Top 10 Most Successful Football Managers of All Time

Most Successful Football Managers – All Time Top 10

Most Successful Football Managers? 10 Most Successful Football Managers Of All Times? Ever wondered who the most successful football manager of all time is? Throughout football history, we have seen a lot of good managers that have taken on some of the best clubs in football history. Many of these managers were incredible, but who were the most successful? We compiled a list of Top 10 Most Successful Football Managers of All Time to help you discover some of the best managers in football history. Watch & Bet on Football Live =>

The list is based on the managers’ success, cups won, individual awards and clubs managed ranging from the Premier League, Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga, French Ligue 1, and so on.

Over the years, we have seen a number of great managers like Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Sir Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti etc… but the question is do they make this list of the most successful football managers of all time? Well, let’s find out from the list we  have prepared.

10 Most Successful Soccer Managers Ever!

Previously we published:

• 10 Most Successful Managers in Champions League History
• Top 10 Premier League Managers That Left An Impact
• LIST: Managers With Most Premier League Games Managed

10. Roberto Mancini

Italian football manager Roberto Mancini achieved 26 domestic and international trophies in his managerial career as of 2018. Regarded as a cup specialist, he marked his name among the most successful football managers of all time. He started his coaching journey with Fiorentina in 2001, and later managed several top-flight clubs like Manchester City and Inter Milan. Mancini currently manages the Italian national football team since 2018.

Trophies: He won the Coppa Italia with Fiorentina in 2001 and with Lazio in 2004. With Inter Milan, he achieved the Serie A title three times in a row from 2006 to 2008. He also helped the club to secure the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana title twice each. During his time at EPL, Manchester City became the Premier League champion and won the FA Community Shield in 2012. The club also achieved the FA Cup in 2011 under his guidance. While coaching the Turkish side Galatasaray, he won the domestic cup in the 2013-14 season.

Awards: For his amazing coaching stint with Inter Milan, Mancini received the Panchina d’Oro in 2008. During his time at Liverpool, he twice became the Premier League Manager of the Month. He received that award first in December 2010, followed by another in October 2011. Italian Football Federation inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2015 for his remarkable contribution to world football.

9. Jürgen Klopp

German manager Jurgen Klopp spent 15 seasons coaching in Bundesliga before moving to Liverpool in 2015. Under his guidance, several amazing footballers like Mohamed Salah, Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino came into prominence at Liverpool. Klopp is the longest-serving manager of Borussia Dortmund and holds the ninth place in the most successful football managers list. After his brief career with Mainz 05 as a footballer, he started his managerial journey with the club. With several awards under his name, Klopp is also one of the most successful football managers of 2018.

Trophies: Under his guidance, Mainz 05 achieved the promotion to the 2. Bundesliga in the 2003-04 season. He came into prominence in the coaching field for his stint with another Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. The club achieved two Bundesliga titles consecutively under his coaching, in 2011 and then again in 2012. He also held the DFB-Pokal trophy with the Dortmund squad in 2012. Klopp helped the squad to win the DFL-Supercup twice consecutively, in 2013 and 2014. He guided Liverpool to the Premier League title after 30 years. He won the Champions League in 2019. He also has EFL Cup and FA Cup trophy.

Awards: For his amazing success with Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, Jürgen Klopp received the German Football Manager of the Year award twice consecutively. He first received it in 2011, and with the League win, he received it again in 2012. During his time with the Premier League club Liverpool, he won the English Premier League Manager of the Month award in September 2016.

8. Manuel Pellegrini

Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini currently managing the Premier League club West Ham United. After his management success at Villarreal, Real Madrid appointed him as their manager in 2009. Under his coaching, Los Blancos made 96 points in La Liga that season. He moved to Premier League for coaching Manchester City in 2013. After his successful time there, he moved to Hebei China in 2016. Watch & Bet on Football Live =>

Trophies: With Chilean side Universidad Católica, he won the Copa Interamericana in 1993 and Copa Chile in 1995. With LDU Quito, he achieved the Serie A trophy in 1999. San Lorenzo won both the Primera División and Copa Mercosur under his guidance in 2001. With the Argentine club River Plate, Pellegrini achieved the Argentina Primera División in 2003. He then moved to La Liga and made Villarreal the UEFA Intertoto Cup champion in 2004. With Manchester City, Pellegrini became the Premier League winner once and the Football League Cup champion twice.

