The best managers in the world right now are, by and large, the ones who lift big metal trophies every season.
But that doesn't tell the entirety of it, and at FourFourTwo we wanted to rigorously determine a list of the coaches supreme and dig into the dugout, to provide a full half-century of those at the top of the sport, to sit alongside our list of the best players on Earth right now.
As Arsene Wenger once claimed, “You're loved when you're born, you're loved when you die – and in between you have to manage” – so let's give some love to the geniuses behind the tactics boards and the voices from the sidelines.
How FourFourTwo's expert panel chose the best managers in the world right now
FourFourTwo built an expert panel featuring the likes of European football expert Julien Laurens, Breaking the Lines' chief editor Zach Lowy, freelance analyst/scout Ben Mattinson and Scouted co-founders Phil Costa and Tom Curren, along with the FourFourTwo team, asking our esteemed team for their list of the 20 best managers or head coaches in the world right now.
The criteria was fairly straightforward: we wanted them to pick anyone at any level in charge of any team in the world, based on their tactical acumen and man management – taking trophy haul into account, of course, but considering those at the bottom, too.
Each expert provided a score of 20 for their highest-placed manager, 19 for the second-placed, down to one for the lowest, but we also included statistical analysis.
We gave a score to each manager in Europe's top five leagues at the end of last season for where their team finished in the league – and on top of that each manager was given a score for where their team finished based on squad strength, with our supercomputer calculating a ranking for each manager, based on squad worth and transfer spend.
We were left with a longlist of 111 managers, with the no.1 on our list collecting 234 points – just one more than the second-placed boss – down to the 50th-placed coach getting 25…
50. David Moyes
Club: Everton
Date of birth: 25 April 1963 (62)
Nationality: Scottish
His disappointing Manchester United stint now feels like it took place a lifetime ago: as do the left-turns at Sunderland and Real Sociedad.
They've all found out the hard way, mind: Moyes is now one of the most respected men in the English game.
The vastly experienced Scot returned to Everton in January 2025 and clearly enjoyed being back at the club where he really made his name, as he quietly – and with no fuss whatsoever – steered the Toffees well clear of the drop zone and fittingly now gets the chance to lead them into their new stadium.
"We want to try to get back to Europe" 🗣️ David Moyes is clear on his ambitions for Everton 🔵 pic.twitter.com/NU9dqqhCIzJune 11, 2025
With his 2023 Europa Conference League win at West Ham United finally seeing him win a major trophy, it would daft to see him as anything other than a Premier League legend.
He will deliver for you, providing you give him enough time.
49. Eduardo Coudet
Club: Alaves
Date of birth: September 12 1974 (50)
Nationality: Argentine
Coudet is a lively, passionate figure on the touchline, as evident by his exit from the Celta Vigo dugout in 2022.
And that passion manifests in his football, getting more than the sum of his parts from a team that didn't cost a whole lot to put together.
The former River Plate and Celta Vigo midfielder’s managerial career is now into a second decade, with the 50-year-old earning a second shot at European management when he joined La Liga side Deportivo Alaves in December 2024.
Three wins and two draws in his new side’s final six La Liga matches steered Alaves out of relegation danger, as his squad got to grips with their coach’s intense, high-pressing style.
48. Carles Martinez Novell
Club: Toulouse
Date of birth: May 18 1984 (41)
Nationality: Spanish
Carles Martinez Novell may be a name that few English fans are aware of, but he's certainly one to watch for the future.
The 41-year-old former goalkeeper has enjoyed a diverse coaching journey that took in a stint at Espanyol and then at the iconic La Masia academy where he worked with the likes of Ansu Fati, Gavi and Xavi Simons, before he headed east to link up with Qatari side Al-Rattan and then the Kuwait U20s side before he landed his first senior managerial role with Toulouse in 2023.
A win over Liverpool in the group stage of the 2023/24 Europa League caught the eye and Martinez Novell’s side have continued to progress, with the manager’s philosophy built on defensive solidity.
His communication skills have been praised, with the Toulouse boss able to get his complex tactical instructions over to his players in an accessible way.
47. Vicente Moreno
Club: —
Date of birth: October 26 1974 (50)
Nationality: Spanish
Another Spanish manager cutting his teeth at the very top is Vicente Moreno, with Osasuna earning plaudits for their fluid transitions between 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 in the 2024/25 season.
Finishing a respectable ninth, Moreno loves his teams to defend deep, be clinical aerially and focus on wide play to gain results: it's been an excellent rehabilitation in Pamplona over the last 12 months, following on from the disaster of managing Almeria in 2023 to zero wins in just seven games in charge.
He announced his exit from the club earlier this year, with the prospect of another job surely not too far away as he continues his plight in the managerial sphere.
46. Will Still
Club: Southampton
Date of birth: October 14 1992 (32)
Nationality: English/Belgian
He's been well-known for a while now: Will Still went viral for his unconventional path from analyst to continental coach, with his entry point into the English game seemingly inevitable sooner rather than later.
Still made a name for himself at Reims, where he was the youngest coach in Europe’s top five leagues and younger than many of his players, spending last season at Lens, where he further established his aggressive style of football, characterised by a high press and width from the full-back position.
Will Still gives a fascinating insight into how his team Lens prepare for a matchday at their training ground 🧐 pic.twitter.com/NcVgkkFRAJApril 21, 2025
And to some, he was a highlight of Monday Night Football coverage last season, joining Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher to discuss his philosophies, principles and why the Football Manager connotations aren't quite correct.
The Belgian-born Englishman will get his first taste of English football next season, after the 32-year-old was handed the Southampton job and tasked with getting Saints back on track after a bleak Premier League campaign – and the eyes of bigger clubs will be on how well he gets on.
45. Franck Haise
Club: Nice
Date of birth: April 15 1974 (54)
Nationality: French
After leading Lens to the Champions League group stage for the first time in 20 years, Franck Haise landed the Nice gig a year ago and proceeded to deliver their best Ligue 1 campaign for eight seasons, with their fourth-place finish their best under the current ownership.
Yes, that's Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS: perhaps Ruben Amorim could learn a thing or two.
