Whether it's the superstar striker who fires their team to glory, the brilliant playmaker who has fans on their feet every week, or the fearless defender who throws himself into every tackle to keep the ball out of the net, in soccer, it's the players who most often get the plaudits.
However, without a truly great manager behind them, it’s unlikely any of these players would achieve such heights.
A brilliant head coach has the power to elevate an average player or team, turning them into something extraordinary, while helping already-great talents reach their full potential.
Moreover, the best managers don’t just transform teams—they reshape the game itself. They create an identity and style of play that becomes synonymous with their name and achievements, influencing future generations of managers who strive to replicate or build upon their methods.
Here, we've ranked the 50 greatest soccer managers of all time—from tactical innovators to fiery motivators, each of whom has made an indelible impact on the sport.
50) Marcelo Bielsa
Taking influence from Rinus Michels’ totaalvoetbal, as well as Argentine pioneers César Luis Menotti and Carlos Bilardo, Marcelo Bielsa is still to this day one of the most well-renowned managers in soccer history.
That’s come not only as a result of his tactics on the pitch, but Bielsa’s antics off it too. Legend has it he once pulled a grenade out and threatened to pull the pin when he was confronted by a group of Newell's Old Boys ultras at his house.
49) Vic Buckingham
The greatest manager you’ve probably never heard of. The Londoner was a true pioneer of total football and a key factor in a rise of the great Johan Cruyff.
Buckingham is renowned as lauded as a hero on the continent, but his ideologies came too early for a stubborn English fan base who thought it was their way or the highway.
48) Claudio Ranieri
One of the most charismatic managers in the history of the game, Claudio Ranieri will forever be remembered as the man who achieved the impossible with Leicester. Favourite for relegation going into the 2015-16 season, a change of emphasis, mood and direction at the club, led by Ranieri, soon transformed the Foxes into fairytale title contenders as the Premier League's big boys endured a dramatic fall from grace.
Once seen as a lovable tinkerman, Ranieri’s title win revolutionized English soccer, cementing his place as one of the greatest managers of all time.
47) Bill Nicholson
Nicholson was responsible for Tottenham having any kind of golden age. His immense man-management played a major role in transforming Spurs from a team languishing sixth from the bottom in the First Division into title winners less than three years later.
Winning eight major trophies in his 16-year managerial spell, including a double in 1960-61, Nicholson is rightly heralded as "Mr Tottenham", with his soul and ethos still prevalent at the club to this day.
46) Sven-Goran Eriksson
Until Gareth Southgate arrived with his waistcoat and winning smile, Sven-Göran Eriksson was the most successful England manager of the 21st century, having guided the Three Lions to three consecutive major tournament quarterfinals.
However, Eriksson's greatest achievements came at the domestic level, with the Swede winning 18 trophies with various league clubs in Sweden, Portugal, and Italy between 1977 and 2001.
The most notable of those came in the form of an improbable Serie A title with Lazio in 2000––an accomplishment that remains one of the most remarkable feats in Italian soccer history.
45) Unai Emery
Unai Emery has a fantastic knack for overachieving with sides that have no business winning trophies––especially in Europe.
After guiding Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League titles on a shoestring budget, all while losing his best players to bigger teams, he would later go on to win the same title again, this time with Villarreal, a club that had never won a major European trophy before.
In between those achievements was a trophy-laden stint at Paris Saint-Germain and a difficult spell at Arsenal (though he was arguably never given enough time to implement his methods after Arsène Wenger's departure). Most recently, Aston Villa has become the latest beneficiary of his underdog success, with Emery taking the club back into the Champions League for the first time in over three decades.
44) Sir Alf Ramsey
By those who knew him best, Sir Alf Ramsey was often described as somewhere between an "enigma" and a "lone wolf"—a fact he was publicly proud of. “I should be hard to get to know,” he once said in an ESPN documentary.
Maybe so. But he was also known, both in his playing and coaching career, as "The General."
So, enigmatic and a wholehearted leader of men—check. But he was also a pioneering tactician and a strict disciplinarian, exuding professionalism in everything he did. That seems about right for the only English manager to ever lift the World Cup, doesn’t it?
