, a job he reluctantly accepted. Today, he is celebrated as the club’s most successful manager. Under his watch, the Reds dominated European football, a period fans from that era hold dear to their hearts. Paisley won the following major trophies:
- Six League Championships
- Three European Cups
- One UEFA Cup
- Three League Cups
11. Marcello Lippi (77 years old)
Marcello Lippi became the first manager to win both the Champions League and the World Cup. He won the former with Juventus in 1996 and the latter with Italy in 2006. He moved to China to practice his trade and did so quite successfully. Lippi is also the first manager to win both the European and Asian versions of the Champions League. Since 1985, he has won the following major silverware:
- Five Serie A championships
- Three Chinese Super Leagues
- One UEFA Champions League
- One AFC Champions League
- One FIFA World Cup
12. Sir Matt Busby (1909–1994)
Sir Matt Busby transformed Manchester United into one of the greatest clubs in the world. It is most likely that his experience in the army helped him excel as a football club manager. The groundwork he laid was what Sir Alex Ferguson built on.
Under Busby’s watch from 1945 to 1971, Manchester United won the following:
- Five English championships
- One European Cup
13. Carlo Ancelotti (65 years old)
Carlo Ancelotti is the only coach in history to have won four UEFA Champions League titles and is regarded as one of the most successful managers in the world. He is the only manager to win league titles in Europe’s top five leagues, which are England, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France. Ancelotti is managing Real Madrid at the moment and has an intimidating lineup of silverware that includes:
- One Serie A
- One Premier League
- One Ligue 1
- One Bundesliga
- Four Champions League
14. Nereo Rocco (1912–1979)
Nereo Rocco is considered a legendary figure in the world of football, having pioneered the defensive tactic known as catenaccio. His tactical genius was on full display when he became the first Italian manager to lead a team to victory in the 1963 European Cup. His team, AC Milan, defeated the mighty Benfica side led by the legendary Eusébio to secure the coveted trophy. This historic achievement not only made Rocco a hero in Italy but also earned him global recognition as one of the greatest football managers of all time. From 1947 to 1977, Rocco won the following trophies:
- Two Serie A
- Two UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups
- Two European Cups
15. Brian Clough (1935–2004)
Brian ClIn 1967, Brian Clough assumed the managerial position at Derby County and worked wonders for the club in just five seasons. He took the team from the lower tiers of the old Division Two to the zenith of league football, clinching the First Division title in 1972. Clough was renowned for his prowess in elevating clubs from a state of obscurity to the heights of success. He won the following major titles as a coach:
- Two English League championships
- Two European Cups
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