​Football is an extremely glamourous game that needs team-effort from all the 22 players involved in the glorious battle of 90 minutes, at times 120 in case of a knock out the tie. Football managers are what run these shows.
The man who stays as an unsung hero on the sidelines is the manager of the team. Though all of the mind-games, cheesy shenanigans, dirty tricks to topple your opponents and a fool-proof strategy to outmatch and outclass your counterparts comes from the head of the bloke waiting at the sidelines.
Consistently flipping strategies, making necessary changes as per the situation ​of the game, and bringing in the heavy artillery at the perfect time, it all depends on the one commandeering the outfit who showcases class on the pitch.
We will look at four best football managers who are the current mastermind of the sport and has brought a total revolution that includes a substantial paradigm shift in the styles of the sport which has seen considerable success.
1. Zinedine Zidane
Featuring only in his second stint as the Los Merengues boss, Zidane has already notched up two La Liga, two Super Copa de Espana, three Champions League, two UEFA Super Cups, and two FIFA Club World Cups.
In the short span of time, Zizou has bossed Madrid, his numbers read 210 games from which his team has notched up 141 victories. With 506 goals scored under his chaperonage, his statistics have been brutally enviable.
Known for his ability to blend the youth and the experienced in perfect proportions gives him an edge over his counterparts. Much to his advantage, the players that he has at his behest are extremely exciting young prospects and are all in to achieve a glorious future only if Zidane continues to guide them in the way he has been.
His commanding-yet-benign nature has helped him to achieve incredible feats without ego-clashes of his star players and more importantly, his word is the final word in a star-studded sky.
Though he recently has expressed uncertainty about his Real future, with the current performance which the Galacticos has displayed under his stewardship is nothing short of incredible. His amazing display in the champions league ensures his position as one of the top football managers in the World.
2. Jurgen Klopp
The man who redefined Borussia Dortmund and steered them out of mediocrity to turn them into a European superpower of the current days was also equally responsible to usher Liverpool from an era of trophy-less darkness to being the European champions, the World champions and finally the Premier League champions.
With time, Klopp has established an empire at Anfield that witnessed the Reds turning into a totally insuperable family which had zero weaklings.
After a mediocre showdown at Mainz which boasted of a modest 40 percent victory rate, his numbers dramatically improved at Westfalenstadion. Introducing to the world a crop of exciting young talents, Klopp made Borussia challenge the unchecked might of Bayern.
His numbers at Dortmund were a stunning 177 victories from 316 games which read a win percent of 56.01.
Despite being a moniker to reckon in the Yellow wall, Klopp was shortly shown the exit at the end of 2014 when he failed to display his characteristic calibre with the team. However, going by a detailed analysis, one of the major reasons for the faltering of Dortmund was the release of valuable players and also countless injuries that plagued half the side.
Arriving at Anfield, Klopp took his own sweet time to settle down, however, once he had his eyes set, it was a sheer onslaught from the Reds. Carefully crafting a squad of the finest players and an unprecedented bench, he turned Liverpool into a famished monster.
His changes started reaping handsome dividends as Liverpool reached the 2018 Champions League final only to be tamed by a high-soaring Real Madrid under the tutelage of Zizou.
However, he didn’t back out as his preparations for the forthcoming year began and he picked up crucial lessons from his last-ditch failure in the preceding season that witnessed Liverpool being crowned as the champions of Europe, taming an exciting Spurs in the final and was also crowned as the champions of the world, as the Reds pipped Flamengo in a high-octane encounter, thanks to a late goal from Roberto Firmino.
His biggest glory arrived in the ongoing edition as Liverpool was crowned as the champions of England, which also acted as a redress for their earlier exit from the Champions League.
His figures at Anfield reads 159 victories from 264 games which feature one Premier League, one Club World Cup, and finally one UEFA Champions League. His heroics with Liverpool assert his reputation as arguably the best football managers of this era.
3. Pep Guardiola
One of the biggest strategists of football, Guardiola’s heroics with Barcelona, Bayern, and City have left the world stunned. Guardiola is inarguably considered one of the best football managers in the era.
Chronicling a stunning 75.16 percent victory rate at the Allianz Arena and 66.67 at Camp Nou, Guardiola showed it to the world that how brilliant can this man be along the sidelines.
To make it more interesting his antics at the byline are nothing short of exciting. A man who was alleged of breaking the referee’s wrist with a mere shake just because a few decisions went against him, he excites his wards and the crowds in equal proportions.
Guardiola won two Champions League with the Catalan giants and three consecutive La Liga that established Barcelona’s unprecedented dominance in La Liga. His feathers at Camp Nou also included two Copa Del Rey, three Supercopa de Espana, two UEFA Super Cups, and two FIFA Club World Cups.
His legacy turned better as he joined Bayern in 2013 and won them every possible glory that the Germans appointed him for.
With Bayern, he failed to notch up a Champion’s League but made up for it with three Bundesliga, two DFB Pokal and finally one Club World Cup.
The man has now established a completely oiled machine, moulded into perfection at the Etihad. City went on to win the Premier League twice under his tutelage while they notched up three EFL Cups and two Community Shields.
Owing to his brilliance, he was ennobled with the honour of Gold Medal Royal Order of Sports Merit in 2010. His win percentage at Manchester City dipped a wee bit as it currently reads 72.17 per cent from a whopping 230 games.
4. Thomas Tuchel
Though his honours aren’t as gigantic as the ones of his contemporaries in this list, this man’s mind games have helped Paris Saint-Germain to stay in the perch of the Ligue 1 for the last two years and win percentage at PSG is a staggering 78 per cent.
His heroics for Dortmund earned him this prestigious call that saw him stabilising the French champions and then wreaking sheer havoc. Tuchel is an extremely exciting young man who loves to take on challenges and win them on his own.
With a whopping 62 percent victory rate for Dortmund before coming to PSG, he challenged the might of the formidable giants of Europe. Despite PSG failing to make it big in the European stages, his unwavering belief in the young squad has helped his side immensely. He is inarguably one of the top football managers in the World.
