Man management, tactics, and player development are the critical factors that make good soccer managers great. Of course, if they check all the three boxes.
Being a manager is a hard job, especially for big clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern and Liverpool among others.
Whenever I watch soccer, I hop on social media for the post-match reactions. One observation is common throughout: if the players don’t do well on the pitch, often managers receive the blame for that. If the players are injured and the team loses, fans on social media usually backlash against the manager. All in all, managing a soccer team is stressful.
Having said that, your internet connection plays a crucial role in uplifting your streaming experience. An ISP should provide you with a stable and reliable connection like Kinetic Internet. Anyhow, which soccer managers have been checking all three boxes and can be considered the greatest of all time? Let’s find out.
Jose Mourinho
The manager from Portugal aka ‘The Special One’ is highly decorated. His achievements in the Champions League with different clubs and in the domestic top flight are admirable.
Mou has his way of doing things. And his ways of coaching and winning are either loved by soccer fans or hated. His unorthodox tactics which usually are called ‘death to football’ initiated the winning run of Premier League for Chelsea as soon as he stepped in the Stamford Bridge in 2004.
His Champions League with two of the underpowered Teams (Inter Milan and FC Porto) is certainly a shining badge in his portfolio.
Since 2017 he hasn’t won any silverware yet he’s still one of the most demanding managers. Currently coaching Roma where he led them to the UEFA Europa Conference League final and then lost it. The Special One isn’t habitual of losing finals according to himself. So, can we see the rise of Jose Mourinho? Only time will tell.
Jurgen Klopp
“Only one can win, and all the others are disappointed and live in the middle of a disaster.” – Klopp said.
One of the most successful German managers who won the titles with the minimum of resources. The Bundesliga was dominated by the German giants Bayern Munich for quite a while until Klopp set the stage in Signal Iduna Park. He dribbled past Bayern with his players in yellow and black and won the Bundesliga not once but twice.
‘OK. But what about the Champions League?’ You might be thinking. He didn’t leave the most prestigious trophy in the club football on the table. He won it once with Liverpool when he brought his Gegenpressing to the team in red against Spurs. It was an incredible CL campaign with 4-0 ‘Ramontada’ against the dull Barca in the Anfield the best moment for the You’ll Never Walk Alone chanters.
He ended Liverpool’s PL drought which had been there for 30 years. They had an incredible run. They won the English top flight thanks to the goals from Mane & Salah and the rock-solid center-back pairing of Van Dijk & Gomez.
Sir Alex Ferguson
It might offend some of the United fans but Old Trafford was a mess before SAF (Sir Alex Ferguson) took over. The Englishman streamlined the processes, hand-picked players from the academy, and developed them into world-class players.
1993 was the year SAF handed United their league title after a poor run of 26 years and there he kicked off the domination in the premier league. He dethroned the former English titans Liverpool and held the throne for the Red Devils till Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea came in to take their share.
SAF won 13 Premier Leagues, 5 FA Cups, and Champions League twice, one in 1999 and the other in 2008 with Manchester United.
Since he left, the club has been struggling to find its feet and hasn’t really won anything significant.
Pep Guardiola
The recently treble-winning Catalan with Manchester City has shut the critics who claimed he can’t win the Champions League without Messi.
Whether it is tactics, man management, or player development, nobody can do it better than the Pep himself. Back in the 2008-2009 season, he literally won everything there was to win with arguably the most feared side in the history of soccer: The Football Club Barcelona. He won six freakin’ trophies in a single calendar year.
After his shine-bright-like-a-diamond success in the city of Barcelona, he parted his ways from the club and turned towards Bayern Munich. His relentless Bundesliga side won the league in the record fastest time. Yet again, the Champions League was missing from his cabinet.
After some time in Germany, he was hired by Manchester City. His campaign wasn’t any short of being called wonderful. He finally won the Champions League with his English side and it wasn’t just Champions League, it was a treble. In the 2022-23 season, the Catalan native did a 3-peat in the Premier League previously held by only Manchester United.
Can we see him doing the first-ever 4-peat in the Premier League? It seems likely but we are here to see.