Who Are the Best Managers in the World? Ranking the Greatest in football

Footballers often take all the credit, headlines and awards, but managers play a key role in football. Managers are the ones who set up the team, make changes and often take the hit when things are not quite going right. 

As usual, football fans love a good debate and who is the greatest manager of all time has been the center of a lot of discussions. A manager needs to have won a lot of trophies at the top of the game to be considered for such debates. But other factors such as longevity and contribution to the beautiful game must also be considered. 

Talking about modern game, many fans consider Pep Guardiola as the best manager of the 21st century. But here we have ranked the top 10 best managers in football history. 

Methodology

To determine the best football managers, we evaluated their career performance using two main criteria:

• Matches Played (50%): Reflects the manager's experience and longevity in the sport.
• Win Percentage (50%): Highlights the ability to deliver consistent results.

10. Jim Smith

• Matches managed: 1,641
• Win%: 40.95
• Score: 67.98

Kicking off our list at 10th place is former English footballer and manager Jim Smith. Nicknamed “The Bald Eagle”, Jim made 249 appearances in the English fourth division before beginning his long managerial career with Boston United. He went on to manage top clubs like Birmingham City, Newcastle United and Derby County. 

He also served as a board member of Oxford United from 2006 to 2009. Smith also served as the League Managers’ Association’s chief executive. Smith managed a total of 1,641 matches in his career, winning an impressive 40.95% of the matches. 

Smith passed away on 10 December 2019, aged 79. 

9. Graham Turner

• Matches managed: 1,718
• Win%: 39.70
• Score: 68.83

Graham Turner is another former English player turned manager. After a 19-year-long career as a defender in the lower football divisions, he became manager of Shrewsbury Town. He went on to manage Aston Villa and Wolves. 

In total, Turner managed a total of 1,718 matches in his managerial career, winning 39.70% of those matches. With a weighted score of 68.83, Turner stands 9th on our list. 

8. Luiz Felipe Scolari

• Matches managed: 1,647
• Win%: 49.61
• Score: 74.41

Luiz Felipe Scolari is one of the most famous managers in football history and is considered one of the best and most successful in history. Scolari started his managerial career in 1982 with Centro Sportivo Alagoano (CSA), winning the Alagoas state championship in his first season. After spells with Juventude (twice), Brasil de Pelotas and Pelotas and Saudi side Al-Shabab, he moved to Grêmio, where he won the 1987 Gaúcho state championship.

He also managed the Kuwait national team. His most successful and memorable stint came with the Brazilian men’s national team. Taking over in June 2001, when the national team were doubtful to even qualify for the upcoming World Cup. He not only helped his team qualify for the competition but win the 2002 FIFA World Cup. 

He went on to manage the Portugal national team and have another stint as the Brazil national team manager also from 2012-14. His last job was with Atlético Mineiro. 

7. Guy Roux

• Matches managed: 1,754
• Win%: 46.58
• Score: 74.69

Guy Roux is a former French footballer and manager, most remembered for his incredible 40-year-long spell with AJ Auxerre. Leading the club from the lower divisions to the French Ligue 1, his team then went on to win the Division 1 title in 1995–96 and win the Coupe de France four times (1993–94, 1995–96, 2002–03, 2004–05).

During his time at the club, the academy produced some of the best talents in world football, the likes of Eric Cantona. He also helped rebuild the careers of players, such as Laurent Blanc and Enzo Scifo, after they had experienced poor spells. After such a legendary career in French football, Roux retired from managing Auxerre in June 2005. 

He did however briefly come out of retirement in June 2007 when he signed a two-year contract with Ligue 1 side RC Lens. But, he resigned on 25 August 2007.

6. Neil Warnock

• Matches managed: 1,960
• Win%: 40.87
• Score: 75.30

Neil Warnock is currently working as a football advisor at Torquay United and also as a football pundit. In a managerial career that spanned over five decades, Warnock managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to non-league. 

Warnock also holds the record for the most promotions in English football with an impressive eight promotions. He started his managerial career in 1980 at Gainsborough Trinity. While his most recent stint was as an interim manager at Scottish side Aberdeen, 

In total, Warnock has managed a total of 1.960 matches, winning an impressive 40.87% of these matches, and with a ranked score of 75.30, he ranks sixth on our list. 

5. Arsène Wenger

Arsene Wenger//Getty Images

• Matches managed: 1,702
• Win%: 54.00
• Score: 78.89

Arsène Wenger is one of the household names in world football and is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. He is also a former French player and manager, most famously remembered for his long managerial spell with Arsenal from 1966 to 2018. 

Did You Know? Arsène Wenger was the first foreign manager to win the Premier League and FA Cup double, when he won it in 1998. 

Wenger revolutionised English football in many ways, his influence led to changes in scouting, players' training and diet regimens and helped Arsenal establish themselves as one of the biggest clubs in the world. He was in charge of a total of 1234 matches for Arsenal, winning three English Premier Legaut tiles, seven FA Cups and seven English Supercups. 

4. Vanderlei Luxemburgo

• Matches managed: 1,819
• Win%: 50.52
• Score: 79.07

Vanderlei Luxemburgo is a legendary Brazilian manager, who has won a record five Brazilain top-flight titles. Many fans will remember Vanderlei Luxemburgo for his brief managerial reign of LaLiga giants Real Madrid from 2004-05. While he might not have been able to show his real ability during that reign, but he still remains a renowned name in Brazilian football. 

Luxemburgo started his managerial career in 1983 with Campo Grande, his most recent managerial reign was in 2023 with Corinthians. 

3. Willie Maley 

• Matches managed: 1,612
• Win%: 64.45
• Score: 84.43

Willie Maley was an Irish-born Scottish international football player and manager. Maley interestingly made one appearance, for now, Premier League giants Manchester City in 1986 before starting his managerial career.

He was the first manager of Celtic Football Club and one of the most successful managers in Scottish football history.  Maley managed Celtic for 43 consecutive years and led the club to an incredible thirty major trophies. He stayed loyal to Celtic throughout his managerial career and retired from his duties in 1940. 

2.  Bill Struth

• Matches managed: 1,655
• Win%: 68.52
• Score: 88.40

Heading our list in first and second places are two Scottish managers. Bill Struth is number two, with a score of 88.40. Struth initially joined Rangers as the assistant manager but was later named as the second manager of Rangers Football Club, leading the club for 34 years between 1920 and 1954. He is one of the most successful managers in football history with 30 major trophies to his name. 

He also holds the record for the most Scottish top-flight titles (18). He managed the club for a total of 1,655 winning 1,134 out of those matches, with an impressive 68.52% win rate.