Nine Of The Greatest Managers In Soccer History

Only a select few soccer managers possess a golden touch, delivering trophies and reshaping tactics for clubs and countries. Past and present, these legends have redefined the sport and won countless honors. These are the greatest managers in soccer’s history.

Herbert Chapman

Herbert Chapman, the visionary of the 1920s and 1930s, is regarded as one of the great managers. With Huddersfield and then Arsenal, he won the league and the FA cup on numerous occasions. Arsenal became the dominant team of the 1930s, thanks to its management and revolutionary WM formation. He also advocated such innovations as floodlights and numbered shirts, which are now standard.

Jock Stein

Soccer’s miracle worker worked wonders with Glasgow Celtic in the 1960s. Celtic’s domination of Scotland resulted in an unprecedented nine straight league titles in the era, followed by a famous European Cup win over the Italian team Inter Milan in 1967. He was the first British manager to win the trophy.

Bill Shankly

The hero of the Kop is credited with laying the foundations for Liverpool’s golden decades in the 1960s. Shankly won numerous FA Cups, league titles, and a UEFA Cup with Liverpool before handing the reins to Bob Paisley for further domestic and European trophies in the 1970s.

Bob Paisley

Shankly’s successor, Paisley, won three European Cups with Liverpool. In Europe and domestically, the trophies rained on Anfield as Liverpool beat most that stood before them during Paisley’s glorious reign. Overall, Paisley won more trophies than any other Liverpool manager with 13 in total.

Alf Ramsey

Why include Sir Alf? Simply because he is the only England manager to have actually won the World Cup, in 1966. Recalling that England has had some notable managers like Revie, who never actually came close to such feats. An astute tactician, his wingless wonders 4-4-2 formation has also become standard in English football. Also recalling his title-winning Ipswich team that won the league in their first season after promotion. 1973 aside, England’s best manager, bar none.

Matt Busby

Sir Matt Busby was the first Manchester Utd manager to win the European Cup. In addition, during the 1950s and ’60s, he won numerous league titles and cups for the club. The most famous of his teams was dubbed the Busby Babes. He was also a long-serving league manager who established some of the most exciting attacking teams seen in English soccer.

Marcello Lippi

This Italian manager won five league titles with Juventus, as well as a European Cup during the 1990s. He won the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Italy. With such honors won, Lippi is one of the best soccer managers in history.

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola is a manager who has redefined positional play in modern soccer with his Juego de Posición philosophy and also perfected the possession-based tiki-taka playing system when at Barcelona. He won a fantastic 14 trophies at Barcelona, including the Spanish Cup, La Liga, and Champions League triple in 2009. Guardiola also won trophies galore at Bayern Munich and Manchester City, winning three Bundesliga and six Premier League titles. Thus, Guardiola has the most golden touch of all in the modern game.