5 active managers who deserve to be at a bigger clubs
Taking charge of a club as a manager or the head coach is one of the most demanding jobs in football. The pain of putting up with the hierarchy of the club and the immediate backlash from fans at first sight of failure test the individual's temper to the very best.
Additionally, there is pressure to keep the maximum number of players in the squad happy with their roles and keep the conflict of interest at bay. A few top men in the business have understood these benchmarks and have helped their clubs to various accolades. The likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti and a few others are widely respected in modern football today and have certainly won it all.
But there are also others, who have been functioning away from the spotlight and their managerial brilliance is less talked about due to the clubs they currently manage. This lot has proven that they are ready to tame bigger sharks in the ocean and that a move to a more popular club would be well deserved.
On that note, here are five managers in Europe right now who should be managing a bigger club:
#5 Christophe Galtier
Christophe Galtier has become somewhat of an expert at working on a strict budget after his three years at Ligue 1 club Lille. Given that the French top-flight is seen among the weaker and less competitive leagues in Europe, it took a while for his work to be noticed. Galtier's efforts at Lille finally became the talk of the town after they dethroned Paris Saint-Germain to become Ligue 1 champions last season.
Galtier transformed Lille from a side desperate to avoid relegation in 2018-19 to a team gunning for glory in 2020-21. Despite losing significant members of the squad like Victor Osimhen, Gabriel Magalhaes and Nico Gaitan, he replenished the squad with shrewd recruitment.
The Frenchman likes to see his team press high and with Lille set up in a 4-4-2 and sometimes 4-2-3-1 formation, he likes to provide roaming space for his striker. Galtier's team go through ample transitions while progressing the ball within blocks and though they have the pace to counter, he's made them comfortable with ball retention.
Lille really are a squad of bang average players sprinkled with youngsters, some with decent potential. It’s a squad that shouldn’t have gotten anywhere near the title last season but for one factor. Galtier.
Galtier has shown that given enough time and trust, he is capable of readying a below par team that can topple the big boys. He is not someone who likes to see his team play old age football. The flanks are very much the hotspots from where most of the aggressive action happens.
He left Lille after guiding them to Ligue 1 success but was persuaded to take up the job at OGC Nice. He has started exactly where he left off, with Nice sitting third in Ligue 1 right now, scoring 17 goals and conceding just five. Undoubtedly, Galtier could do well at a bigger club.
#4 Sérgio Conceição
Locally named by many as the new Jose Mourinho, Sergio Conceicao has transformed FC Porto once again into an interesting and adventurous team. Since his arrival at Porto, he's really answered the prayers of their fan base and made them a team worthy of silverware once again.
Conceicao took over from Nuno Espirito Santo, who departed for English side Wolverhampton Wanderers. Under Nuno, Porto weren't able to end their wait for a league title.
Enter Conceicao and Porto have their first Portuguese League title in five years, comfortably seeing off competition from Benfica. The following season, they successfully defended their league title and even added the Portuguese Cup to their achievement list.
127 anos depois, a mística do Futebol Clube do Porto continua viva!
Muitos parabéns, @fcporto! https://t.co/c3xqePdBAq
He has overseen 228 games as Porto boss and they have won 168 of those, losing and sharing spoils on 33 occasions each. Conceicao keeps his Porto side compact as he employs a high press style with a 4-4-2 formation. Porto, under the Portuguese, are known for being a side that plays and transitions fast, with ample short passes and little need to bypass the midfield with long balls.
Conceicao has shown that he can mould his team to play at the level of Europe's elites in the Champions League. Twice in the past three years, he reached the quarter finals with Porto where he was defeated by Liverpool and Chelsea at each turn. He has proven he's ready to take charge at a club with ambitions to compete in Europe and a big move could be on the cards next season.