His teams tend to be well-drilled and employ a solid defensive strategy, using nous, intelligence and speed in attack, as he continues to adapt his style of play – and Haise has shown throughout his short managerial career the ability to react to setbacks and player sales with the minimum of fuss, while off the pitch has created a united and tight unit.
44. Jagoba Arrasate
Club: Mallorca
Date of birth: April 22 1978 (47)
Nationality: Spanish
Arrasate has almost two decades of coaching experience under his belt, including a successful six-year spell at Osasuna which saw the side qualify for Europe for the first time in 16 years.
The 47-year-old has an excellent track record in developing youth players and now looks to be putting in the foundations for success in Mallorca, while juggling the La Liga side's duties with managing the Basque Country.
Having led Los Piratas to a respectable midtable finish on the back of tactical flexibility and the creation of a clear identity and playing style at the club, he'll be hoping to build on that with a solid second season.
43. Fabian Hurzeler
Club: Brighton & Hove Albion
Date of birth: February 26 1992 (33)
Nationality: German
Straight-talking, intelligent and undeniably personable, Brighton hired the very picture of the manager you'd expect them to this time last year.
Fabian Hurzeler hadn't started high school by the time James Milner made his senior debut in English football. It's possible that the German is a generational talent who may well still be at the top of the game in 2050.
Appointed as a 31-year-old, which made him the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history, Hurzeler has been able to tweak Brighton’s playing style to a more dynamic, overloading brand of football. Even after that huge 7-0 loss to Forest, the side re-grouped and looked stronger for the experience.
Hurzeler has been able to tweak Brighton’s playing style to a more dynamic, overloading brand of football.
Joe Mewis
That's the sign of a good manager. It’s clear that the former St Pauli chief has a big future, with a return to Bavaria already touted following his youth career at the Allianz Arena.
Hurzeler's positive, attacking system meant that the Seagulls barely missed a beat following the departure of Roberto De Zerbi 12 months ago, and now a year into the job, he'll be looking to lay foundations at a club who, for a change, don't look like selling too many of their biggest assets this summer.
42. Alexandre Dujeux
Club: Angers
Date of birth: January 8 1976 (49)
Nationality: French
After a journeyman playing career that ended in 2010, Alexandre Dujeux landed his first permanent job in management with Angers in March 2023 and proceeded to battle unsuccessfully against the Ligue 1 drop.
But a second-placed finish in the second tier saw his side bounce straight back. A tough start to the 2024/25 season back in the top flight followed, but the board would keep the faith and Dujeux’s proactive and positive style of play meant he was able to steady the ship and end the season in 14th place, with the 49-year-old’s reputation enhanced.
Le SCO are a tiny outfit so staying up is a real achievement. The board's faith in Dujeux has paid off handsomely, meanwhile, with the Ardennes native getting more than the sum of the parts on a shoestring budget: can they beat the odds again in 2026?
41. Ole Werner
Club: —
Date of birth: May 4 1988 (37)
Nationality: German
He's out of work right now – but expect him to bounce back sooner rather than later.
One of German football’s rising stars, 37-year-old Ole Werner rose through the ranks at Holstein Kiel before landing the Werder Bremen job in November 2021, winning his first seven games at the newly-relegated side and leading them back to the Bundesliga at the first attempt.
Consolidation in the top flight followed, with Werner constantly moving the side forward on a limited budget before a parting of ways at the end of the 2024/25 season, amid reports that his ambition was not being matched by the club, meaning he is one of the hottest properties on the open market.
40. Eric Roy
Club: Brest
Date of birth: September 26 1967 (57)
Nationality: French
Former Sunderland midfielder Roy has emerged as one of French football’s best managers over the past two years.
After taking over at Brest in January 2023, the 57-year-old steered the Brittany club out of relegation danger before propelling them to a third-place finish in his first full campaign in charge, bringing about European qualification for the first time in the club’s history. That they made the knockout play-offs was just as fantastic to see.
Remarkably, this was his first management job since a 2012 spell at Nice, but Roy’s motivational powers have helped create a tight, disciplined side that are punching well above their weight.
With no European football to worry about next term, can Les Pirates upset the apple cart once more? Micah Richards certainly hopes so.
39. Inigo Perez
Club: Rayo Vallecano
Date of birth: January 18 1988 (37)
Nationality: Spanish
Much was made of Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola's catastrophic life to English football, in which the seasiders didn't win until after Remembrance Day, with players struggling to come to terms with the Basque's high press. To compound issues, Iraola was without his assistant, Inigo Perez, who he couldn't bring with him from Rayo Vallecano due to visa issues.
Perez remained in Madrid and took the reins at Los Franjirrojos. This corner of the capital has been a hotbed of promising managers in recent years, and the same can now be said for the 37-year-old former Athletic Club midfielder who continues to perform miracles with the Spanish minnows.
Perez pushes his team into a willingness to take risks while maintaining a sense of order on the field.
Matthew Holt
After staving off relegation last year, Rayo are into Europe for the first time in over 20 years and deservedly so. Perez pushes his team into a willingness to take risks while maintaining a sense of order on the field.
Aged 37, we feel a big job further up the ladder either in Spain or further a-field could soon follow. Perhaps Perez and Iraola may come face to face in the Premier League before long…
38. Christophe Pelissier
Club: Auxerre
Date of birth: October 5 1965 (59)
Nationality: French
Auxerre coaches are only ever going to be compared to Guy Roux, the legendary general in Burgundy for over 40 years. If Christophe Pelissier achieves half of what Roux did, he'll go down in history – but finishing 11th in Ligue 1 with a fraction of the budget of even some of the country's minnows is an impressive start.
The 59-year-old saw his side promoted back to France’s top tier only last year and has continued to build on their recent successes by playing with a low-block, counterattacking approach.
Named Ligue 2 Manager of the Year the season prior, Pelissier is performing well on a small budget and also previously won promotion to Ligue 1 with Lorient in 2020.
37. Julian Schuster
Club: Freiburg
Date of birth: April 15 1985 (40)
Nationality: German
A season marked by transition at Freiburg was done with such class by Julian Schuster, despite his tender age of just 40.
Narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification on the final day of the Bundesliga season, Freiburg finished fifth, ensuring their highest finish since the mid-1990s.