Awards: Manuel Pellegrini received the Miguel Muñoz Trophy for being the best football manager in the world in 2008. He received the Gold Shield from the Málaga Provincial Council for his spectacular coaching stint with the Malaga club. During his time in Premier League, he received the Premier League Manager of the Month award four times.

7. Antonio Conte

Italian coach Antonio Conte managed his national side besides his stints with several richest football clubs in the world. One of the most decorated players of his time, Conte earns his place among the most successful football managers in history.  He earned praises from football pundits after implementing the 3–5–2 formation in the Juventus squad in 2011. After his successful stints with the Italian club, he currently manages the fellow Serie A side Inter Milan since 2019.

Trophies: With Italian club FC Bari 1908, he won the Serie B in the 2008-09 season. He then managed the Juventus squad and achieved the Serie A title thrice. Under his coaching, Juventus won the domestic league in 2012, 2013 and then again in 2014. He also helped the club to become victorious in the Supercoppa Italiana twice. Premier League club Chelsea achieved the EPL trophy in the 2016-17 season under Conte’s management.

Awards: Conte received Premier League Manager of the Month award three times till now, and named as the Serie A Coach of the Year thrice. He won the Premier League Manager of the Season, LMA Manager of the Year and Special Achievement GQ Men of the Year Award in 2017. He also received the Manager of the Year award at the London Football Awards 2017. Besides, Conte won the Panchina d’Oro thrice and Panchina d’Argento once.

6. Giovanni Trapattoni

Widely regarded as the most successful Serie A coach, Giovanni Trapattoni deserves his place in the list of Best football managers. Nicknamed the “Trap”, Trapattoni noted for being one of the only five coaches to win the league titles in four different European countries. He is the only manager besides Udo Lattek to win all three main European club competitions including the UEFA Champions League. Besides coaching the Italian national side, he managed several big clubs like AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, and Bayern Munich.

Trophies: Trapattoni achieved the most success with the Italian club Juventus. With the club, he won the Serie A title a record 6 times and the Coppa Italia twice. With Inter Milan, he won the Serie A and Supercoppa Italiana in 1989, and the UEFA Cup in 1991. Under his management, Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga and DFB-Ligapokal in 1997, and DFB-Pokal in 1998. With Benfica, Trapattoni won the Primeira Liga in 2007. His international success came with the Republic of Ireland in the 2011 Nations Cup.

Most Successful Football Managers

5. Pep Guardiola

Spanish coach Pep Guardiola currently manages the Premier League side Manchester City and holds the fifth spot in the list of all-time most successful football managers. Besides his notable coaching career, he earned praise for being one of the greatest footballers of his generation. As an interesting fact, football magician Lionel Messi came into prominence under Pep’s guidance. After his stints with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he has been managing the sky blues since 2016.

Trophies: With Barcelona, Pep won the La Liga thrice and the Copa del Rey twice. He also achieved the UEFA Champions League and Super Cup twice each with the Catalan side. Under his guidance, Barca won the FIFA Club World Cup in 2009 and 2011. With Bayern Munich, he won the Bundesliga thrice and DFB-Pokal twice. The club also won both the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup under his coaching in 2013. With Manchester City, he held the Premier League trophy and the EFL Cup in the 2017/18 season. He won the Premier League trophy five times out of the last six. He won FA Cup and Champions League in 2023 to complete the treble.  Watch & Bet on Football Live =>

Awards: Pep received the Premier League Manager of the Month award five times as of 2018. He also won the La Liga Coach of the Year four times during his stint with Barcelona. He received the Don Balon Award twice and the Onze d’Or Coach of the Year award thrice. World Soccer Magazine named him the 5th Greatest Manager of All Time in 2013. Pep won both the FIFA World Coach of the Year and European Coach of the Year in 2011. He was named Premier League manager of the year in 2023.

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4. Arsene Wenger

Widely regarded as one of the best EPL coaches, Arsene Wenger holds the fourth spot in the list of most successful football managers ever. After 22 years of coaching the Arsenal squad, he recently announced his wish to step down in April 2018. Nicknamed “Le Professeur”, Wenger revolutionized the training and diet system of English football players since the 1990s. Besides his reign with the Gunners, he also spent brief periods with several other clubs like Monaco and Nancy.

Trophies: With AS Monaco, he won one of the most popular football leagues the French Ligue 1 in 1988 and the Coupe de France in 1991. With his brief stint with Nagoya Grampus, he achieved the Emperor’s Cup in 1995 and the J-League Super Cup in 1996. Under his coaching, Arsenal won the English Premier League three times, in 1998, 2002 and then again in 2004. He also guided Gunners to achieve the FA Community Shield and the FA Cup seven times each as of 2018.