43) Sir Kenny Dalglish
King Kenny will forever reign in the hearts of Liverpool supporters. His record of 169 goals in 502 appearances as the Reds' star forward made him a cherished figure at Anfield, as did his 13 years of dedicated service. And of course, the three First Division titles––along with a trio of domestic cups––that he secured as manager were warmly celebrated by fans.
However, it was his stoic, brave, and inspiring leadership in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster that truly solidified Dalglish as a genuine legend on Merseyside. The Scot also enjoyed success at Blackburn Rovers and Celtic, but Anfield undoubtedly remains his spiritual home.
42) Antonio Conte
Winner of domestic league titles in both Italy and England, there is no doubting the credentials of Antonio Conte. The former heartbeat of Italy's midfield has worked with some of the best players to grace the modern game, but his success owes much to his reinventing of the 3-5-2 wheel.
Charged with reviving Juventus' fortunes after the Calciopoli scandal, which saw the team relegated to Serie B, Conte first led the Old Lady back to Serie A and then to three consecutive Serie A titles, before moving to Chelsea and impressing his philosophy upon an arguably average side, winning the Premier League in his first year in charge.
41) Massimiliano Allegri
Anything Antonio Conte can do with Juventus, Massimiliano Allegri can do better.
Appointed as Conte's successor in Turin after his departure for Chelsea, Allegri went on to lead the Old Lady to an incredible five consecutive Serie A titles, with the first four also accompanied by triumphs in the Coppa Italia.
He left in 2019 before returning in 2021, and although his second spell as Juventus manager was nowhere near as successful, Allegri still remains a legend at the club.
40) Sir Bobby Robson
Sir Bobby Robson is arguably the most revered and fondly remembered manager in English soccer history. He came within a whisker of winning the World Cup with England in 1990, and enjoyed incredible success with the likes of Ipswich Town, Barcelona and Porto. But that's not the reason he's so highly regarded.
For Robson was also much more than just a serial winner. He was a warm and kind soul, a mentor, an entertainer, a trailblazer, a fighter––a true legend. Few have had the impact he made on so many in the world of sports, nor achieved the success he enjoyed at various clubs across numerous countries.
39) Luis Aragones
The most important manager in the history of the Spanish national team and one of Atlético Madrid's all-time greats, the 31-year gap between Aragones' first major title and his last speaks to a coach who was able to adapt and reinvent himself, showcasing an innate tactical understanding.
He turned Fernando Torres from boyhood prodigy to world-class striker. He identified David Villa’s potential and helped shape him into Spain's greatest-ever forward. He was also, notably, a bit racist. His comments about Thierry Henry early in his Spain tenure went down in history––and if it feels gratuitous to mention it in every profile of him? Well, we wouldn't have to if he hadn't said racist things.
38) Carlos Alberto Parreira
No manager has ever understood international soccer quite like Carlos Alberto Parreira, and his record six appearances at the World Cup proves it. The motivational Brazilian often took on near-impossible jobs, in an attempt to bring the world together over a mutual love of the sport.
Leading the likes of South Africa, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates was never going to be easy, but Parreira was solely responsible for some of the greatest moments in the sporting history of each nation.
However, the crowning moment of his career came in charge of Brazil, as Parreira led the Selecao to glory in the 1994 World Cup.
37) Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer is best remembered for his glittering playing career, but he achieved more in his 12-year management spell than most will in a lifetime. His larger than life personality and organised style drilled Germany into becoming World Cup winners in 1990 and he would later lead Bayern Munich to domestic and European glory.
36) Viktor Maslov
Viktor Maslov's name has become one of the lesser known footnotes of soccer history, however his brilliance can still be seen to this day.
The 4-4-2 formation that he pioneered is still in wide use, and his pressing tactics continue to shine in the best teams around the world. Maslov was one of the fathers of modern tactical thinking, and his influence should be celebrated and known by every soccer fan who loves the game.
35) Rafael Benitez
Over the past 35 years, only a handful of managers have managed to break the La Liga dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Radomir Antić, Diego Simeone, and Javier Irureta each pulled it off once. But only one man has had the guile, wisdom, and tactical brilliance to dethrone Spain’s heavyweight duo twice—the often underappreciated Rafa Benítez.
A future Champions League winner for Liverpool and Europa League winner with Chelsea, the Spaniard is famed for his methodical and pragmatic approach to management, as well as the ability to raise the games of all those who play under his stewardship.
34) Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane has had a relatively short managerial career compared to most on this list, but he has won more than many. A Real Madrid legend as a player, the ethereal Frenchman took over as the club's manager in 2015 and found instant success, guiding the team to three consecutive Champions League titles in his first three seasons—a feat never before seen in soccer.
He also won eight other major honors during his two spells in charge, including two La Liga titles.
33) Luiz Felipe Scolari
Scolari is perhaps the most Hollywood movie-worthy manager on the list because in the Brazilian, you would usually get one of two extremes. The outstanding or the appalling––though more often the former than the latter.
Much of his success can be credited to his enigmatic style, with his ability to inspire his players proving to be as important as his tactical prowess. As a manager he was by no means a remedy for all ills, but when his methods worked, they worked brilliantly and his World Cup triumph with Brazil in 2002 is evidence of this.
32) Jupp Heynckes
The mastermind behind Bayern Munich’s 2013 treble winning side, arguably the most complete European club outfit of the 21st century.
The German was relentless in his pursuit of tactical perfection, and his methods have been universally praised by almost every great player he has managed in his illustrious career.
31) Udo Lattek
Remembered as perhaps the finest manager in Bundesliga history, Udo Lattek knew nothing other than winning. During his career, Lattek managed an incredible eight league titles, leading both Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach to domestic glory.
His intellectual and motivational approach to management often left many questioning his credentials, but wherever Lattek went, success tended to follow.
It wasn't just league success which made Lattek so great, as he even etched his name into European folklore as well. He won the 1974 European Cup with Bayern, the 1979 UEFA Cup with Gladbach, and the 1982 European Cup Winners Cup with Barcelona, making him one of just two men to lift all three––and the only to do so with three different clubs.
30) Jock Stein
When Stein took over Celtic in 1965 they were at one of their lowest ever ebbs. Within two years they were European champions and by the time he left to take over Scotland 12 years later they had won the league 10 times under in his tenure.
Yet perhaps his greatest accomplishment is the influence he had over Sir Alex Ferguson, his international assistant, who describes him as the greatest ever.
29) Vittorio Pozzo
Vittorio Pozzo remains the only coach in history to win back-to-back FIFA World Cups, having guided Italy to glory in both 1934 and 1938.
That sounds impressive. Maybe too impressive for 27th on this list—until you consider the accusations of match-fixing, Benito Mussolini’s influence on World Cup results, and a certain Nazi salute incident in 1938.
Now you see why he’s here.
28) Jurgen Klopp
Jürgen Klopp is the man responsible for restoring life to two of Europe’s biggest soccer clubs, both of which had fallen somewhat dormant in the years prior to his arrival.
First, he revived Borussia Dortmund, guiding the club to its first—and then second—Bundesliga title in almost a decade, breaking Bayern Munich’s monopoly on the division. Then, he took Liverpool back to the pinnacle of European soccer, leading them to a Champions League triumph and their first-ever Premier League title.
His high-intensity gegenpressing style has now become the norm for many clubs, big and small, across Europe, ensuring that even when he’s no longer coaching, his legacy remains firmly intact across the continent—not just on the Rhine and in Merseyside.
27) Mario Zagallo
It became the bane of Brazilian soccer. A mission to somehow get a one of the most talented group of players the world has ever seen all singing from the same hymn sheet. One would argue that moulding the likes of Pele, Tostao, Rivellino and Jairzinho into a formidable force is more a joy than and assignment, but it had yet to crafted successfully. Mario Zagallo did that.
And, not only did he thrive under that pressure, he blossomed in it, with the 1970 Brazil World Cup team often revered as the greatest of all time. "Joga bonito" was forged under his guidance, and Brazil as we know it owe a significant degree of gratitude to the habitual World Cup winner. Two triumphs as a player and two as a manager, Zagallo is the World Cup.
26) Bela Guttmann
You always know you've made it in life when you've got an entire curse named after you. True to Guttmann's words––or alleged words, it's always hard to tell whether these sort of perfectly fitting lines are apocryphal or not––Benfica haven't won a single European Cup in the 50-plus years since they refused to give him an improved contract.
Bela Guttmann. Two-time European Cup winner, Holocaust survivor, man who nailed dead rats to management's doors, qualified dance instructor. Nomad. Gamechanger.