Schuster sets his teams up in an organised mantra, making sure they understand their specific man-to-man roles, ensuring opponents' attacks are neutralised more than trying to counter them: after a decade in south-west Germany as a player, he's on course to become a modern legend in the dugout, too.
36. Liam Rosenior
Club: Strasbourg
Date of birth: July 9 1984 (40)
Nationality: English
A manager who perhaps Hull City will live to regret letting go, especially after another cataclysmic campaign in the Championship, Liam Rosenoir is making noise over in France after a brilliant season with Strasbourg.
A sister side of Chelsea, it would be easy to categorise Le Racing as getting handouts from a European giant in comparison to some of their rivals – but Rosenior has build a solid side across the park, platforming obvious star Andrey Santos but getting the best from Emanuel Emegha in attack, with Dilane Bakwa and Abakar Sylla two other future stars.
The Ligue 1 outfit will play European football next year, and Rosenoir is changing the game with his versatility when it comes to matching up against different opponents. We feel a return to England, and namely, the Premier League is only a matter of time away.
35. Claudio Giraldez
Club: Celta Vigo
Date of birth: Febrauary 24 1988 (37)
Nationality: Spanish
Considering Os Celestes' modest squad and shoestring spend, expectations have been low at Balaidos for a while.
One of the youngest managers in La Liga, Claudio Giraldez has enjoyed a whirlwind period as manager at Celta Vigo, however, first working with their youth sides before eventually being promoted to first-team boss when replacing Rafael Benitez in March 2024.
Praised for promoting youth and focusing on positional play, Celta qualified for the Europa League via a seventh-placed finish this season and will look to kick on with Giraldez at the helm heading into next year.
34. Sergio Conceicao
Club: —
Date of birth: November 15 1974 (50)
Nationality: Portuguese
Is Sergio Conceicao unlucky not to be at Milan again next season?
There's certainly a case. The Portuguese delivered a Supercoppa mere weeks into the job with his trademark brilliance for the big occasion – he's well used to frustrating the biggest sides – but unfortunately, a poor league showing couldn't save him from the chop.
At Porto, he developed a reputation for making bold decisions.
Isaac Stacey Stronge
At Porto, he developed a reputation for making bold decisions, unafraid to drop technically gifted players for the greater good of his system. It's easy to see why it didn't work at an Italian behemoth, but that doesn't mean he's not still a top coach.
Milan are in a perilous position going forward, losing some of their top stars. As for Conceicao, it'll be intriguing to see where he heads next.
33. Bo Henriksen
Club: Mainz
Date of birth: February 7 1985 (50)
Nationality: Danish
Former Danish striker Bo Henriksen is punching well above his weight with Mainz in Germany, with resources and funds limited.
A team with virtually no recognised stars to those outside Germany will be one of the dark horses for the Conference League next year – and Henriksen is the massive driving force behind that.
Another who prioritises building a strong team culture and breeds players who dare and dream to win, his side finished sixth in the Bundesliga last season and were something of the surprise package across the season, finishing above the likes of RB Leipzig, Stuttgart and Borussia Monchengladbach.
32. Carlos Corberan
Club: Valencia
Date of birth: April 7 1983 (42)
Nationality: Spanish
Valencia hasn't always been the easiest place to work. It makes Carlos Corberan's tenure there look all the more impressive.
Having begun as Marcelo Bielsa’s assistant, Corberan is now forging a new path for himself in the dugout after decent spells in the Championship with Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion – and he's been fantastic since taking over at the Mestalla with the club bottom at Christmas.
They only lost three times from his hiring, and that was to the big three teams. It's been a fantastic turnaround, with excellent form forged from the likes of Javi Guerra, Enzo Barrenechea in midfield.
Corberan’s success has been built on his incredible game-to-game adaptability, tactical acumen and obsession with fine details and fitness.
Steven Chicken
A win against Real Madrid in April not only helped consign Los Blancos to second in the table, it marked a magnificent turnaround from Corberan. Next season, Los Murcielagos will surely be targeting a return to Europe.
Corberan’s success has been built on his incredible game-to-game adaptability, tactical acumen and obsession with fine details and fitness.
31. Raffaele Palladino
Club: —
Date of birth: April 17 1984 (41)
Nationality: Italian
After cutting his coaching teeth with Monza, Raffaele Palladino met an entirely different challenge taking on the Fiorentina gig.
Still a relative rarity at the top levels of the European game, much of Palladino’s plan rests on wing-backs, charged with providing width high up the pitch, defending in a high line, and occasionally inverting. In short: if you play there for Palladino, you better have done your bleep tests.
He took the Viola to sixth in the table, too, achieving the best spend-per-points total in the entirety of Serie A. The former winger has since left Florence, and it'll be intriguing to see where he heads next.
30. Roberto De Zerbi
Club: Marseille
Date of birth: June 6 1979 (46)
Nationality: Italian
There aren't many managers who influence Pep Guardiola.
Yet Roberto De Zerbi certainly left his stamp on the Premier League with dazzling build-up leading to a revolution of the high press in England.
“I had the feeling when he arrived the impact he would have in the Premier League would be great,” the Catalan said of De Zerbi. “I didn't expect him to do it in this short space of time.”
From missing out on European football to cruising towards a Champions League return, it’s been quite the turnaround for Marseille under Roberto De Zerbi.
Zach Lowy
Praised for transforming minnows Sassuolo and their fortunes, De Zerbi’s attacking-minded possession-based style of football had us on the edge of our seats during his time at Brighton, having performed quite the job whilst with the Seagulls on the south coast, yielding European football for the first time in the club's history.
With Marseille, he finished second in his opening season in France, earning him a first shot at Champions League football. He remains the likeliest challenger to overthrow France's other European champions, Paris Saint-Germain.
29. Vincenzo Italiano
Club: Bologna
Date of birth: December 10 1977 (47)
Nationality: Italian
It’s offensive focus first for Vincenzo Italiano and his style of football, with the Italian boss now making waves with Bologna after stellar spells elsewhere his homeland.
