25 Best Football Managers of All Time [Ranked]

· GiveMeSport

Ranking the best managers of all time, including Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

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Football fans love a good debate and there are few discussions more nuanced than those around whom the greatest manager of all time is. Deciding the best player in football history is tricky enough, but the impact a head coach can have on their team is even harder to unpick from the outside looking in.

The role of a manager has evolved from a de facto secretary to the face of the team. At times, the stature of the figure patrolling the perimeter of their technical area can be even bigger than that of the players charging around on the pitch.

There have been innovators and individualists, caring souls and cunning schemers. The rich tapestry of the beautiful game has been woven by every type of coach out there. Here's a look back at the best to ever do it, from the modern-day feats of Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti , to the trend-setters that have inspired a long line of influential managers.

When Louis van Gaal stepped into the Ajax hot-seat in 1991, the Dutchman's emphatic declaration that the club had just hired the best coach in the world raised eyebrows. But in a way that perhaps only Jose Mourinho has come close to matching, Van Gaal more than delivered on his prophetic words.

The Dutchman - nicknamed as 'The Iron Tulip' - would win three Eredivisie titles, the UEFA Cup, and the holy grail of them all, the Champions League with a youthful Ajax side. Van Gaal would then make the move to Spanish giants Barcelona, and he would continue embellishing his legacy with a couple of league titles and a Copa del Rey to boot too. While there have been some lows mixed in with his career too - not least in a couple of stints with the Netherlands and as Manchester United boss - Van Gaal goes down as one of the most decorated managers the game has ever seen.

Louis van Gaal Honours List

- Ajax: Eredivisie x3, KNVB Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup - Barcelona: La Liga x2, Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup - AZ: Eredivisie - Bayern Munich: Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal - Manchester United: FA Cup

As one of the best Premier League managers of all time , Arsene Wenger completely changed the football landscape upon his arrival in England. By innovating training methods and emphasising the importance of diet and nutrition, and now calling the shots at an executive lawmaker's level, Arsenal's most successful manager is a dyed-in-the-wool figure in the game.

But if that wasn't enough to evidence the reasoning behind his number one placement, then his successes on the pitch should be more than ample. Wenger made a name for himself at Monaco by guiding them to a Ligue 1 trophy in his debut season in charge, before adding a Coupe de France title and leading them to the 1992 European Cup Winners' Cup.

Bookending an unexpected yet successful stint in Japan with Nagoya Grampus Eight, Wenger would then succeed Pat Rice as Arsenal manager in 1996. Across 22 years, he won three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups, and went 49 games unbeaten between 2003 and 2004 to pilot the Gunners to an unprecedented Invincibles season.

Arsene Wenger Honours List

- Monaco: Division One, Coupe de France - Nagoya Grampus: Emperor's Cup, Japanese Super Cup - Arsenal: Premier League x3, FA Cup x7

Bela Guttmann is remembered as one of football's most influential and enigmatic managers. A tactical innovator, he transformed Benfica into a European powerhouse in the early 1960s, guiding them to back-to-back European Cup triumphs in 1961 and 1962, while also winning two Primeira Liga titles during his fleeting tenure. Known for his emphasis on fast, attacking football, he shaped a side that produced legends like Eusebio.

Yet his legacy is equally defined by the famous "Guttmann curse." After leaving Benfica over a pay dispute, he reportedly declared the club would not win another European title for 100 years - a drought that endures to this day.

Bela Guttmann Honours List

- Ujpesti: Hungarian League x2, Mitropa Cup - Sao Paulo: Sao Paulo State Champions - Porto: Portuguese League - Benfica: European Cup x2, Portuguese League x2, Taca de Portugal - Penarol: Uruguayan Championship

Sir Alf Ramsey is immortalised in English football history as the man who led the national team to its greatest triumph. Appointed England manager in 1963, after he transformed Ipswich from third-tier nobodies to First Division champions on a shoestring budget in just six seasons, he revolutionised the side with his tactical discipline and innovative "wingless wonders" system, a phrase coined by the press after Ramsey devised a new 4-3-3 system that relied on hard-running midfield players rather than natural wingers .

Just three years later, he guided England to their only World Cup victory on home soil in 1966, defeating West Germany 4-2 in the final at Wembley to bring football home. Ramsey also steered England to the semi-finals of the 1968 European Championship and the quarter-finals of the 1970 World Cup. His calm authority, tactical acumen, and ability to inspire players cemented his legacy as one of football's great managers.

