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10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Genaral By

Best Coaches of Football Clubs

International Federation of Football History and Statistics inaugurated the World’s Best Club Coach award to honor the men behind the success of famous clubs in 1996 and Marcello Lippi received the honor as the inaugural achiever while serving as the manager of Juventus Turin. Jose Mourinho was named the World’s Best Club Coach a record 4 times out of which he won twice with FC Chelsea and twice with Real Madrid. Josep Guardiola, Marcelo Lippi, Ottmar Hitzfeld and Carlos Bianchi are the coaches who were named the World’s Best Club Coach more than once during their career with the famous football clubs. UEFA Manager of the Year is another prestigious award to honor the best coaches of Europe and was again named to Marcello Lippi as the inaugural receiver in 1998. World Manager of the Year by World Soccer magazine is considered as the highest honor given by any media house and was inaugurated while honoring Enzo Bearzot as the best manager in 1982. Many other famous coaches throughout the world also received many awards to honor their contribution to the club football history and here is the list of 10 best coaches of football clubs.

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Sir Alex Ferguson

 

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Scottish former football manager Sir Alex Ferguson is widely considered as the most successful and respected club coach of football history. He started his journey as a coach in 1974 with East Stirlingshire and managed three club teams and Scottish national football team in his career before he declared his retirement on 8 May 2013. He was mostly famous for managing Manchester United a record 26 years from 1986 to 2013 surpassing Sir Matt Busby’s record. During his time with Manchester United, he achieved 38 trophies which include 13 Premier League and two UEFA Champions League titles. Sir Ferguson was knighted in the 1999 Queen’s Birthday Honors and also named Premier League Manager of the Season a record 11 times, World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year four times and was named IFFHS World’s Best Coach of the 21st Century in 2012.

José Mourinho

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Portuguese football manager José Mourinho is now managing Chelsea FC in his second spell from 2013 season after he managed the team also from 2004 to 2007. He started his journey as a coach in 2000 with Portuguese club S.L. Benfica and has managed six teams till now which include Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea. Mourinho is one of the only five coaches to win the European Cup with two different teams and won the first ever FIFA Ballon d’Or Best Coach Award in 2010. He won 6 trophies in his first spell with Chelsea FC, 5 trophies with Inter Milan and 3 trophies with Real Madrid. Mourinho was named Onze d’Or Coach of the Year twice, IFFHS World’s Best Club Coach four times, World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year thrice and FIFA World Coach of the Year in 2010.

Pep Guardiola

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Spanish football manager Pep Guardiola is now managing Bundesliga club Bayern Munich since 2013 season. He started his journey as a coach in 2007 with FC Barcelona B and also managed FC Barcelona senior team from 2008 to 2012 before he moved to Bayern Munich. Guardiola is the youngest manager to win the Champions League and won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League in the same year in his first season as the manager of FC Barcelona. He won 14 trophies with Barcelona, which include La Liga thrice, Supercopa de España thrice and FIFA Club World Cup twice. In his journey with Bayern Munich, he already achieved Bundesliga title, DFB-Pokal title, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in 2013. Guardiola was named IFFHS World’s Best Club Coach twice, World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year twice and FIFA World Coach of the Year in 2011.

Vicente del Bosque

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Spanish football manager Vicente del Bosque is mostly famous for implying Tiki-taka football which was used heavily by the Spanish national team. He is the only football manager to win the Champions League, the European Championship, and the FIFA World Cup. He started his journey as a coach in 1987 with Real Madrid B and also managed Real Madrid senior team in three spells from 1994 to 2003. He won 8 trophies in his journey with Real Madrid, which include La Liga twice, UEFA Champions League twice, UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup in 2002. Del Bosque was named IFFHS World’s Best National Coach thrice, UEFA Club Coach of the Year twice, IFFHS World’s Best Club Coach in 2002 and FIFA World Coach of the Year in 2012. He was also honored with Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit by the Spanish government.

Carlos Bianchi

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Former Argentinian football manager Carlos Bianchi was nicknamed El Virrey or The Viceroy for his enigmatic appearance as a manager. He is the only coach to win four Copa Libertadores. He started his journey as a coach in 1985 with French club Stade de Reims and recently served as a manager of Boca Juniors in 2013-14 season. Bianchi managed six teams till now which includes Stade de Reims, Nice, Vélez Sarsfield, Roma, Boca Juniors and Atlético Madrid. He achieved Argentine Primera División thrice and Copa Libertadores in 1994 with Vélez Sarsfield. In his famous ride with the Boca Juniors, he achieved Argentine Primera División title four times, Copa Libertadores thrice and Intercontinental Cup twice. Bianchi was named South American Coach of the Year five times and also honored as IFFHS World’s Best Club Coach in 2000 and 2003.