25) Valeriy Lobanovski
Second only to Sir Alex Ferguson in terms of managerial trophy collections, the former Soviet scientist was the first trailblazer when it came to sports science and bringing in the idea that the team is the star, not the individual.
With the exception of Lev Yashin, there may not be a name more synonymous with Soviet football than Lobanovskyi, who created the dominant Dynamo Kiev side of the late 20th century, and he is considered a national icon in Ukraine.
24) Louis van Gaal
Louis van Gaal had the honour of managing four of the most famous clubs in history during his career––Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United––and he won trophies with all of them.
The Dutchman has famously fallen out with plenty of people over the years, but his greatest strength was his faith in young talent. So many modern legends, including Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Xavi, Carles Puyol Andres Iniesta, made their senior debut under Van Gaal, while he also proved so influential for others like Frank de Boer, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Muller.
He also was also great comedy on both the touchline and in the press room, so there's extra points for that.
23) Otto Rehhagel
With a career split into two distinct chunks, Otto Rehhagel was the great German coach humiliated in his own country by failure at Bayern Munich, who went on to transform Greece into the most unlikely European champions in history.
Rehhagel made his name in Germany in the 1980s and early 1990s when he guided Werder Bremen to two Bundesliga titles, two DFB Pokals and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. He turned Kaiserslautern into national champions after his Bayern disaster, but it was with Greece where his greatest achievement came––stealing the show with pragmatic brilliance a the 2004 European Championships.
22) Tele Santana
When you think of Brazilian soccer, chances are you will think of (even if perhps only from the famous Nike adverts) "joga bonito", or "play beautifully." Whilst Tele Santana did not found this movement, his time with Brazil was certainly behind its rise to prominence.
During his two separate spells with the Selecao, Santana may not have won any silverware, but he is credited with forming some of the greatest international sides in history. His 1986 side were fantastic, but his 1982 squad was something else. His love for attacking soccer quickly infected the nation, and Brazil still pride themselves on their free-flowing attack to this day.
Even at club level, Santana helped transform Sao Paulo into one of the world's finest teams, winning back-to-back Intercontinental Cups in 1993 and 1994.
21) Vicente Del Bosque
While Del Bosque's style and tactics will never be poured over like Arrigo Sacchi, Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola, he was a master of the most human elements of soccer. He made his players feel happy, trusted and confident. He facilitated an environment where they could be at their best together, with little room for ego and pressure. Tiki-taka, after all, was as much about the team over the individual as anything else.
Del Bosque won everything worth winning and it never looked particularly difficult. He was a subtle, master conductor of the greatest orchestras, always keeping the focus on his delighted performers, shunning any spotlight of his own.
20) Bill Shankly
Put simply, Liverpool would not have the domestic or European legacy they herald today without the remarkable rebuilding process they underwent in Shankly's 16 years at Anfield.
His enthusiasm for the job and belief in the club restored an average second division side to the top flight and won the league three times before stepping down, leaving his long-term assistant Bob Paisley to take Liverpool into the next step of their evolution in the 1970s.
19) Ottmar Hitzfeld
It's a title bestowed upon you that is achieved through no less than total dedication, loyalty and a burning desire to give your heart and soul to the cause. Ottmar Hitzfeld earned legendary status, not once, but twice, with the two biggest clubs in Germany.
Firstly at Borussia Dortmund and then Bayern Munch, the man's supreme marshalling of his troops ultimately meant he obliterated all the competition on a march towards the upper echelons of German soccer. Brushing aside those in his way, he won everything with Die Borussen, before eventually repeating the feat in Bavaria. On a one-way trajectory towards Bundesliga royalty, Hitzfeld now stands in a league of his own.
18) Arsene Wenger
Arsenal are a club steeped in history and traditional, but one man has become synonymous with everything they stand for over the last two decades. That man is Arsene Wenger. At the helm for 22 years, Wenger redefined and reinvigorated the Gunners by introducing a slick, attacking brand of football, whilst demonstrating great knowledge of the transfer market to bring in talented youngsters who he would transition into world class players.
Winner of the league and cup double on two occasions, the Frenchman then achieved the unthinkable––becoming "Invincible" as Arsenal went the entire 2003-04 Premier League campaign unbeaten.
17) Miguel Munoz
In the history of the best club there has ever been, Miguel Muñoz is quite probably Real Madrid's best ever manager.