Sir Alf Ramsey's Honours List

- Ipswich Town: First Division, Second Division - England: World Cup

Nereo Rocco is revered as one of Italy's greatest managers and the pioneer of 'catenaccio', the defensive system that defined an era of Italian football. Taking charge of AC Milan in 1961, he built a side renowned for discipline, organisation, and devastating counterattacks. Under his guidance, Milan won two Serie A titles (1961-62, 1967-68), three Coppa Italia trophies, and became the first Italian club to win the European Cup in 1963, before lifting it again in 1969.

He also secured two Cup Winners' Cups and an Intercontinental Cup, cementing his reputation. Fierce, pragmatic, and deeply charismatic, Rocco laid the foundations for modern Italian football, which saw defending become more of an art form than a boring subgenre of the beautiful game.

Nereo Rocco Honours List

- AC Milan: Serie A x2, European Cup x2, Coppa Italia x3, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup x2, Intercontinental Cup

One of the greatest coaches in German football history, Ottmar Hitzfeld's legacy in his homeland is well and truly secured. Managing arguably the two biggest sides in the Bundesliga - Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich - Hitzfeld would enjoy unparalleled success with both.

His tenure at Dortmund saw him pick up the Champions League in 1997 after beating a star-studded Juventus team that had the likes of Zinedine Zidane in it in the final. Then, just a few years later, in 2000, he would lift European football's biggest prize again, this time with Bayern, making him one of only six managers to have won the Champions League or European Cup with two different clubs.

Ottmar Hitzfeld Honours List

- Aarau: Swiss Cup - Grasshopper: Swiss Super League x2, Swiss Cup - Borussia Dortmund: Bundesliga x2, Champions League - Bayern Munich: Bundesliga x5, DFB-Pokal x3, Champions League, Intercontinental Cup

For a historic club like Real Madrid , it is no surprise that they have had some legendary managers over the years. Whether it's the modern era of the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti winning multiple Champions League titles, or years previously, like under Miguel Munoz, the club has always been at the top of European football.

And with Munoz at the helm, Los Blancos enjoyed one of their golden periods in their history. He led the team to two European Cup titles, as well as lifting the La Liga trophy a whopping nine times. Munoz would then go on to manage Spain for a six-year period, guiding them to the European Championships final in 1984. The Spaniard was a major force at both club and international level in the dugout.

Miguel Munoz Honours List

- Real Madrid: La Liga x9, European Cup x2, Intercontinental Cup

Given the very nature of the competition, winning the World Cup is arguably the biggest managerial achievement in football. A tournament that only comes around once every four years and pits the greatest players and countries against each other, it is the source of some unbelievable memories. None more so than when Marcello Lippi and his Italy side triumphed over France in the 2006 World Cup.

But Lippi's achievements at international level weren't his only major success, however. He also won five Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, one Champions League and numerous other trophies whilst managing in the Chinese Super League.

Marcello Lippi Honours List

- Juventus: Serie A x5, Coppa Italia, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup - Guangzhou Evergrande: Chinese Super League x3, Chinese FA Cup, AFC Champions League - Italy: World Cup

Luis Enrique enjoyed a tremendous playing career, turning out for Real Madrid and Barcelona while also playing 62 times for his country. Impressively, he has had even more success as a manager.

After spells at Barcelona B, Roma and Celta, Enrique took charge of Barcelona in 2014. Enrique won nine trophies during his three-season stint at the club, including two La Liga titles and the Champions League.

In 2023, Paris Saint-Germain appointed Enrique in the hope that he could make them champions of Europe for the first time. He did just that, guiding them to the title in 2025 before successfully retaining the trophy a year later.

Luis Enrique Honours List

- Barcelona: La Liga x 2, Copa del Rey x 3, Supercopa de España, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup - Liverpool: Ligue 1 x 3, Coupe de France x 2, Trophée des Champions x 2, UEFA Champions League x 2, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Intercontinental Cup

Aside from a couple of loan spells, Vicente del Bosque spent the entirety of his playing career at Real Madrid, winning five La Liga titles and four Copa del Rey crowns, and went on to enjoy an excellent managerial stint with Los Blancos. Del Bosque took charge of Madrid between 1999 and 2003, winning the Champions League twice as well as two La Liga titles.

Bizarrely, Madrid opted against renewing his contract when it expired in 2003 and then went four years without winning another trophy. As for the regal coach, after a brief stint with Besiktas, he enjoyed a break from the game before returning as the manager of Spain's national team and guiding them to glory at the 2010 World Cup as well as Euro 2012.

Vicente del Bosque Honours List

- Real Madrid: La Liga x 2, Champions League x 2, European Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, Copa Iberoamericana - Spain: World Cup, European Championship

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