First came a stint at Spezia, in which he led the Eaglets to promotion into Serie A, before Fiorentina came calling in 2021. The Viola were excellent to watch during his tenure, too – but two narrow Conference League final defeats in a row defined his time at Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Italiano finally received his flowers this year, though eventually ending his trophy-less hoodoo by winning the Coppa Italia against Milan earlier. It's hugely deserved – and we can't wait to see where he takes Bologna next.
28. Luis de la Fuente
Team: Spain
Date of birth: June 21 1961 (63)
Nationality: Spanish
He succeeded where far more decorated coaches could and platformed Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal in such a way that convinced Hansi Flick that he desperately wanted to do the same.
Luis de la Fuente’s grounding in managing mercurial young talents in Spain’s youth teams had been underrated, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long.
Known for his calm, empathetic leadership, De la Fuente blends possession-based, vertical football with numerical superiority in key areas. While stepping up from youth football to senior was once seen as a risky business in the international game, now it's deemed as a natural progression, thanks in part to that stunning Euro 2024 coach – against another coach who followed a similar path, in Gareth Southgate.
De la Fuente’s grounding in managing mercurial young talents in Spain’s youth teams had been underrated, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long.
Isaac Stacey Stronge
Yes, Spanish football's revolution owes plenty to its new platinum generation – but it takes the kind of guidance from the dugout that Vicente Del Bosque showed, with his flexibility and man-management of superstars. In that respect, De la Fuente is a natural successor.
Named the IFFHS Men's World Best National Coach last year, the 63-year-old former left-back is bringing Spain out of a tricky period following their 2010s slump, with the aim now to follow up on their success at the European Championships with further silverware at next year’s World Cup in the United States.
27. Dino Toppmoller
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Date of birth: November 23 1980 (44)
Nationality: German
If you're the son of legendary chainsmoking Bayer Leverkusen chief Klaus Toppmoller, you're going to have something about you.
Utilising the pace of attackers like Hugo Ekitike and Omar Marmoush (now of Manchester City), son Dino has displayed just how devastating his transition-based approach to the game can be, as he follows from where Oliver Glasner left off.
Eintracht Frankfurt is Toppmoller's first major posting in one of Europe’s top leagues, but in just a couple of seasons, the German coach has taken Die Adler from a half-decent top-half side to their highest Bundesliga finish in over 30 years. Don't be surprised if he follows Glasner to the big time soon.
26. Thomas Tuchel
Team: England
Date of birth: August 29 1973 (51)
Nationality: German
England manager Tuchel was appointed on the basis of a straightforward reputation and clear expectations. Yes, the arrangement would probably be brief. Yes, there would be people within Wembley’s walls who will emerge from the relationship with some fairly ripe opinions about their interactions. But he would win.
It wasn’t a decision taken without evidence. Tuchel is a bright and respected coach and a spiky character who is a three-time league champion in two countries, a cup winner in two countries, a treble winner, and a Champions League winner. That’s all since 2017.
Tuchel is fire and ice – a mixture, capable of uplifting one-on-ones with players but also capable of damaging their confidence with withering home truths.
Henry Winter
He was always likely to end up in international football though, simply due to the way in which he transformed clubs he went to. He's never been known for bringing his generals along with him – Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting aside – instead, leaning on the A-list talents he inherits.
He was the perfect man to follow Jurgen Klopp in the Borussia Dortmund dugout, injecting life into a tired team and winning the DFB-Pokal. At Paris Saint-Germain, he got the best from Neymar in a dual-no.10 set-up that platformed the club's superstars – while at Chelsea, he configured an innovative three-man high press and 3-4-3 system that leant on rotating the club's many talents weekly.
He just knows how to get the best out of superstars. That makes him prime candidate to follow where Gareth Southgate couldn't.
Tuchel is astute, flexible and has balls of steel: who else would have taken the ‘Impossible Job’ at the peak of their powers? Tuchel’s stated affection for the English game gives him a degree of reverence for the job but if he can improve on the work of predecessor Gareth Southgate, it might just be his greatest triumph yet.
25. Marco Silva
Club: Fulham
Date of birth: July 12 1977 (47)
Nationality: Portuguese
After difficult spells with the likes of Hull City, Watford and Everton, you could be forgiven for believing he was done at England’s top level.
Yet Marco Silva’s current tenure at Fulham continues to go from strength to strength, having now led the Cottagers to three consecutive mid-table finishes in the Premier League: it is no surprise fellow top clubs are beginning to take note of the 47-year-old’s managerial capabilities.
"Tactically superb from Marco Silva" 🧐@Carra23 on how Fulham forced Liverpool to make errors. pic.twitter.com/7mueK83DbRApril 7, 2025
Consider where the Whites were when the Portuguese took over, though. Not only did Silva stop the yo-yoing, he built a solid squad that withstood the losses of a 25-goal-a-season striker (Aleksandar Mitrovic) and his next-best player (Joao Palhinha). He's shown quiet genius to take Fulham up the table.
Often blending solid structures with attacking flair, Silva deserves all his plaudits and more with what he's done with this side. There's still a case that he's hugely underrated – not that Fulham fans have a problem with that.
24. Didier Deschamps
Team: France
Date of birth: October 15 1968 (56)
Nationality: French
There are those who bemoan his lack of tactical acumen – but Didier Deschamps is still the most successful manager in the history of the French national team, and deserves almighty recognition for the job he has done with Les Bleus over the last 13 years.
A World Cup winner back in 2018, the so-called ‘water carrier’ has struck the correct balance, creating a cohesive team environment by developing positive relationships with his players. And yet, he's not afraid of the big decisions.
Deschamps is already the best manager the French national team has ever had: not that the ones before him weren't good, but you can't really beat two World Cup finals, one Euro final and one World Cup win.
Julien Laurens
Look at the 2022 World Cup final, in which he made two first-half subs in order to save the game. Or the Euros the year before, when he reintegrated Karim Benzema in the prime of his life.
People underestimate this job. It's only thanks to Deschamps that the team has been stable for over a decade, with walkouts, inappropriate live marriage proposals, in-fighting and politics blighting a side that stood on top of the world in 1998 and very publicly fell from grace not long after. Deschamps is still le roi, all right.
