Football News: Top 10 – Managers

Top 10 Managers

It has been a while since I did one of managers and, with the (so far at least) retirement of Jurgen Klopp, it seemed a good time to do another one. The landscape changes so repaidly in management, new tactics can see old school managers left behind. Then there is always the debate about how much is down to the manager’s ability and how much simply the quality of the players handed to him. These days, I think I will have to remove recruitment from my equation for deciding, so few now are in charge of the recruitment that it seems unfair to judge them on it any more. Also, I only considered managers in employment at the time I compiled this list.

10. Luis Enrique – Paris Saint-Germain

If it had not been for the sad illness and death of his young daughter to cancer, I think Enrique would have been amongst the top echelons without doubt. That necessitated a step back for Enrique just at a time when he was building himself up to be among the top 3 managers of this era. I have no doubt that he will be back up there once more given time. I do think he probably deserves to be higher in the list, he is already back winning things, but he is doing it at PSG. Unless he leads them to a Champions League trophy, it is difficult to really give much value to the trophies he wins in France.

9. Ruben Amorim – Sporting Clube de Portugal

There is a good reason so many clubs have been trying to poach him from Sporting in recent years. However, unless he wins European trophies, it is almost impossible for him to rise higher up the list while managing in Portugese football. To be the best, you have to beat the best. You have to test yourself in one of the top 5 leagues to really compare at the top end.

8. Diego Simeone – Atletico Madrid

I am not the biggest fan of his style of play, which is basically Sam Allardyce but with even more cheating and aggression, but there is no arguing with his results. He has spent a lot of money to achieve those results though, at times matching the big two for spending. What you cannot take away is that he has kept Atleti competitive over an extremely lengthy period and that longevity is a huge feather in his cap.

7. Xabi Alonso – Bayer Leverkusen

There are very few top class players who can make the step up to management, but Alonso has, so far at least, made it look as effortless as he made a 40-yard pass look in his playing days. If he continues his current trajectory, he will right up at the top end by the end…