Awards: He received the Premier League Manager of the Season thrice till now. He won the Onze d’Or Coach of The Year four times and LMA Manager of the Year twice. BBC named him Sports Coaching Personality of the Year twice. Wenger won the World Manager of the Year in 1998 and the FWA Tribute Award in 2005. IFFHS named him as the World Coach of the Decade 2000s. English football federation inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2006. He was also included in the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2023.

3. Jose Mourinho

Regarded as the best for his stint with Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho holds the third place in the most successful football managers of all-time list. After a brief career in professional football, Mourinho started his coaching journey as an assistant manager of Porto in 1994. Since then, he managed several great clubs such as Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid. He last coached the English Premier League side Manchester United from 2016 to 2018. As an interesting fact, he achieved at least one trophy each year between 2003 and 2012.

Trophies: With Chelsea, Mourinho won the Premier League and the Football League Cup thrice each. With Inter Milan, he achieved the Serie A title thrice and also held the UEFA Champions League trophy in 2010. Under his guidance, Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey in 2011, and La Liga and Supercopa de España in 2012. With Manchester United as of 2018, he won the FA Community Shield in 2016, and the UEFA Europa League and the EFL Cup in 2017. He won Europa Conference League in 2022 for Roma.

Awards: Portuguese Football Federation named him as the Portuguese Coach of the Century in 2015. He became the IFFHS World’s Best Club Coach four times and FIFA World Coach of the Year once. Mourinho became the Premier League Manager of the Year on three occasions. Besides, he also received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award in 2005. European Federation included him on their 10 Greatest Coaches of the UEFA era ranking. At the Onze d’Or ceremony in 2005, Mourinho received the Coach of the Year award.

2. Carlo Ancelotti

Widely noted for his time with Serie A club AC Milan, Carlo Ancelotti earns the second spot in our list of most successful football managers in the world. He managed several great clubs till now, which includes Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, PSG and many more. He won domestic titles in 4 out of Europe’s top 5 leagues. Ancelotti holds the record for winning the UEFA Champions League a record 4 times.

Trophies: With Juventus, he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999. With AC Milan, he achieved UEFA Champions League twice, and Serie A and Coppa Italia once each. He also held the FIFA Club World Cup trophy with the Italian club in 2007. With Chelsea, Ancelotti won the Premier League and FA Cup in the 2009-10 season. He then guided Real Madrid to win UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, Copa del Rey and UEFA Super Cup in 2014. With Bayern Munich, he achieved the Bundesliga in 2017. In 2022, he won Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid. Next year, he won Copa del Rey for club after 12 years including Super Cup, and Club World Cup.

Awards: He received the Serie A Coach of the Year award and Panchina d’Oro twice each. Ancelotti received the Best Coach of the Year award and Best Media Attraction in Football award at the Globe Soccer Awards in 2014. Italian football board inducted him into their Football Hall of Fame in 2015. Besides, AC Milan and AS Roma also inducted him into their club hall of fame.

Most Successful Football Managers

1. Sir Alex Ferguson

Legendary football manager Sir Alex Ferguson is widely noted for his stint with Manchester United. But, he first came into prominence while managing the Scottish national team in 1985. After this, he joined Premier League side Manchester United in November 1986. He managed the Red Devils first squad for 26 years and proved himself as the greatest and the Best football managers of all time. Several great players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney grew up under his guidance.

Trophies: During his time at Old Trafford between 1986 and 2012, he won 38 domestic and international trophies. He guided the squad to hold the English Premier League title a record 13 times. The club also achieved 2 UEFA Champions League titles and 5 FA Cup titles under his guidance. Ferguson also helped Manchester United to win 10 FA Community Shield and 4 League Cup. Besides, the Red Devils became the FIFA Club World Cup winner under his guidance in 2008.

Awards: He received the knighthood at the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1999 for his contribution to Football. Ferguson won the Premier League Manager of the Month award a record 27 times and became the Premier League Manager of the Season 11 times. IFFHS named him as the World’s Best Coach of the 21st Century in 2012. BBC gave him the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sports Personality of the Year ceremony in 2001. Without any doubt, Alex Ferguson is definitely the greatest football manager of all time. He was also included in the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2023. Watch & Bet on Football Live =>

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