BEVERLY HILLS, May 07, (THEWILL) – As football managers like Frank Lampard, previously with the English Premier League side Chelsea, and Jose Mourinho, currently due to take over at the Italian club Roma, will attest to without thinking twice, Football Management is no easy venture.
The modern day manager is always under constant and immense pressure from the board, has to take the stick from the fans with regular equanimity and even at times, must accept some upbraiding from the players that she or he manages. There are obviously some perks that come with the job, which are always obvious with victories, but it never ceases to serve more than its share of stress, frustration, heartache and high blood pressure.
The sparse moments of exhilaration from trophy wins are often nothing compared the the moments of disastrously upsetting results that make the manager the cynosure of the unforgiving derisive eyes of the fans, who are always itching for nothing less than victory, even if the victory rush can overcome long periods of heartache.
But, those moments of loss represent the points where every manager realises the truth of management, that there truly is nowhere to hide. It is this state that a manager like Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta must be in currently after the disappointing exit from the UEFA Europa League that draws the curtain on a forgettable season for the north London outfit.
The brief history of modern football illustrates that football fans have been treated to a plethora of football management styles and philosophies as to give the modern game so much flavour and entertaining quality.
Behind these philosophies are the great minds that have taken it upon themselves to weather the tempest of managing football today and based on Robbie Copeland’s grading, these are the top 10 of some of the greats in action on the touchline in recent years, who have made a mark for themselves based on recent performances of their football clubs.
MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI
Presently out of job and enjoying the stress-free life of non-management, Allegri was an achiever in his day. He was everything about trophy collection while he strutted his stuff in the Serie A with a series of Scudetto wins in a row. He made it look so easy while with Juventus that Andrea Pirlo is now looking like an utter failure after Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan broke Juve’s sustaining stranglehold of nine successive wins. Suddenly, it does not look as easy as it seemed anymore.
UNAI EMERY
The man beginning to enjoy his consideration as “King of the Europa” is also beginning to prove that he is worth it too. Emery just loves the UEFA Europa League. He won it three times in a row with Sevilla, made the final in his brief stint with Arsenal, and will now lead Villarreal to the fifth final of his career when they take on Man Utd later this month.
In La Liga, Villarreal are also going strong. Currently, they sit in sixth, which is good enough for another entry for next season, even if things do not go his way in the final on May 26 at the Stadion Miejski in Gdańsk, Poland.
ERIK TEN HAG
Ten Hag is celebrating another Eredivisie title this season and that was never in doubt. He led Ajax to the league trophy in 2019, they were on top when it got voided in 2020 due to the pandemic, and have taken it again in 2021.
There was a Champions League semi-final thrown in there too, just for good measure.
CHRISTOPHE GALTIER
It is all coming together now for Galtier at Lille in a season where none of the pre-season favourites seemed capable of winning anything as the season devolved. Galtier’s Lille picked the gauntlet and are now the beneficiaries in Ligue 1.
Their shocking challenge to PSG’s unyielding dominance at the top of the standings has been equally resilient. They presently sit a point ahead of the defending champions heading into the final run of games and just like in Italy, it could be the year to dethrone the perennial champions.
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER
The Norwegian, whose job hung by a thread earlier on in the season, has now done enough to be considered Manchester United’s best manager since Sir Alex Ferguson. It is high praise indeed but it does not say too much given how they have fared in the years since Ferguson retired.
What has been his defining accomplishment so far in his time at the helm is the admirably good job of implementing some stability at a club that was sorely in desperate need of one. To have the opportunity to claim a European silverware in the second tier of continental football competition is a bonus he will gladly welcome at the Europa final on May 26.
RONALD KOEMAN
It has been onerous keeping charge of Catalan side Barcelona in recent times. Much of that has been down to the soap opera behind the scenes. Credit therefore to Koeman, who appears to have found a working formula to deliver on that.
His coming has applied a steady hand to the ship, appeased their talisman Messi, unlocked Antoine Griezmann, and given a platform to various talented youngsters like Pedri, Ilaix Moriba and Oscar Mingueza to shine on the big stage.
Combined with what he achieved with the Dutch national side, rebuilding them into an actual, capable football team from the mess they were in 2018, this man knows his onions.
JULEN LOPETEGUI
Lopetegui emerged from the Real Madrid fiasco of his Spanish coaching days to become one of the world’s top managers in La Liga for the season as his work with Sevilla clearly demonstrates.
As the team with the least comparable budget at the top of the Spanish top-flight leaderboard, it would have been pardonable if they were not going neck to neck with the big spending top three of Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona, but there they are. Had they not lost ground in the 34th round of matches, the competition could have even been stiffer.
GIAN PIERO GASPERINI
The free-scoring Atalanta, with the highest goal tally of the entire Italian League at 79, have set the world alight in their logic-defying charge up the Serie A table. They never got around to actually winning it, but it has been the ride of the season in the mould of the always fresh yet old-fashioned football fairy-tale. At the core of it has been Gasperini and his flagrantly optimistic tactics.
After their unlikely title challenge last season, they sit second, and look set for a return to the Champions League, which is a very well earned reward for their efforts.
MARCELO BIELSA
Bielsa’s record of attainment may not exactly check all the boxes to be declared “legendary”. Yet, the tactician remains one of the most influential managers currently in the business.
In the course of his storied and reputable 31-year career, the Argentine has developed a truly unique style of football that has influenced some of the best coaches around, including Manchester City’s remarkably impressive Pep Guardiola. Recently, Bielsa led Leeds back to the Premier League, and kept them there quite comfortably this season.
MARCO ROSE
For a manager who acquired his coaching chops under the tutelage of the tactical influence of the incredible Jurgen Klopp, Rose’s teams have illustrated that influence as he has exactly kept the lessons of that mould to get the results he favoured.
