Football
Top five best football coaches of all time
Many fans consider Pep Guardiola as the best manager of the 21st century. But here we have ranked the top five best managers in football history.
Sir Alex Ferguson/Getty Images
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 five best managers in football history.
The five best coaches in football history
The five best coaches in football history
| Rank | Name | Current Club |
| 1 | Sir Alex Ferguson | Retired |
| 2 | Rinus Michels | Retired |
| 3 | Pep Guardiola | Manchester City |
| 4 | Johan Cruyff | Retired |
| 5 | Carlo Ancelotti | Real Madrid |
5. Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti’s inclusion on the list is a no brainier as the Italian manager has won a record five UEFA Champions League titles. Ancelotti started his coaching career as the assistant manager for the Italian men’s national football team in the 1990’s before becoming the head coach of his former side Reggiana for a short spell. Since then, he has managed some of the best clubs in the world such as Juventus, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Napoli.
Ancelotti is also the first and only manager ever to have won league titles in all of Europe's top five leagues. He has won the FIFA Club World Cup three times, and is also the manager with the most UEFA Super Cup victories, having won the trophy five times.
Despite his long and illustrious career, Ancelotti still remains a top manager and is currently the Real Madrid manager.
4. Johan Cruyff
As it is often said in football that great players do not become great managers. But that is not the case with Johan Cruyff as he is considered as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of the greatest managers of all time.
He is most remembered for his spells as Ajax and FC Barcelona manager, where he won an impressive 14 trophies in just an 11-year spell combined. Cruyff is often regarded as “modern football’s greatest influencer”. His impact and legacy live on in modern football. His “Total Football system” later led to the creation of the world-famous “Tiki-taka” setup. He also influenced some of the best managers of the present day in Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.
3. Pep Guardiola
Image Credits: Naomi Baker/Getty Images
Often regarded as the greatest manager of the 21st century, Pep Guardiola is a mastermind and should fairly be considered as one of the greatest managers of all time. Guardiola had a very successful playing career but his managerial reign has even topped that.
He has managed three top clubs in his career: FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich, and Manchester City. He has achieved success with each club he has managed. He has won 12 league titles in his managerial career, three UEFA Champions League titles, and various other cup and European cup titles.
His FC Barcelona side is often considered as the greatest team of all time. He won an incredible 14 trophies during his four-year reign as manager. He also won an unprecedented treble of LaLiga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey during the 2008-09 season.
During the 2022-23 season, he completed the feat again, this time winning the treble with Premier League side Manchester City.
2. Rinus Michels
Rinus Michels is the father of “Total Football system”. The Total Football system is regarded as one of the foundations of modern football. Rinus Michels won the UEFA European Championship with the Dutch national team.While winning various league titles with Ajax and FC Barcelona, Michels also won the European Cup with Ajax.
Michels was named the FIFA Coach of the Century in 1999 and was also named the greatest manager of all time by France Football in 2019.
1. Sir Alex Ferguson
Leading our list is none other than Sir Alex Ferguson. He started his career at a small Scottish club East Stirlingshire in 1974 when he was just 32 years old. After this, he became the manager of Aberdeen in the 1980s, winning an impressive 11 trophies, and famously beating Real Madrid in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final in 1983. But the best spell of his career came with Manchester United.
The Red Devils were a sleeping giant when the Scottish manager took over the club in 1987. But he enjoyed a lot of success during his 27-year spell as manager of the Old Trafford side. He put the club back on top of world football and won an incredible 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four Football League Cups, 10 FA Community Shields, two UEFA Champions League titles, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the European Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
With over a decade of experience in sports writing, Hardik Malhotra has built a distinguished career in the internet industry. His expertise spans across various domains including Art Direction, Web Content Writing, and Content Management, all underscored by a high degree of initiative. Hardik’s passion for sports is reflected in his professional journey and personal interests.