23. Claudio Ranieri
Club: —
Date of birth: October 20 1951 (73)
Nationality: Italian
Claudio Ranieri has managed no less than 19 teams. In other lifetimes, he helped Monaco to promotion, managed an Atletico Madrid side with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, wrote the first chapter of Chelsea under Russian rule and flopped at Fulham, Inter Milan and most curiously, the Greek national team.
Yet when Claudio goes somewhere he's loved, he produces something deeper than form.
Un girone di ritorno da 46 punti rimane comunque un capolavoro.Ha preso la Roma in zona retrocessione e l’ha portata in Europa.CLAUDIO RANIERI. pic.twitter.com/QXmrkCfcsCMay 25, 2025
We're still talking, almost a decade later about the impossible dream of Leicester City yet in 2024, he answered the call of boyhood Roma. He was simply asked to steady the ship after years of tumult: he ended up taking I Lupi from midtable to fifth, losing just once from Christmas onwards.
Scenes of the 73-year-old bidding farewell to legions of fans at the end of the season could make even a Roman statue shed a tear. If it is to be the end, it was a glorious sign-off.
22. Ernesto Valverde
Club: Athletic Club
Date of birth: February 9 1964 (61)
Nationality: Spanish
Recognised for his quiet authority, Bilbao’s constant hotbed of talented stars under Ernesto Valverde speaks for itself. He is Andoni Iraola's biggest influence and continues to bring a very English style of play to Spanish football.
Commonly regarded as one of Spanish football's best pragmatists, the Spaniard is renowned for getting the best out of a group with often limited resources to hand. He was successful, too, when he moved to a bigger club: perhaps swallowed up by the task eventually at Barcelona, he did win two La Liga titles during his tenure at Camp Nou.
Since finding solace in a third spell with Athletic, it's surely fair to call him one of the greats of the modern age. The record speaks for itself.
21. Cesc Fabregas
Club: Como
Date of birth: May 4 1987 (38)
Nationality: Spanish
He will be the next big manager. A career that is still in its infancy, Cesc Fabregas is already being linked with some of Europe’s top jobs.
Having only started out back in 2023, the former Arsenal midfielder is flying with now Serie A side Como, leading them to a 10th-placed finish last season, after spells with their Under-19 and B sides respectively.
Preferring to set up in a 4-2-3-1, Cesc is seen as a human-centred coach, valuing both character and ability. He's tactically outclassed some of the biggest managers in the game – but he relies on people rather than profiles.
One of the most impressive coaches in the world, Fabregas has coached players to perform at a higher level than their ability.
Ben Mattinson
And if he's anything like he was as a player, rivals should be scared. A phenomenal football brain with no qualms about the aggressive side of the game – not to mention displaying it at a younger age than most of his peers – he already has the traits to take over at a huge club.
It's a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.
20. Vincent Kompany
Club: Bayern Munich
Date of birth: April 10 1986 (39)
Nationality: Belgian
Eyebrows were raised all over Europe when Kompany landed the Bayern Munich job after Burnley were relegated on his watch in 2024.
The former Manchester City captain and acolyte of Pep Guardiola cut his managerial teeth in title races with Anderlecht before Burnley were promoted from the Championship in his first season in charge. Their style of play meant more to the bigwigs at Bayern than his inability to upset the odds and keep a promoted team in England’s top division.
Bayern liked what they saw in the Belgian and stuck to their guns. They were right to.
Kompany's style of play meant more to the bigwigs at Bayern than his inability to upset the odds.
Chris Nee
There’s only one way to keep the Bayern job: win the Bundesliga. Where Tuchel failed in 2023/24, Kompany succeeded in 2024/25. They were narrowly beaten by eventual runners-up Inter Milan in quarter-finals of the Champions league and Kompany’s stock has never been higher.
It's proof that sometimes, appearances really don't matter and that philosophy is king in coaching these days.
19. Oliver Glasner
Club: Crystal Palace
Date of birth: August 28 1974 (50)
Nationality: Austrian
He bagged European football for Wolfsburg in his first season, Eintracht Frankfurt in his second season and, to the shock of pretty much everyone, Crystal Palace in his first term, courtesy of an unlikely FA Cup triumph.
It’s what Oliver Glasner does.
Given the calibre of clubs he's managed – with no disrespect intended in the slightest – the Austrian might just have the most impressive CV in football right now. Hand him a plucky upstart to manage, and he’ll bring the tactical sturdiness and confidence to get them through the toughest challenges.
It’s an exciting time to be a Palace fan under Glasner. If they can keep hold of him, that is.
18. Julian Nagelsmann
Team: Germany
Date of birth: July 23 1987 (37)
Nationality: German
The poster boy for the new era of youthful, highly-educated German coaches, Nagelsmann was appointed as Hoffenheim’s head coach at the age of 28 and has been climbing speedily up the football ranks ever since.
After improving significantly improving the fortunes in Sinsheim before RB Leipzig came calling, Nagelsmann was given the glorious, tempting, poisoned chalice that is the Bayern Munich job. They wanted his razor-sharp tactical mind and got what they asked for until they flapped at Nagelsmann only being second in the Bundesliga in March 2023.
They probably regretted letting him go. Now the manager of the German national team, Nagelsmann remains a highly respected young coach who’s considered one of the game’s most exciting prospects.
He only has a single Bundesliga title with evergreen favourites Bayern to show for all his promise and success with Germany is a high bar, but he goes into the World Cup next year as one of the best minds at the tournament.
17. Nuno Espirito Santo
Club: Nottingham Forest
Date of birth: January 25 1974 (51)
Nationality: Portuguese
While there’s certainly an argument that taking the Tottenham Hotspur job was a misstep by Nuno and his trusted agent, Jorge Mendes, his managerial performance in England speaks for itself.
Before Spurs and a title-winning stint in the Saudi Pro League, Nuno took a Mendes-fuelled Wolverhampton Wanderers into the Premier League and kept them there. They’d never been more solidly a top-flight club in the modern era and they’ve struggled for the same sense of direction since he left.
Under Nuno, Forest have been able to punch above their weight and completely transform their realities.
Zach Lowy
Even that had nothing on his 2024/25 season in charge of Nottingham Forest. Wrangling a hastily assembled and mismatched squad, Nuno squeezed career-best football from the likes of Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Matz Sels, and nearly took them into the Champions League.