His breakneck style of football took the team’s he managed, RB Salzburg and Borussia Monchengladbach, by storm. As a result, both teams attained previously unheralded heights. It is this set of managerial skills he will take to Borussia Dortmund in the summer, to once again bring the best out of his class of players. Hopefully, he may still have Erling Haaland in his side by then.
BRENDAN RODGERS
The claims are certainly exaggerated in some quarters that Kelechi Iheanacho’s manager in the East Midlands side of Leicester City has done a better job at the King Power Stadium than their legendary manager, Claudio Ranieri, who made the unbelievable mark of taking the Premier League straight from promotion from the Championship.
But, there is some truth in attesting to the formidable job Rodgers has done since taking the reins of the Foxes.
The manager, who had undoubtedly demonstrated his effectiveness with three trophy-laden years at Celtic, is proving to be so in the EPL by turning the Foxes into a sustainable top four contender. For a side in the relegation-battling side of the table not so long ago, that is commendable work.
JULIAN NAGELSMANN
Nagelsmann youthfulness has worked in his favour and as the incoming coach of Bavarian giants, Bayern Munich, it is nothing to sneeze at.
The manager had not even clocked 30 when he took over at Hoffenheim. His age was no barrier to the team barrelling their way right to the top of the Bundesliga. He is 33 and primed to continue to help Bayern maintain their utter dominance in Germany.
MAURICIO POCHETTINO
Pochettino may lack the flamboyance of a Mourinho but made up for any lack with simple results. It is only now, that the north London club is into their second manager after firing Pochettino, that this point will ring true.
Obviously the Mourinho project flopped majorly, but on the other hand, Pochettino, as manager of Paris Saint-Germain, has landed on his feet. He prosecuted PSG’s Champions League campaign efficiently until the semi-final stage. He now returns to the last lap of the Ligue 1 battle against Lille, one point behind.
DIEGO SIMEONE
Over the years, Simeone, painstakingly and steadily, has built Atletico into one of the most consistent sides in La Liga and that is reaping fruits with every match, their most current dip in form aside.
They looked dead set to win the domestic title for the second time under his tutelage earlier this season, but even though their dominance has yielded, they remain in the race with a strong chance. If they can get it over the line, especially with victory over Koeman’s side in their next game, then Simeone will likely be ranking a few spots higher soon.
ANTONIO CONTE
Conte, who personally began Juventus series of trophy victories as their manager in May 2011, took his sacking from Chelsea personally and returned to Serie A on a mission to break that stranglehold Juve still maintained. He has achieved the start of it with Inter stopping the Old Lady’s shot at a 10th League title and he will now seek to oust Jose Mourinho as Inter’s best manager of the 21st century.
He has some way to go yet, but this season’s league title is a strong start. And, he appears to know how to win, and win strongly.
ZINEDINE ZIDANE
Only one manager in all of football history defended a UCL trophy and then, went one better to win it three times on the spin: Zidane. The Frenchman’s legacy will be untouched for a long time.
Zidane’s Real Madrid have been competitive this season and are still in the hunt for La Liga. No one who knows him will doubt that he can get Real over the line to clinch it and enhance his already sterling repute even further. His tactical dexterity, enough is rarely seen in top level management, consists in adapting his style of play to the opposition, and it usually works with devastating effect.
THOMAS TUCHEL
The only tactical mastermind that has demonstrated the capacity to match Guardiola in the EPL, Tuchel inspired Chelsea to a valuable draw in Madrid to qualify the London side for their third ever UCL final.
Chelsea’s transformation under Tuchel has been astonishing. Their single disasterclass against Sam Allardyce’s West Bromwich Albion aside, the Blues have been basically flawless and defensively thrifty so far. And, the manager has guided the side to the finals of both the FA Cup and UCL, something that could have been only a dream under Lampard.
JURGEN KLOPP
A series of shocking draws, which were only worsened by unbelievable losses for Liverpool, the EPL defending champions this season goes far to illustrate one point: even the best have bad seasons. Yet, Klopp’s reputation as one of the best in the game remains.
When the German took over, the Reds could not make it to the Europa League places in 2015. In five short years, they have become champions of England, Europe and the world all at once. It is all down to the tactical masterclass of Klopp.
In truth, they have significantly regressed this season but with the return of some injured players back into the squad and any improvements that may happen over the summer, Klopp will again be on hand to give the club the edge they need to dominate again.
HANSI FLICK
There is no better way to assess the outgoing Bayern manager than to juxtapose him with his sextuple of trophies from the 2019/2020 season, where the German won everything there was to win with aplomb.
His brief tenure at Bayern was a run of trophies coming into the trophy cabinet at the Allianz Arena. He is going to sign off with a second consecutive Bundesliga before taking on the challenge of the German national football team, Die Mannschaft, after Joachim Low leaves.
PEP GUARDIOLA
There are a good number of Guardiola critics, who disparage his achievements and for whom the predictability of the manager emerging as number one will not resonate with but there is not much anyone can do about challenging the statistics.
Even with the money to burn, City were not in the best of shapes when Guardilola arrived. As true as it is to claim that money helps when you have the budget of City, any manager worth his salt will agree that the actual winning of trophies is still not simply tied to a big budget alone. And, no matter how much money you throw at it, three league titles in four years is far from a given.
The Catalan boss is back on top of his game with City this season as they charge to another Premier League, which is as good as in the bag for them. Now, if Guardiola can clinch the UCL, then he will have won it all in Manchester and, as if he still needs to, cement his place at one of the best ever.
But, do you agree? Which managers will you rather have in your own grade, maybe Top 10? Or Top 5
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