The former European Cup-winning player navigated what should have been a perilous transitional period to transform the ageing Galacticos of Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano into the youthful Ye-Ye's (named after the Beatles chorus in "She Loves You") of Amancio and Pirri, while keeping them at the very apex of Spanish and world soccer.
16) Fabio Capello
A far cry from how his most recent spells as a manager will be remembered, Fabio Capello not only helped to create one of Italian soccer’s best-ever teams but he also helped to make Calcio exactly what it is today.
Capello brought tremendous success to AC Milan––even more so than Arrigo Sacchi––while also lifting silverware almost everywhere he went across Europe.
We won't mention his spell in charge of England, though.
15) Brian Clough
Arrogant, disrespectful, obnoxiou––Clough had many insults levelled at him. The issue is, "Old Big Head" didn’t care in the slightest. In his own words, he was the best manager in the business; his time at Nottingham Forest suggests he may well be right.
He won the First Division with Derby County in 1972, though no silverware came Clough’s way when coaching Hartlepool United, nor Brighton. It was worse at Leeds United, where, without the aid of trusty assistant Peter Taylor, the Yorkshireman was sacked after just 44 days.
Clough then redeemed himself as he got Forest promoted to the top-flight. On their return, he took them to a maiden English crown. And then he secured back-to-back European Cups, the only side from these shores to ever achieve such a feat.
14) Nereo Rocco
Italy is to soccer management as America is to basketball, pretty much. Which goes some way to explaining why Nereo Rocco is unlikely to be the first name uttered during a quick fire round of categories. But he should be. The great pioneer of Catenaccio––that greatly misunderstood tactical discipline––was in many ways a simple man. He enjoyed food, drink and company (usually in excess).
But he was also a complete innovator, coaching with a "genius-like pragmatism", as the great Italian journalist Gianni Brera described it. But even that could be seen to embolden the myth that his AC Milan sides were dourly defensive. Rocco was a winner, there’s no doubt, but he was also not dull in doing so. And, while you may not be that clued up on him, all of your favourite managers are and, if they coincided with his time in the game, they were probably taught a lesson or two in real time.
13) Carlo Ancelotti
"The Diva Whisperer", soccer's great avuncular uncle, Carletto's legacy (beyond winning a boatload of trophies) is his man-management skills.
From Milan to Madrid to Munich, it seems almost no-one has a bad word to say about Ancelotti. He is the manager the very best love to play for.
His detractors might say he has been in right place at the right time (with the right squads) but Ancelotti's great trick is managing the highest of high profile names and nearly always getting the very best out of them. Having the best team on paper, as soccer history shows, doesn't always guarantee success. Having Ancelotti as your manager pretty much does.
12) Sir Matt Busby
Sir Matt Busby did nothing short of build the modern Manchester United, creating a legacy that paved the way for all of Sir Alex Ferguson’s success and one that still serves the club to this day.
Busby took over a club in 1945 that had narrowly avoided bankruptcy twice in just 43 years, where there was a new focus on developing young players at a time when it wasn’t the norm.
His "Busby Babes" were revered, but from the ashes of the tragic Munich Air Disaster in 1958 rose a team that would become the first English club to win the European Cup 10 years later.
11) Marcello Lippi
Perhaps even more important to the development of Italian soccer than Capello, Marcello Lippi put the groundwork in throughout the 1990s with Juventus most notably, but also punching above his weight initially at Napoli.
Lippi, with a cigar protruding from his lips, was then reaping the rewards of his work when he took over the Italian national team, ending Gli Azzurri’s 24-year wait to be crowned as world champions in 2006.
10) Bob Paisley
Shankly aimed the bow for Liverpool's dominance throughout the 1970s and '80s, but Paisley was the razor-sharp arrow that followed through and conquered all of Europe.
He adapted Liverpool's tactics for a new era, and although his management career lasted just nine years, he won the league six times, the European cup three, and averaged 2.2 major trophies per season.
Paisley was a serial winner.
9) Jose Mourinho
Love him or loathe him, Jose Mourinho has proven to be one of the most influential managers in soccer history.
After taking Europe by storm by winning the 2003-04 Champions League with Porto, Mourinho went on to pick up a stunning amount of silverware with Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, picking up six league titles across a 10-year spell. He also helped AS Roma lift its first-ever major European honor in 2021-22 by winning the Europa Conference League.
