Top 10 Managers

Management has changed a lot over the years and it's because the game has evolved.

Most managers 10-15 years ago would set their teams up to play a 4-4-2, play long balls up to the strikers and be defence minded.

Managers these days now get their teams to play out from the back, set their teams up to be more attack minded and play a variety of formations including 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 or even a few formations that include a back three.

There are still teams who play the way most teams did during the early years of the modern era, but most of them play more attacking and out from the back.

Management started to evolve overseas as the majority of teams in Europe were beginning to play with one up top and out from the back.

But now almost every team across Europe now plays an attacking style with their keepers being asked to use their feet and especially more recently in England.

Some of the world's top managers set their teams up to play a more attacking style and out from the back whilst some has stuck to what made them successful to begin.

The managers in the list are among them and here it is:

Carlo Ancelotti

Alex Ferguson

Pep Guardiola

Jurgen Klopp

Arsene Wenger

Jose Mourinho

Louis Van Gaal

Diego Simeone

Antonio Conte

Thomas Tuchel

10. Diego Simeone

Simeone had to be in 10th because he hasn't won as much as the other managers on the list.

He's still done an incredible job during his long stint in charge of Atletico Madrid as he's established them the best of the rest in La Liga behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, and even guided them to two La Liga titles in 2014 and 2021 respectively.

He's won two Europa League's and two Super Cup's, both in 2012 and 2018 respectively, and the Copa Del Rey in 2013 as well as guiding Atletico to two Champions League finals in 2014 and 2016.

His Atletico Madrid side have been incredibly tough to play against throughout his time in charge as he's built them on having a strong defence and set them up to be tough to beat.

9. Thomas Tuchel

Tuchel has managed some of the biggest clubs and best players in Europe, but I don't think he's ever been in that high category of elite managers.

He's still been a successful manager throughout his managerial career in winning both the league and cup in France and Germany, and the Champions, Super Cup and Club World Cup with Chelsea.

But he's never really been placed in the same category as the likes of Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti and it's probably because he hasn't won as many league titles as those two did.

Hopefully he'll add a World Cup to his trophy collection with England next summer.

8. Antonio Conte

Conte is a serial winner as he's won trophies at almost most of the clubs he managed.

Most of his success has of course come in Italy as he's won five Serie A titles with three of them being won at Juventus, including the season they went unbeaten in 2012, whilst the other two were won with Inter Milan in 2021 and last season with Napoli.

He made a big impact during his short stint in England with Chelsea as he led them to the Premier League title in his first season with his three at the back system, which other teams soon replicated.

He started off with a back four when he first went in at Chelsea but when that didn't work, he soon switched to his preferred back three and it changed their season as they went on to win the title in 2017.

7. Arsene Wenger

Wenger spent over 20 years at Arsenal and made a big impact on English football by changing a player's diet and the way football was being played.

He was the manager who started off foreign managers coming over to England and several managers overseas have followed ever since.

With Arsenal he won more FA Cup's than any other manager with seven and three Premier League titles including an unbeaten season.

He turned Arsenal into Man United's main title challengers when he arrived and the rivalry he and Alex Ferguson had will never be forgotten.

6. Jurgen Klopp

Klopp first announced himself as one of the best managers in Europe when he was at Borussia Dortmund after guiding them to back-to-back Bundesliga titles before leading them to a Champions League final in 2013.

He further established himself as one of the best at Liverpool who he turned from doubters into believers as he won everything on offer, including their first league title in 30 years in 2020.

His gegenpressing style of play was relentless and it suffocated teams because of his team's intensity and work rate without the ball.

The intensity his Dortmund and Liverpool teams played at was very much their identity and he even said something like that when he was at Liverpool.

5. Louis Van Gaal

Van Gaal won trophies wherever he went including league titles and domestic cups in Holland, Spain and Germany.

Most of his success came at Ajax as he won three Eredivisie titles, the Dutch cup in 1993, and the Champions League in 1995 with the side that had had the likes of Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids.

His style of play might not have been the most exciting as it was criticised for being too defensive and boring, especially when he was at Man United.

But he was still one of the greatest managers of his generation and in the game of football.

4. Jose Mourinho

Mourinho first announced himself as a world class manager after leading Porto of all teams to Champions League glory in 2004.

He got the Chelsea job off the back of that success and it was at Chelsea where he announced himself as "the special one" and he proved it by leading them to back-to-back Premier League titles.

He also changed the mentality of the entire club by changing the players' mindsets from playing for money to playing for trophies.

But it was at Inter Milan where he had his best days in management as he was a manager in his prime and won everything on offer, including the Champions League in 2010 as part of the treble they won that year.

He had later success with Real Madrid by winning he Copa del Rey and La Liga before returning to Chelsea to win another Premier League title and League Cup.

But since then he hasn't been the same manager and is now managing in Turkey with Fenerbahce.

3. Alex Ferguson

Ferguson is the most successful manager in English football as he won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, and two Champions League's.

He kept Man United at the top of English football for so many years and he has proven to be an impossible act to follow given United's struggles since he retired.

One of the reasons why he kept United at the top for so long was because of his ability to recycle the team every few seasons as he knew when a team cycle was ending, he needed to freshen his squad so they could stay competitive.

I don't think we're ever going to see another manager like him ever.

2. Carlo Ancelotti

Ancelotti has won more Champions League's than any other manager with five alongside league titles in Italy, England, France, Spain and Germany.

He's a manager who suits big clubs and working with big name players as he likes to walk into a club with world class players and with a winning mentality.

He had both when he arrived at AC Milan, Chelsea and both of his spells at Real Madrid as he had Maldini and Shevchenko at Milan, Terry, Lampard, Drogba and Cech at Chelsea, and the likes of Ramos, Casillas, and Ronaldo when he first walked in at Real Madrid.

The two so-called smaller clubs he's managed in Napoli and Everton didn't exactly work out for him as both clubs were not known for winning trophies or had any world class players.

He was good at developing players with Vinicius Junior being the main example as he turned him into one of the best attacking players in Europe at Real Madrid.

But he still preferred managing clubs that had world class players who he could build the team around and trust.

1. Pep Guardiola

Pep had to be my no.1 simply because of the football his teams play and the impact he's had on football in general across Europe.

He's changed the way football should be played by getting his team to play out from the ball and his full backs moving into midfield, and now almost every team across Europe plays his way.

His impact on football no doubt started when he was at Barcelona as he turned them into the dominant force in European football with that star studded team of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets etc.

He later carried that impact in Germany by dominating the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and most recently in England with Man City, with whom he turned into the dominant force in England.

MY TOP 10:

1. Pep Guardiola

2. Carlo Ancelotti

3. Alex Ferguson

4. Jose Mourinho

5. Louis Van Gaal

6. Jurgen Klopp

7. Arsene Wenger

8. Antonio Conte

9. Thomas Tuchel

10. Diego Simeone