And all playing a style of football alien to the top half of the table. Nuno is perhaps still underrated, due to the Spurs gig – but has been astounding in English football.
16. Lionel Scaloni
Team: Argentina
Date of birth: May 16 1978 (47)
Nationality: Argentine
Argentina’s third World Cup-winning manager came out of nowhere. After a playing career that took him from Argentina to Spain, to Italy and briefly to England, Scaloni was given the national team job in 2018 with no experience as the leading man at any level until he was given Argentina’s Under-20 job the same year.
He’s delivered something close to perfection. Scaloni has taken Argentina to three major tournaments and won them all. They triumphed in the 2021 and 2024 editions of Copa America, winning both finals by a single goal. They won the World Cup in 2022, defeating France on penalties in the final.
They even told us it was coming by thumping European champions Italy at Wembley months earlier. Scaloni might have the greatest player in the history of the game at his disposal but that’s a title Lionel Messi needed a World Cup to lock down.
Only Scaloni pulled it off.
15. Thomas Frank
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Date of birth: October 9 1973 (51)
Nationality: Danish
Tottenham Hotspur only had eyes for one man when Europa League winner Ange Postecoglou got the boot. When Dean Smith left Brentford for Aston Villa, Thomas Frank stepped up and supercharged the work they’d been doing together at Griffin Park.
Under the former Brondby boss, the Bees were promoted to the top flight for the first time in 90 years and stabilised in the Premier League immediately. Frank pursued a brand of swashbuckling football that entertained and established Brentford as a solid mid-table outfit.
"A lot of coaches would have not given you as much time ⏳Mikkel Damsgaard speaks about how Thomas Frank kept believing in him and wanting him to succeed 🐝 pic.twitter.com/IWRdoOluGHApril 9, 2025
Frank unleashed Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. He was the making of Ivan Toney. Despite some challenges – challenges Frank himself righted in-season, such as flawless home results but away form that was nothing but a blemish – the flight of the Bees made the loss of their main man inevitable.
Now, he's looking to transform Tottenham. He may just be their best appointment since Mauricio Pochettino.
14. Andoni Iraola
Club: Bournemouth
Date of birth: June 22 1982 (43)
Nationality: Spanish
Iraola has a shy demeanour – he gave up a law degree for the beautiful game. But you'd never know it, watching the ferocity with which he teams play.
Bournemouth were promised a degree of controlled chaos when Iraola was appointed manager in 2023, after his Rayo Vallecano team had become known for its tactical fluidity and physical mobility, a unit possessed of the kind of dynamism required for the Cherries to close the gap on bigger clubs with more financial freedom.
In two seasons on the south coast, Iraola took a talented group of unfashionable players and won 34 matches in all competitions. Iraola’s front-foot, aggressive, fearless football is a tactical leveller and it’s starting to build careers – with Dean Huijsen off to Real Madrid, Ilya Zabarnyi to Paris Saint-Germain and Milos Kerkez to Liverpool.
Bournemouth are fearless under his leadership, with a man-to-man press capable of bringing down the big boys.
Mark White
This is a team, too, that have posted record points tallies in both campaigns under the Basque. Bournemouth are fearless under his leadership, with a man-to-man press capable of bringing down the big boys: see last season's double over Arsenal, mauling of Newcastle United and first-ever Premier League victory over Manchester City.
It was a masterstroke to appoint him. It was even wiser to keep him after he failed to win a single game weeks into his tenure.
13. Gian Piero Gasperini
Club: Roma
Date of birth: January 27 1958 (67)
Nationality: Italian
In 2023/24, Atalanta thumped Xabi Alonso’s impenetrable Bayer Leverkusen in the final. It was his first trophy. Manager Gian Piero Gasperini told reporters that he was no better a manager for the triumph.
He had the receipts. Built on a vibrant attacking ethos, the rise of Atalanta under Gasperini was remarkable. In his nine seasons in charge, La Dea were ever-present in the top half of Serie A. Two seasons before he arrived, they finished 17th. Just a few seasons before that, they were in the second tier.
Gasperini is no flash in the pan. Two spells with Crotone, Genoa and Palermo, and one with Inter Milan, preceded his longest tenure and laid the groundwork for his greatest triumph after decades in the game. His thrilling 3-4-3 system made Atalanta frequent fliers in European football.
“Atalanta have, in my view – no disrespect towards others – the best coach of the last decade in Italy and a real reference point for so many tacticians,” Lazio coach Marco Baroni said earlier this year. He may not be so willing to praise the man now he's on the other side of the Eternal City, but he was spot on.
12. Diego Simeone
Club: Atletico Madrid
Date of birth: April 28 1970 (55)
Nationality: Argentina
Feared, revered, and resolutely among world football’s highest-paid managers, Simeone has made the Atletico Madrid job his own since replacing Gregorio Manzano in 2011.
Atleti are a big club in an impossible spot competing with Barcelona and Real Madrid and needing to punch above even their own substantial weight to bring home trophies both at home and in Europe. Over the course of a decade and a half, Simeone has found a way.
Under the four-time La Liga Coach of the Year, the Rojiblancos have won the league twice and the Europa League twice. They reached two Champions League finals in three years, taking Real Madrid into extra time on both occasions before losing as if to prove the point that taking a tactical approach that seeks to limit the impact of the biggest hitters is the only way.
Simeone has turned it into a lucrative art form. And along the way, he's reinvented himself time and again, to keep on attacking the establishment. He's a management legend, by now.
11. Eddie Howe
Club: Newcastle United
Date of birth: November 29 1977 (47)
Nationality: English
It was a long wait for Newcastle United fans.
70 years after their last major trophy, their Carabao Cup triumph in 2025 was a historic, momentous occasion for the Magpies. The club’s ownership situation lent a sense of inevitability to the end of their drought but Howe was the man who really made it happen.
He showed exceptional promise in two spells in charge of boyhood club Bournemouth and hauled them from the bleakest of days at the bottom of League Two all the way to their first season in the Premier League. That rise was a story for the ages and turning Newcastle into trophy winners cemented his reputation.
