5 current managers who have never coached an international side
The difference between club and international football has steadily become more pronounced over the last decade. In the last five seasons, club teams (44) have averaged four times as many games per year as international sides (11).
National squads, therefore, have less time to practice together and prepare. It is no surprise that international football adopts a safer and less direct approach than domestic leagues. Analysis from a range of matches has shown that national teams play more passes and are slower to move up the pitch than their club counterparts.
International managers do not have it easy despite a lower number of matches
International managers are rightly considered to have more job security than club coaches. Joachim Low's 15-year reign as Germany head coach from 2006 to 2021 saw English giants Chelsea employ 15 different managers in the same period.
International football, though, has its own set of unique challenges. National teams do not have the luxury of transfers. Ensuring players put aside their club loyalties and work together is another obstacle, as the talented yet unsuccessful England teams of the 2000s realized.
In modern football, the world's best coaches prefer to stick with club roles, which wasn't always the case in the past. Italy's Marcello Lippi and Spain's Vincente del Bosque, who won the UEFA Champions League as well as the FIFA World Cup as coaches, come to mind.
Perhaps Germany's Hansi Flick may join their ranks in Qatar next year.
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Here are 5 current elite managers who have never managed at the international level.
#5 Carlo Ancelotti
One of the greatest managers of all time, it has been over 25 years since "Don Carlo" took up his first job as head coach at Reggiana.
Ancelotti did serve as assistant to Italy manager Arrigo Sacchi before taking charge of the Serie B club. However, he has never coached his home country or any other international side.
Ancelotti has managed Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich, among others, during his coaching career. He also enjoyed a successful playing career between 1976 and 1992, captaining AS Roma and winning titles with AC Milan.
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Carlo Ancelotti is one of just three managers to have won the Champions League thrice. He is also one of only seven individuals to have won Europe's biggest trophy as a player as well as a manager.
#4 Jurgen Klopp
German manager Jurgen Klopp also had a long playing career, making over 300 appearances for Mainz 05, most of which came in 2.Bundesliga. After his retirement, he took over as manager of his former club and secured promotion to the Bundesliga in his first year as head coach.
Klopp then enjoyed tremendous success at Borussia Dortmund, shutting out Bayern Munich to win back-to-back league titles in 2014 and 2015. He also won a DFP-Pokal and two German Super Cups with BVB.
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As Liverpool coach, Klopp helped the Reds break their 30-year-long domestic league drought by winning the 2019-20 Premier League title. He also led Liverpool to their sixth Champions League triumph in 2019.
Klopp has previously claimed he will leave Liverpool and take a break at the end of his current contract in 2024. The manager has suggested that he could even retire after his departure from Merseyside.