Pep, Mourinho, Simeone and more: Ranking world's top 10 club managers
Just as the Champions League format has allowed an elite group of clubs to dominate in recent years, the coaching landscape, too, is overshadowed by the personalities of a revered few who are hired at a huge expense with the guarantee of trophies.
The perfect example of that is in the Premier League, where all the attention is going to be on Manchester's clubs City and United when next season kicks off, despite their recent fourth and fifth respective finishes in the league. City will have Pep Guardiola in charge, while United has signed Jose Mourinho to a three-year deal. It’s a personal rivalry that dominated Spanish football when the pair locked horns during two controversy-laden years at Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively.
The problem is, there is only one league title to go around, and so at the end of next season in Manchester, at least one of them is going to be disappointed (and possibly both of them if last season is anything to go by). Beyond Guardiola and Mourinho, there are a number of high-profile individuals who have made success and elite play synonymous with their names.
With that in mind, here is our rankings for best club coaches in the world right now:
10. Unai Emery
Sevilla
. Unai Emery
Sevilla
9. Thomas Tuchel
Borussia Dortmund
. Thomas Tuchel
Borussia Dortmund
8. Mauricio Pochettino
Tottenham
. Mauricio Pochettino
Tottenham
7. Max Allegri
Juventus
. Max Allegri
Juventus
6. Luis Enrique
Barcelona
. Luis Enrique
Barcelona
5. Carlo Ancelotti
Bayern Munich
. Carlo Ancelotti
Bayern Munich
4. Jose Mourinho
Manchester United
. Jose Mourinho
Manchester United
3. Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool
. Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool
2. Pep Guardiola
Manchester City
. Pep Guardiola
Manchester City
1. Diego Simeone
Atletico Madrid
Just missing the cut: It was hard to ignore the claims of Arsene Wenger, who was the toughest coach to leave out of this list. Others who would make up the Top 15 include Jorge Jesus (Sporting), Roger Schmidt (Bayer Leverkusen), Rafa Benitez (Newcastle) and Laurent Blanc (PSG). Former Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli could jump into this group as well, should he move back to the club circuit.
