5 managers with the most progressive playing style in football right now
The modern era has some stunning managers in the football world right now. The success of a club depends on the players but a lot of it comes down to the manager's tactics.
Some of the finest managers in the game have earned fame with their playing style, irrespective of the stature of the players. Ideally, a blend of experience and youth in the squad helps immensely for a manager.
The football world loves attacking-minded managers
Over time, managers have tended to develop and improvise on their tactics but not every one of them always works. Some managers in this era prefer going totally defensive and solely rely on counter-attacks.
From a neutral perspective, it is the attacking style of gameplay that is the most attractive. After all, goals make football the beautiful game it is.
Some of the most successful managers in the current era adopt an attacking style of play. On that note, let's take a look at five of the finest attacking-minded managers in world football right now:
#5 Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Contrary to most Italian managers, Gian Piero Gasperini is a more attack-minded in terms of playing style. The Atalanta head coach normally likes to play with three defenders at the back. He either prefers the 3-4-2-1 or the 3-5-2 formation.
Gasperini started his managerial career with Serie C1 club Crotone and has since gone on to manage different Italian clubs. In addition to Atalanta, he has managed Genoa, Inter Milan and Palermo in the past.
He joined the Atalanta in 2016 and after initially surviving a difficult period, the former Inter manager has done very well. His ideology of adopting an attacking style of gameplay has worked fine for the Serie A club.
Atalanta have been set up such that their link-up play is a delight to watch, creating chances on a frequent basis.
Goals scored in the Serie A this season:
98 - Atalanta
97
96
95
94
93
92
91
90
89
88
87
86
85
84
83
82
81
80
79
78
77 - Inter
76 - Lazio
75 - Juventus
Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta have scored for fun during this campaign.
#GoAtalantaGo https://t.co/tHLCiqgrvp
Gasperini's performance has been so good that he ended up winning Serie A Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2020. Under his management, Atalanta have so far scored 390 goals in 195 matches, averaging two goals per match.
The Serie A club under the 63-year old was the surprise package last season, finishing third in the league and reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
#4 Julian Nagelsmann (Bayern Munich)
At a very young age, Julian Nagelsmann has earned a lot of plaudits for his managerial performances. Football needs more attacking-minded managers and the German is surely one of them.
Nagelsmann too favors playing three at the back but with a lot of pressing involved in his game. The 34-year old was once an assistant to Thomas Tuchel. The young German manager has been touted as the mini-Mourinho in football.
He has the same aggression and tactical intellect Jose Mourinho had at Porto. Nagelsmann's teams are known to be a collective unit, defending intensely and building play from the back. When on song, his team are one of the most difficult teams to beat.
His spell at RB Leipzig was the foundation of his managerial career in football. The former Hoffenheim manager was responsible for taking the Red Bulls to their best finish in the UEFA Champions League. Leipzig reached the semi-finals of the European tournament in the 2019-20 season, making history for the club.
Julian Nagelsmann has seen his team score 23 goals in his first six Bundesliga games in charge of #FCBayern, a new record for a new coach at a club after six BL matches. #SGFFCB [Opta] https://t.co/zB0rEDrcR6
Nagelsmann's impressive performance earned him the chance to become Bayern Munich's manager, replacing Hansi Flick this summer. It will be interesting to see how the German manager does with the Bavarians in the ongoing campaign.