What defines managerial success in football? Is it trophies or a revolutionary philosophy?
While some might base their answers on the sheer number of trophies a manager’s won over the duration of their career, others might argue that success was achieved on account of the overall impact that a manager’s ideas had on the evolution of the beautiful game.
Here, we look at five of the most successful managers of all time, and compare their rankings in terms of silverware and lasting influence.
Marcelo Bielsa
Aside from a few titles with Newell’s Old Boys, a Championship trophy with Leeds United, and an Olympic gold medal with Argentina, there isn’t much in the way of silverware floating around Bielsa’s home.
However, Bielsa’s success isn’t measured in terms of trophies but rather how much he has shaped the minds of the most accomplished managers of the modern era.
The likes of Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, and Diego Simeone have all acknowledged that they are disciples of Bielsa. In 2018, Guardiola even described the 68-year-old as the “best coach in the world”.
While these pioneering managers may be slightly more pragmatic than Bielsa, who’s uncompromising when it comes to his full-throttle all-out attack philosophy, they still adopted the core features of the Argentine’s system: movement, rotation, concentration, and improvisation.
Simply put, without Bielsa, some of the most celebrated managers in the world wouldn’t even exist.
Jose Mourinho
Perhaps the best way to describe Jose Mourinho is as a serial winner. Mourinho’s cautious style isn’t always easy on the eye but it has won him 26 major trophies to date.
Incredibly, Mourinho has won silverware at every club that he has managed so far, with the exception of Tottenham Hotspur. While the jokes may write themselves here, the reality is that Mourinho was sacked just days before the Carabao Cup final.
Mourinho was personally responsible for this accomplishment in that he’d guided the Spurs to this feat in 2021, so it was unfortunate he was unable to see this through to the end. However, Mourinho’s relationship with Daniel Levy had broken down beyond repair. This ‘fallout’ trend seems to have followed the 60-year-old throughout his career…
Nonetheless, for all of Mourinho’s combative traits, he’s renowned for many more positive qualities that have established him as one of the finest managers in world history.
In terms of his legacy, Mourinho’s defensive philosophy continues to be carried out by players who completely buy into what he asks them to do. Fallout may never be too far away, but usually, neither are trophies.
Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni knew what it took to win. The legendary Italian coach won 10 league titles in four different countries and clinched every major European trophy on offer.
As for his philosophy, Trapattoni once famously remarked: “Every game, we go on to the pitch to win. If I only had what you call a defensive attitude, I wouldn’t have achieved what I have achieved in 25 or 30 years as a coach. It’s a simple philosophy: score more goals and concede fewer. That’s my life.”
It’s an answer that provides compelling insight into the manager – the Italian often responded passionately to criticism, with one example being a heated 1998 press conference. Trapattoni was the Bayern Munich manager at the time and was definitely vocal, to say the least…
Ultimately, the driving force behind Trapattoni’s success was discipline and organization. These two traits stood the test of time during the Italian’s trophy-laden career.
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola is on his way to becoming the most successful manager of all time having won 36 major trophies by the age of 52.
Guardiola’s astonishing haul of accolades is made even more impressive when you consider that he’s won titles in Spain, Germany, and England. With an onus on ball retention, pressing, and blistering transition in attack, Guardiola has managed to conquer Europe in record time.
Ominously, the Spaniard’s appetite for success doesn’t look to be weakening as he gets older, especially given that he guided Manchester City to a historic treble in 2023.
Following his team’s Champions League success against Inter Milan in Istanbul, Guardiola said: “Real Madrid, don’t get too comfortable. We’re 13 Champions League trophies away, but we’re coming for you.”
Guardiola’s managerial story still has many chapters left, but there can be little doubt that the world is witnessing one of the greatest of all time in action. Savor every moment.
Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson put daylight between Manchester United and the rest of English football during his 26 seasons at Old Trafford as he steered the club to 38 major honors.
In particular, Ferguson was able to establish Manchester United as the most dominant team in the Premier League era as he led the Red Devils to 13 titles from 1992 to 2013.
This run of unprecedented success, at a time when football was becoming big business due to lucrative broadcast deals, meant that United became the richest club in world football.
Of course, every success story of this magnitude requires a bit of luck and Ferguson got his when he narrowly avoided being fired in 1990 following a horrendous run of form. Had the United board lost patience, then it’s almost certain that the landscape of English football would not look like it does today.
Luckily, Manchester United stuck with Ferguson and the Scot ended up making the club one of the biggest sporting institutions on the planet.
From ruthlessly selling players who questioned his authority to an eye for the next star of the game, Ferguson was a formidable force with no equal.