Capable of masterminding a strategy to subdue even the strongest opponents, Mourinho has made a career out of constructing dominant sides, and there are few managers capable of stopping him.
8) Helenio Herrera
Psychological warfare is so commonplace in the world of modern soccer that it is difficult to imagine the sport without it. Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson and many others would like to think they are the masters of such battles, but they are all mere pretenders to Herrera’s throne.
The eccentric Argentine-turned-Frenchman was the first to bring focus onto the mind-set of players: both his own, and those of rival clubs. Herrera was a brilliant man-manager, using motivational words and scathing attacks to help his teams fulfil their potential and unarm opponents.
Without his pioneering methods, Inter would never have lifted consecutive European Cups, whilst he was similarly important to the mid-20th-century glory enjoyed by both FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
7) Ernst Happel
Happel questioned everything soccer had taken for granted, helping him to revolutionize the game and inspire the era of "Total Football" in the 1970s. Always willing to question his own opinions as much as anybody else's, the rebellious Austrian was one of the first to opt for a three-man midfield in an era where the 4-2-4 formation prevailed.
Not just an innovator, Happel was a winner too and is one of only six managers to win the European Cup with two clubs and the only manager to lead three different clubs to the final of the competition.
6) Giovanni Trapattoni
The most successful Italian manager of all time.
That says it all really.
Trapattoni isn't fondly remembered by Republic of Ireland fans, but Juventus fans do remember him rather fondly, for winning well, everything in the most golden of eras for La Vecchia Signora.
5) Johan Cruyff
It’s not a stretch to call Johan Cruyff the single most important person in the history of soccer for the impact he had as a player, coach, general figurehead and pioneer.
Cruyff nurtured several of the Dutch legends of the 1980s while at Ajax and later built the "Dream Team" at FC Barcelona that dominated Spanish soccer and won the European Cup in 1992 with a perfect blend of home-grown talent and world class stars.
But he was so much more; a true visionary who saw the value of implementing a single way of playing at every level of a club and insisted Barcelona launch the academy that became La Masia.
4) Rinus Michels
Widely credited with introducing the world to "Total Football"—a fluid, positionless style of play that forever revolutionized the way soccer is played—Rinus Michels walked so the likes of Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola could run.
Not only did he essentially shape the soccer landscape into what it is today, but he did it while winning a shed load of trophies, too.
After dominating the Netherlands and Europe with his iconic Ajax side, led by Cruyff, he took his philosophy to Barcelona—once again with Cruyff at his side—and won the league in Spain. Saving the best for last, though, in 1988, Michels guided his country to their first—and still only—major international honor, winning the European Championship.
Build that man a statue. Oh, wait...
3) Arrigo Sacchi
“Football is born in the brain, not in the body. Michelangelo said he painted with his mind, not with his hands. So, obviously, I need intelligent players. That was our philosophy at Milan. I didn’t want solo artists; I wanted an orchestra. The greatest compliment I received was when people said my football was like music.”
Arrigo Sacchi wanted his teams to play fluid football that made their adoring audiences gasp in awe of what they were witnessing; between 1987 and 1991, his team did just that.
The conductor of the single greatest club team the world has ever seen, Sacchi changed Italian soccer forever by winning with style.
2) Pep Guardiola
La Liga winner, Bundesliga winner, and Premier League winner. There aren't many managers nowadays who can boast that record, but Pep Guardiola can.
From learning from Johan Cruyff to playing a major role in the development of some the sport's greatest-ever players like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, and more, Guardiola has over the years proven that it's possible to both realise a club's lofty ambitions while simultaneously improving a core group of players.
His work has changed the managerial landscape in the modern era and his standard is the one to beat.
1) Sir Alex Ferguson
Manchester United simply wouldn’t be Manchester United without Sir Alex Ferguson. His exemplary record of 28 major trophies in 27 years at Old Trafford speaks for itself, on top of 10 major trophies he had earlier delivered at Aberdeen.
It famously took Fergie a little while to see his work come to life at United, but he was responsible for refocusing a club that had become lost, realigning it with the blueprint laid out by Matt Busby and making it the undisputed giant of English soccer once more.
More than anything else, Ferguson’s longevity made him the greatest of all time, building team after team and continuing to win and win in a way that will never be repeated.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 50 Greatest Football Managers of All Time.
