Surprisingly Ancelotti, Wenger not in top 10
ESPN pick the top 20 managers in the game.
The debate over the best manager in the world is one that will always rage, but a new hat has been thrown into the ring when it comes to deciding the finest in the game, with ESPN releasing their list of the top 20 bosses on the planet.
ESPN have put a slightly more analytic approach into play, however, looking at the managers’ respective achievements compared to the resources at their disposal.
This is the list of the 20 finest managerial minds in the game
20) Rafael Benitez (Napoli) – The former Liverpool boss has done well at Napoli, lifting the Italian Cup last season and making Champions League qualification a regular occurrence.
19) Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) – Long-serving Arsenal manager Wenger manages his resources well and guarantees a top four finish, but the FA Cup last season ended a long trophy drought.
18) Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham Hotspur) – The Spurs boss is perhaps surprisingly high on the list, although it is hard to argue with his Southampton achievements.
17) Cesare Prandelli (Galatasaray) – Former Italy manager Prandelli is known as a tactical genius, but the Azzurri went off the rails in the World Cup and his Gala side were awful at the Emirates Stadium recently.
16) Vicente del Bosque (Spain) – A hugely popular figure in Spanish football, del Bosque has won both the World Cup and European Championship with La Roja but the 2014 campaign was a disaster.
15) Frank de Boer (Ajax) – Ajax manager Frank de Boer has done an exceptional job for Ajax, rebuilding them from the bottom up and leading them back to the position of perennial Eredivisie champions
14) Marcelo Bielsa (Olympique Marseille) – The Argentinian is known as one of football’s true revolutionaries, currently leading Marseille to the top of Ligue 1 with some stunning football.
13) Joachim Low (Germany) – The World Cup winning coach has done a fine job for his nation but is yet to really prove himself at club level.
12) Unai Emery (Sevilla) – Perhaps one of the most underrated managers on the planet, Unai Emery put together a wonderful team at Valencia and has now won the Europa League with Sevilla.
11) Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid) – Another manager who can perhaps argue that he is too low down here, Ancelotti has now won the Champions League with Real and tends to be a success wherever he goes
10) Roberto Martinez (Everton) – Martinez seems slightly high up here, but is widely regarded to have done a good job at Wigan and was wonderful for Everton last season.
9) Rudi Garcia (AS Roma) – Rudi Garcia has done a fantastic job for AS Roma, making them genuine contenders once again, following on from a stunning Ligue 1 triumph with Lille.
8) Antonio Conte (Juventus) – Now manager of Italy, Conte was the mastermind behind returning Juventus to being the driving force of Italian football following the Calciopoli scandal.
7) Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool) – Seems a little high here, Rodgers did well at Swansea and has rebuilt Liverpool but still has to prove that he can win things.
6) Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City) – May have won his first major trophies in Europe with City last season, but Pellegrini also did wonderful things with both Villarreal and Malaga.
5) Louis van Gaal (Manchester United) – Has generally been a short term success wherever he has been, and did great things with Holland at the World Cup, but is surely too high here?
4) Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund) – Klopp has managed to build Dortmund into a genuine continental force, playing the kind of football that fans fall in love with.
3) Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid) – Came within seconds of winning the Champions League title with unfancied Atletico Madrid last season, but the La Liga trophy was impressive enough.
2) Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) – The Portuguese may well be a controversial and often grating character, but his record of achievement is absolutely outstanding and he almost guarantees success.
1) Pepe Guardiola (Bayern Munich) – Spanish manager Guardiola invented tiki-taka and brought it to Barcelona, taking over European football in the process.