Howe is among the most capable, cerebral modern English managers.
Chris Nee
Howe works with talented players at St James’ Park and has shown his tactical smarts in his ability to get the best out of players like Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes, Jacob Murphy and Sandro Tonali.
Howe is among the most capable, cerebral modern English managers and there’s plenty still to come.
10. Carlo Ancelotti
Team: Brazil
Date of birth: June 10 1959 (66)
Nationality: Italian
The most decorated man in European competition. The only coach to have lifted titles in Europe's top five leagues. There is simply no one more fitting for the Selecao.
What's more, Carlo Ancelotti's reputation as a manager who bends his philosophy and relies on his legendary man-management makes him perfect for international football. Don Carlo has been at the top of the game for over two decades and is still finding success simply through just his aura, now.
And yet he's still capable of tactical brilliance. He fashioned Vinicius and Rodrygo into a front pairing with Jude Bellingham as a battering ram behind. He denied Pep Guardiola time and again with defensive masterclasses. He may be more laissez-faire than your typical calcio coach, but he's still shrewder than top managers almost half his age.
Ancelotti will go down as one of the best managers of all time – that's certain, now. If he delivers a sixth world title in Brazil, he might just go down as no.1. Who's to say he won't?
9. Unai Emery
Club: Aston Villa
Date of birth: November 3 1971 (53)
Nationality: Spanish
Unai Emery was typecast, for a while, as the Europa League specialist: a somewhat conservative coach able to thrive just below the elite. He's broken into the top tier, now.
After successive disappointments in London and Paris, the Basque was reborn at Villarreal, then deified in the Midlands. He has an ability to build all-conquering sides seemingly from the parts that no one else wants: he's Champions League quarter-finalists out of Morgan Rogers, Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans, Ross Barkley and, of course, Marcus Rashford – all players that bigger clubs passed on.
And now he's far more than just a cup manager, having taken Villa into the top four, then being an Emi Martinez blunder away from Champions League football a second time. No one won more points in the Premier League last season based on their squad spend, either.
Emery's reputation has never been better. It's testament to his determination following the Gunners gig: his reinvention has been wonderful.
8. Antonio Conte
Club: Napoli
Date of birth: July 31 1969 (55)
Nationality: Italian
The fervour he evoked at Chelsea and Inter was enough to write his name in history. And yet we may now be watching his finest work.
With his Napoli adventure, Conte has added layers to his legacy. A 4-2-4 enthusiast at heart who brought the back three into vogue in England – messieurs Guardiola and Wenger even imitated him – his system was a cliche until he reinvented it in Naples.
Not even loaning Victor Osimhen or losing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia midseason could stop him. The Leccese moved to a back four, put Scott McTominay into conversations with Diego Maradona and delivered quite possibly his most impressive title yet. He continues to breathe life into Romelu Lukaku. Now Kevin De Bruyne's joined him.
Antonio Conte is the greatest Serie A manager of his era. Scudetti with Juventus were one thing; repeating the feat with Inter was another. Translating his success to Napoli has secured his status.
7. Mikel Arteta
Club: Arsenal
Date of birth: March 26 1982 (43)
Nationality: Spanish
It's a common misconception that Mikel Arteta went to shadow Pep Guardiola to learn about how to implement the same brand of positional play. He was already a tactical mastermind that Pep himself phoned for advice.
On his own two feet, the Basque has taken Arsenal from their ‘banter era’ to the Bernabeu. Now it's clear exactly what he was learning at the Etihad: he has instilled the culture in North London that breeds success and re-imagined ‘the Arsenal way’ for a new generation, combining the hard-as-nails George Graham-era defensive solidity with technical wizards that Wenger would have adored.
And there's a reason that the famously tetchy Goonersphere are still patient with Arteta: there's a clear feeling that it's just a matter of time.
It's a common misconception that Mikel Arteta went to shadow Pep Guardiola to learn tactically: he was learning how to instill a culture in North London
Mark White
This is a manager who still got results with Mikel Merino up front. Who has transformed Arsenal's big-game record. Who dragged the club to second in the table with four injuries to the first six choice attackers. Who has sold this project to superstar signings over the past five years. It's coming.
To deny that Arteta is anything other than world-class is churlish these days. He has been phenomenal since arriving at the Emirates and he's far from done.
6. Xabi Alonso
Club: Real Madrid
Date of birth: November 25 1981 (43)
Nationality: Spanish
Was there ever a more obvious elite football manager than a man who played for Guardiola, Mourinho, Ancelotti and Benitez? Oh, and Xabi Alonso's father was a coach, too.
Intelligent, tenacious and composed as a player, the Basque has been much the same in management so far. He's brought an aura, too, from his playing career: he simply feels as if he belongs at the top level.
But stepping into the Bernabeu hot seat at the age of 43 as just your second job in management is testament not just to Alonso's education but his experience. It's the stuff of legend by now: he dragged relegation-battlers away from the bottom and turned them into Invincible Double-winners.
Now, he's in charge of the biggest club on Earth, has changed his system accordingly and we'll get to see how he handles egos. Combining the positional play that he thrived under to a ‘relationism’ impossible to defend against, Alonso is the embodiment of elite coaching in the 2020s. It feels like his destiny to transform the sport.
5. Hansi Flick
Club: Barcelona
Date of birth: February 24 1965 (60)
Nationality: German
Barcelona were becoming a little insular, preoccupied with their Cruyffian ideals and doing things the typical Blaugrana way. It showed when they sacked Ernesto Valverde for Quique Setien in a title challenge, backed up by hires of former players, Ronald Koeman and Xavi Hernandez.
Hansi Flick has brought some much needed outside perspective to Catalonia. He doesn't play in a 4-3-3, the football is centred on pace rather than patience – and yet Barcelona feel more themselves than ever before.
Not only has the identity crisis been averted, the German has managed to recapture lightning from Raphinha with an arm around the Brazilian's shoulder, Pedri is reborn as the orchestrator and Frenkie De Jong is showing some of the best form of his Barça career. Let's face it: they were desperately unlucky not to get to the Champions League final, too.
When Hansi Flick arrived and told Raphinha, ‘I’m going to rely on you,’ it was just such an enormous boost.
