We rank the 30 best managers on the planet currently.
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We’ve crunched the numbers, read through the history books and delved into the murky world of European football to bring you this list of the 30 men who are, in our opinion, the finest managers currently in employment in world football:
30) Roger Schmidt (Bayer Leverkusen)
Cut his managerial teeth putting together a successful Red Bull Salzburg team in Austria before moving to Bayer Leverkusen this summer, where his side have already become the Bundesliga’s big entertainers through youngsters like Karim Bellararbi and Hakan Calhanoglu.
29) Didier Deschamps (France)
It is easy to forget what an impressive job Deschamps did in rebuilding the French side and regaining the trust of the public following the disaster of South Africa in 2010 and Laurent Blanc’s short time in charge.
28) Roberto di Matteo (FC Schalke 04)
Di Matteo may have been out of work for a couple of years now, but he is a manager who has won the Champions League – a club with only a select handful of members. It will be fascinating to see what he can do with the untapped potential of underachieving Schalke.
27) Ronald Koeman (Southampton)
Has started life at Southampton incredibly, rebuilding following the firesale of the summer, whilst his continual ability to absorb the loss of his best players at Feyenoord was impressive. One of the most underrated managers around right now.
26) Andre Villas-Boas (Zenit St. Petersburg)
Portuguese manager Andre Villas-Boas’ time in England with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur was largely a disaster, but he is doing a fine job in Russia with Zenit and his achievements with FC Porto were incredible.
25) Nuno Espirito Santo (Valencia)
Has looked like turning Valencia into genuine La Liga title contenders this season in his first year in the job, following on from some exceptional achievements with Portuguese minnows Rio Ave, taking them into the Europa League for the first time.
24) Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham Hotspur)
Did reasonably well at Espanyol, fantastically well at Southampton and the early signs are that he could be the man to finally fulfil the untapped potential held by North London giants Tottenham Hotspur.
23) Jorge Jesus (Benfica)
Won the Portuguese treble last season and is threatening to do similar this season despite the constant sale of his best players to the major leagues in Europe, Jesus is a fine manager.
22) Lucien Favre (Borussia Monchengladbach)
The former Hertha Berlin boss has done a superb job with Borussia Monchengladbach, rebuilding them into the club who look most like challenging Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title this season – all of this from the beginnings of winning a relegation play-off against Hannover.
21) Cesare Prandelli (Galatasaray)
It was odd how Cesare Prandelli and Italy saw their World Cup campaign fall apart in the summer, but the Italian did a fine job with the Azzurri beforehand and also some top class work with Fiorentina.
20) Luis Enrique (Barcelona)
Tends to be omitted from these lists due to his lack of experience at the highest level, but has started life as Barcelona manager incredibly well and also deserves huge credit for his work at Celta Vigo who he turned into an attractive, entertaining outfit.
19) Rafael Benitez (Napoli)
Benitez has done a solid job at Napoli, making them the third best team in Italy, and he deserves huge credit for his achievements with both Liverpool and Chelsea – but a team with the players he has at his disposal perhaps should be closer to Roma and Juventus.
18) Roberto Martinez (Everton)
The Spaniard certainly has the potential to become an absolutely top class manager, having cut his teeth with Swansea City and Wigan Athletic before moving to Everton and really taking them onto a new level last season.
17) Laurent Blanc (Paris Saint Germain)
It is easy to scoff at the money Blanc has at his disposal at the Parc des Princes, but it still isn’t easy to put together a cohesive, winning unit with the ease and the speed that the former Manchester United manager has achieved.
16) Frank de Boer (Ajax)
De Boer continues to keep Ajax as the best team in the Eredivisie and competitive in continental competition despite having to sell his best players every summer – will surely move on in the not-too-distant future.
15) Marcelo Bielsa (Olympique Marseille)
Bielsa is a true revolutionary and his achievements with Marseille so far this season have been incredible, but it is frustrating that his teams have such a tendency to burn out before they can achieve true success.
14) Vicente del Bosque (Spain)
The halo seems to be slipping slightly from Vicente del Bosque on account of Spain’s disappointing 2014, but this is still the man who led them to the World Cup and European Championship and has had a sterling club career.
13) Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool)
Did an excellent job picking up the pieces after Roy Hodgson was sacked at Anfield, but there are question marks over his signings this summer and his ability to win trophies.
12) Unai Emery (Sevilla)
Eccentic Spaniard Unai Emery oversaw the development of a fabulously talented and exciting Valencia team, including the likes of David Villa, David Silva and Juan Mata, a few years ago and is now threatening to repeat the trick with a Sevilla side who lifted the Europa League last year and now sit second in La Liga.
11) Joachim Low (Germany)
Was clearly the man to force home Germany’s huge investment in infrastructure and youth development and winning the World Cup is a stunning achievement, but Low still has an awful lot to prove at club level.
10) Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
Deserves huge respect for his achievements with Arsenal to date and the way that he revolutionised both his club and English football in general when he first arrived from Japan, but it is hard to shake the feeling that Wenger is being left behind slightly by the modern game.
9) Rudi Garcia (AS Roma)
It took Garcia just one season to get AS Roma back amongst the title challengers in Serie A after a disastrous year, which would be impressive enough even with having an improbable Ligue 1 title with Lille under his belt.
8) Louis van Gaal (Manchester United)
The jury is still very much out over Louis van Gaal’s ability to turn around the fortunes of Manchester United, but the Dutchman’s achievements over his career have been many and varied and deserve this place.
7) Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City)
Winning the Premier League in his first season as manager of Manchester City was an excellent achievement on its own – but this placing is as much for his fine work with Malaga and Villarreal as anything else.
6) Antonio Conte (Italy)
Winning the Serie A title three years in a row is an incredible achievement whichever way you look at it, even with a team as impressive as Juventus – it will be fascinating to see what Antonio Conte can achieve with the Azzurri.
5) Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund)
This season has been a disaster for Borussia Dortmund so far, but the way that Jurgen Klopp followed up taking unfancied Mainz into the Bundesliga with establishing Dortmund as a genuine European force is a modern footballing miracle.
4) Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
Even more of a miracle was the fact that Atletico Madrid, under the intense management of former Argentina international Diego Simeone, won the La Liga title and came within seconds of lifting the Champions League as well.
3) Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)
Ancelotti is a quiet, understated character and rarely searches out the limelight – which may be why his incredible achievements as a manager have a tendency to slip slightly under the radar. There is no man you would rather have to plot a path through a knock-out competition.
2) Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
The only place where Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has not been an unquestionable success during his managerial career was at Real Madrid, but even then he led them to plenty of trophies – appointing the Portuguese might attract controversy, but he guarantees silverware.
1) Pep Guardiola (Bayern Munich)
Is the only manager on this list to invent a style of football and, with it, put together a team who were as close as modern football has to being unbeatable. Isn’t doing too badly with Bayern Munich either, for the matter!