Marcello Lippi

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Italian football manager Marcello Lippi is now managing Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande since 2012 season. He is the only coach in football history to win both the UEFA Champions League and the AFC Champions League. He was inducted in the list of Top 50 Managers of All Time by The Times in 2007. He started his journey as a coach in 1982 with Italian club U.C. Sampdoria and managed 11 club teams till now which includes some of the best clubs such as S.S.C. Napoli, Juventus FC and Inter Milan. In his managing career he already achieved Serie A titles five times, Italian Supercup four times, Chinese Super League titles twice and also won Coppa Italia, UEFA Champions League, AFC Champions League, UEFA Supercup, Intercontinental Cup and Chinese FA Cup. Lippi was named Serie A Coach of the Year thrice and IFFHS World’s Best Club Coach twice till now.

Frank Rijkaard

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Dutch football manager Frank Rijkaard managed Dutch and Saudi Arabian national football teams, besides his career as a manager of several other clubs. He is also regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in football history and was stated as “a stylish player of faultless pedigree” by The Daily Telegraph in 2010. After managing Netherlands national team from 1998 to 2000, he started his journey as a club coach in 2001 with Dutch club, Sparta Rotterdam. Rijkaard has successfully managed Sparta Rotterdam and Galatasaray and is mostly famous for coaching Barcelona FC from 2003 to 2008. In his famous journey with the Barcelona, he won La Liga twice, Supercopa de España twice and UEFA Champions League in 2006. Rijkaard was named Don Balón Coach of the Year twice, UEFA Manager of the Year 2006 and IFFHS World’s Best Club Coach in 2006.

Carlo Ancelotti

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Italian football manager Carlo Ancelotti is now managing Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid C.F. since 2013 season. He is one of the six men to win the Champions League as both player and manager, the second only coach besides Bob Paisley to win three European Cups, and one of the only five managers to win the European Cup with two different clubs. He started his journey as a club coach in 1995 with Italian club A.C. Reggiana and successfully managed 7 club teams till now, which include some of the best clubs such as Juventus FC, A.C. Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. In his journey with the Milan, he achieved 8 trophies including 2007 FIFA Club World Cup. Ancelotti has already won UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Copa del Rey all three in 2013-14 season with Real Madrid. He was named World Soccer Magazine Manager of the Year 2003 and IFFHS World’s Best Club Coach in 2007.

Diego Simeone

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Argentine football manager Diego Simeone aka Cholo is now managing Spanish La Liga club Atlético de Madrid since 2011 season. Besides his coaching career, he was also established himself as a superior Defensive midfielder and represented the Argentina national football team at the 1994, 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He started his journey as a club coach in 2006 with Argentine club Racing Club de Avellaneda, and till now, he has managed 6 club teams which include Calcio Catania FC and Atlético River Plate. In his journey with Atlético de Madrid, he achieved UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Europa League in 2011-12 season, Copa del Rey in 2012-13 season, and Supercopa de España and La Liga in 2013-14 season. He was named La Liga Coach of the Year 2013 and awarded with Miguel Muñoz Trophy in 2014.

Jupp Heynckes

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

10 Best Coaches of Football Clubs

Former German football manager Jupp Heynckes is widely considered as one of the best German coaches of all time. Besides his coaching career, he also won European Championship and the FIFA World Cup as a member of West German national squad. He started his journey as a club coach in 1979 with German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, and till now, has successfully managed 9 club teams which include some of the best clubs such as Athletic Bilbao, FC Schalke, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. In his most famous ride with the Bayern Munich, he achieved Bundesliga title thrice, DFL-Supercup thrice, and both the UEFA Champions League and DFB-Pokal in 2012-13 season. Heynckes was named FIFA World Coach of the Year, IFFHS World’s Best Club Coach, Onze d’Or Coach of the Year and German Football Manager of the Year all four in 2013.

Another notable mention as the best club coach of football history is Ottmar Hitzfeld who was named IFFHS World’s Best Club Coach in 1997 for the superior performance of Borussia Dortmund and again named the same in 2001 for managing Bayern Munich. Many other coaches such as Mario Zagalo and Marcello Bielsa are also considered as the most splendid coaches of all time.

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