Graham Hunter, Spanish football expert
Flick's Bayern template has been re-purposed to perfection: free-wheeling left-back, wingers given the keys and Robert Lewandowski in god mode. With this team still firmly a work in progress, too, there's serious potential to only go up from here.
Initial doubts over Flick's suitability at this club from a subsection of Culers have been erased spectacularly.
4. Pep Guardiola
Club: Manchester City
Date of birth: January 18 1971 (54)
Nationality: Spanish
Pep Guardiola's stringent principles took him to the top. The mantra that the touchline was your best defender. The principle that having the ball closer to the opposition goal was the best way to not concede. The idea that opponents were most vulnerable within six seconds of receiving possession.
He changed the sport with his playbook. But what's kept the Catalan at the top of the world is his ability to dust himself down and go again.
Guardiola didn't just re-write football once, he keeps doing it: inverting full-backs, then making them more defensive; putting natural wingers out wide, then re-inverting them for the fun of it. He has stayed at the very zenith of football simply by evolving quicker than anyone else around him: we're still looking for new ways to describe things he's done.
"The thing that stands out for me is how humble he is." @Carra23 on Pep Guardiola 🫡 pic.twitter.com/mWFpFaXX67May 2, 2025
It's one thing to have won everything in the game, or to have broken virtually every record for the taking – he has, and he has – but to have redefined the very standards to which every other coach has been held in the past two decades takes something else entirely.
He will surely surpass even mentor Johan Cruyff when he retires. Guardiola's added longevity to his long list of achievements and continues to leave everyone else in his wake.
3. Simone Inzaghi
Club: Al-Hilal
Date of birth: April 5 1979 (49)
Nationality: Italy
As a player, Il demone di Piacenza lived in the shadow of brother, Filippo. As a manager, he's the one draping his cloak over Serie A.
Inter Milan's route to the Champions League final in 2023 was seen as lucky: an outsider with a weaker draw. Two years later, they were deserved finalists (the less said about Munich, the better, though).
Simone Inzaghi has been unparalleled by all but a handful of coaches since he took over at the San Siro in 2021, delivering another Scudetto, two more Coppas, three more Supercoppas and re-establishing Inter as the Nerazzurri as a serious force in European football – the first time anyone had done such a thing with an Italian club since Juventus' dynasty.
Some in Rome remain convinced that Inzaghi’s Lazio would have challenged for the title in 2019/20 had the COVID-19 pandemic not interrupted – they were one point off leaders Juventus after 26 games when the season was stopped.
Alasdair McKenzie
Yet to have done so with such a unique tactical setup is extraordinary. Out of possession, Inzaghi's 3-5-2 suffocated the life out of teams across Serie A: on the ball, the midfielders dropped to build up, the centre-backs ventured forward, in a balletic synergy of moving parts.
He reinvented Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, made a cult hero of Lautaro Martinez and replaced the likes of Achraf Hakimi and Andre Onana with such effortlessness that their departures looked like part of the plan. By its final hour, this Inter team were finished though, and with it, their manager had emphatically taken them as far as possible.
But Inzaghi is a huge loss to European football: for his oneness and his wonder.
2. Arne Slot
Club: Liverpool
Date of birth: September 17 1978 (46)
Nationality: Dutch
Arne Slot was subject of a FourFourTwo magazine feature over the summer of 2023, introducing Pep Guardiola's ‘disciples’ in European football. “Replacing Klopp, inspired by Pep,” we said.
Yet Slot is unashamedly his own man. Brought up on Match of the Day highlights beamed to Hardenberg and stories of totaalvoetbal, and an elite communicator of ideas.
As the season unravelled, it became obvious that the Dutchman's superpower is in reinvention. He needed not to re-shape Jurgen Klopp's final project but to tweak it, add control and chisel at the likes of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Ryan Gravenberch to make them more rounded.
If the current form continues at least, Slot may win more than Klopp did, just like Paisley won more than Shankly – even if arguably those who laid the foundations had the bigger job on their hands
Matt Ladson, This Is Anfield
And when things weren't going his way, again, he'd reinvent. There may not have been a more impressive in-game tweaker than Slot for a decade or more. Liverpool were not only able to snatch points from nowhere, but to find advantages from having fewer men on the field.
It was immensely impressive, to take hostage of the Premier League almost immediately. He was capable of hiding his own team's weaknesses and exploiting his opponents, like a magician misdirecting a crowd with slight of hand. And he did so with uncertainty hanging over his three best players.
It's been a pleasure to watch Slot so far. We can't wait to see his next trick.
1. Luis Enrique
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Date of birth: May 8 1970 (55)
Nationality: Spanish
When asked before his semi-final whether you had to win the Champions League to be considered a great manager, Luis Enrique shrugged and, perhaps diplomatically, answered, “no”. Easy for him to say: he already won the Treble with Barcelona in 2015.
Easy, too, to look at the wealth invested in Paris and to declare this an easy job. Yet the 55-year-old didn't just succeed where Carlo Ancelotti, Laurent Blanc, Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Christophe Galtier couldn't – he did it where Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi couldn't either.
Luis Enrique's achievement isn't just to have landed the prize that the club so desperately coveted but to have done so with a swagger.
PSG wanted someone to build something for the future, with patience. He was the best candidate.
Julien Laurens
French underperformance in UEFA club competition is historic – Paris hasn't always been cool – and yet it's taken a Spaniard to establish a dynasty that brings the banlieues to the Parc Des Princes, in a fluid, free-flowing attack that platforms young, French talent.
In hindsight, it seemed so easy. And yet perhaps that's what has made Luis Enrique's 2025 quite so spectacular: it's simple football at its core, performed by a superteam.
Joao Neves and Vitinha have been exceptional. Gigi Donnarumma has ascended to his potential. Nuno Mendes has seemingly grown six inches, Achraf Hakimi given a stage for his unique talents. And that's without mentioning the regeneration of Ousmane Dembele – 4/11 favourite to win the 2025 Ballon d'Or – as a forward built for the 2020s and the stage given to Desire Doue to reenact Neymar nostalgia.
Easy? No. Terrifying for the rest of Europe? You bet.
