Top 10 Greatest Managerial Rivalries – All Time

Greatest Managerial Rivalries – All Time Top 10

What are the Greatest Managerial Rivalries? Have you ever thought of finding out which managerial rivalries would actually make the Top 10 Managerial Rivalries? well if you have then worry not because we have prepared a list of the Top 10 Greatest Managerial Rivalries. Their area number of managerial rivalries in football but we have picked out the best of them all worthy of making the Top 10 Greatest Managerial Rivalries ever.

Ten Greatest Managerial Rivalries

Previously we published the Top 10 England’s Biggest Football Rivalries & Top 10 Biggest Football Derbies in Europe. If you haven’t seen these lists then worry not you can check them out after the Top 10 Managerial Greatest Rivalries.

Here are the Top 10 Greatest Managerial Rivalries of all time

10. Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish

Kickstarting the list of the Top 10 Greatest Managerial Rivalries is the rivalry between Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish. The two are both from Scotland. Sir Alex Ferguson who is a former Manchester United manager had a fierce rivalry between him and Dalglish who by then was a manager at Liverpool FC .

During one of their encounters Ferguson accused the Referee for being influenced by the Anfield crowd and Dalglish’s response was that the former Manchester United manager’s behavior was ‘Childish‘.

9. Sir Alex Ferguson and Kevin Keegan

Sir Alex Ferguson seems to have made a lot of Rivals during his time as Manchester United manager . He takes the ninth place on the Top 10 Managerial Rivalries with his rivalry with Kevin Keegan. Some of you might have forgotten who Kevin Keegan is, Keegan was a Magpies manager back in the days and during those times he never seemed to get along with Sir Alex Ferguson.

The rivalry was really ignited during the 1995-96 season when the two clubs Newcastle United and Manchester United met. Newcastle were 12 points clear of Manchester, but the game took a twist and saw the Red Devils clinch three points and later went on to win the League.

8. Jose Mourinho and Frank Rijkaard

In eighth place on the Top 10 Greatest Managerial Rivalries and one of the craziest is the one between Frank Rijkaard and Jose Mourinho. This rivalry was not very intense due to the fact the two managers were from different leagues and as such their meetings were not frequent.

Nevertheless, during a champions league match between FC Barcelona and Chelsea at the Nou Camp, Mourinho accused Frank Rijkaard of going to the referees room during half-time. In the second-half, striker Didier Drogba was sent off, something which Mourinho said did not surprise him. The Portuguese manager went on to mock Rijkaard saying that ‘he had zero trophies’.

7. Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello

In seventh place on the Top 10 Greatest Managerial Rivalries is the a rivalry that was taken to another level, Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello. This rivalry is kind of different from most of the rivalries on the list as it is mainly based on pride rather than team encounters.

Arrigo Sacchi was an AC Milan manager who never played football at a professional level but he was however very good at coaching. Arrigo Sacchi took over AC Milan after Fabio Capello was relieved of his duties at the club. Sacchi, after taking over, won the Serie A title and brought success at the Rossoneri . He then put the Milan board under-pressure demanding them to spend more. Sacchi was sacked and to his dismay was succeeded by Fabio Capello who won the rivalry by bringing in more success.

6. Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho

Whenever you talk about managers- the ‘Special One’, Jose Mourinho , never seems to miss. Taking the sixth place on our Top 10 greatest Managerial Rivalries is the rivalry between the former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. The two have been involved in a battle beyond the game of football itself as they have engaged themselves in various disputes.

Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho during a game in the Premier League became physical towards each other due to an incident on the pitch between Alexis Sanchez and Gary Cahill. The two have since exchanged words in the media and played mind games. When ever the two meet, they hardly shake hands.

5. Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez

In fifth is the rivalry between Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez. The rivalry comes from way back during Rafa Benitez’s spell at Liverpool and Jose Mourinho’s time at Chelsea. Benitez is not the kind of manager who goes about creating controversies unlike Mourinho, but as they say a fight always has two parties involved.

Benitez and Mourinho are both massive tacticians and the two played mind games whenever they met though Mourinho seemed to mostly have the upper hand .

4. Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez

Sir Alex Ferguson pops up again but this time it’s against old rival Rafa Benitez. The Scott managed to succeed in a lot of things during his time as Manchester United manager and most of his opposition did not seem to be quite happy with that, as most of them thought he rubbed it in their face.

The game between Manchester United and Liverpool has produced some of the most aggressive matches in the Premier League and not only the players feel this intensity but also the managers.

3. Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho

The rivalry between Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho is arguably the most emotional rivalry currently. They both hate each other immensely. Jose Mourinho has called Chelsea manager Conte “a clown’ for his celebration antics on the touchline. While Conte called Mourinho “senile” after mentioning that Mourinho had clearly forgotten his days of running up and down the touchline when he was manager of Chelsea and Porto.

The rivalry came to a boiling point when Mourinho said that at least he had never been trialled for match fixing- referring to Conte’s time in Italy when he was charged with not reporting match fixing but was ultimately cleared of any guilt.

Conte said that Mourinho was a “little man” after this and the war of words ultimately stopped but their rivalry is still strong after Conte said he’d “go to war with anyone”, referring to Mourinho. They still hate each other and it will be interesting to see how this rivalry pans out.

2. Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho

In runners up is the rivalry between Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho . During Mourinho and Guardiola’s time in the Spanish La Liga , the two were always in the media saying things that were linked to each other. This is quite normal in Spain as managers involved in the famous El Classico match never seem to get along , and this seems to have passed on to the players on the pitch. The two now battle it out in the Premier League with Mourinho managing Manchester United and Pep managing Manchester City.

1. Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger

Taking the first spot on our Top 10 Managerial Rivalries is none other than Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. The former Manchester United manager who seems to have dominated this list had arguably the most fierce rivalry in the history of the Premier League against his arch rival Arsene Wenger .

The match which can’t go without mentioning was the game that saw Manchester United get the upper hand in a game that produced ten goals which were shared evenly. Manchester United Thrashed Arsenal 8-2 and I guess Wenger was a laughing stock for the rest of the season due to the Scotts mind games.

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