5 managers with the most titles in different top 5 leagues
For any manager, winning one of Europe's top five leagues would be a colossal achievement in itself. It's easy to see how much it means to players and managers when they successfully manage to navigate the trials and tribulations of a season and finish it on a triumphant note.
There are several serial winners among the current crop of managers
Managers dream of winning the title in one of Europe's top five leagues at least once. But then there are some who have made a habit of winning titles at the highest level. Today, we are taking a look at the cream of the crop.
We'll be looking at the ones who have gone from one country to another and enjoyed plenty of success. Without further ado, let's take a look at the five managers with the most titles in different top five leagues.
#5 Fabio Capello - 7 titles, 2 countries
After calling it a day on his illustrious footballing career in 1980, Italian midfielder Fabio Capello decided to get into coaching. He was the coach of the AC Milan youth team between 1982 and 1987. Capello was an instant hit at his new job after taking over as the head coach of AC Milan in 1991.
Capello spent five seasons at Milan and won four Serie A titles. He quickly earned plaudits for his pragmatic approach and tactical versatility. Capello also had an eye for young talent and was praised for promoting young players to the senior side during his time with Milan.
After leaving the Rossoneri in 1996, Capello took over the reins at Real Madrid ahead of the 1996-97 season. He built his team around a strong defence. Capello also had some wonderful players in his squad like Raul, Roberto Carlos, Clarence Seedorf, Predrag Mijatović and Davor Suker, to name a few.
Capello won the La Liga title that season before returning to AC Milan for a much less successful spell. He would return to Real Madrid for a season in 2006 and guide Los Blancos to the league title again. Before that, he also guided AS Roma to the league title in the 2000-01 season.
#4 Giovanni Trapattoni - 8 titles, 2 countries
Giovanni Trapattoni, popularly known as 'Il Trap' is one of the most successful Italian managers of all time. Almost the entirety of Trapattoni's footballing career as a player was spent at AC Milan between 1959 and 1971. He won two European Cups and two Serie A titles with the Rossoneri before joining Varese in 1971.
A year later, he called it quits on his professional career before venturing into coaching. Trapattoni is one of the most successful managers of all time, having won league titles in Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria.
He also holds the distinction of being the only coach to have won all official club competitions and the world title in a season. He did this during his first stint with Juventus. Trapattoni won six Serie A titles with Juventus and one with Inter Milan. His final league title came in the 1997-98 season with Bayern Munich.
#3 Jose Mourinho - 6 titles, 3 countries
Jose Mourinho, the self-proclaimed 'Special One', might not be at the peak of his powers right now. But he was easily one of the best managers in the world in the early part of the 21st century. Mourinho first turned heads by guiding the underdogs FC Porto to UEFA Champions League glory in the 2003-04 season.
Chelsea, buffed up by cash injections from Russian aristocrat Roman Abramovich, came swooping in to secure his services shortly after. Mourinho took the Premier League by storm, winning back-to-back league titles (2004-05 and 2005-06) in a country that was until then dominated by Manchester United and Arsenal.
After leaving Chelsea, Mourinho had a wonderful two-season stint with Inter Milan where he won two Scudettos and the Champions League. Mourinho would then join Real Madrid, where he beat Pep Guardiola's legendary Barcelona team to the league title in the 2011-12 season.
Mourinho returned to Chelsea in 2013 and won the Premier League title once again in the 2014-15 season. He has since had underwhelming stints at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur and is currently the manager of Serie A side AS Roma.
#2 Pep Guardiola - 9 titles, 3 countries
Pep Guardiola is inarguably one of the greatest managers of all time. The former Barcelona midfielder has been immensely successful across his three managerial stints with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
At Barcelona, he put together one of the greatest club football sides of all time and won the continental treble with the Catalans in his first season as their manager. He won three La Liga titles in his four seasons at Barcelona.
Guardiola then took over at Bayern Munich and won the Bundesliga in all of his three seasons in charge of the Bavarians (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16). He has been at Manchester City ever since and has won three league titles (2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21) in the last four seasons.
Guardiola's Manchester City side are currently at the top of the Premier League table in the ongoing campaign. They are likely to win their fourth league title in five seasons if they don't slip up in their next four games.
Pep Guardiola could sign a new contract this summer regardless of Man City's success this year. 👀
Reports suggest he would extend his stay in Manchester until 2025. 📝
#Guardiola | #ManCity | #MCFC https://t.co/INLa3lUblN
#1 Carlo Ancelotti - 5 titles, 5 countries
Carlo Ancelotti is one of the greatest managers of all time. He is one of only three coaches to have won the Champions League three times. Ancelotti achieved European glory twice with AC Milan (2002-03 and 2006-07) and once with Real Madrid.
Ancelotti has managed 11 different clubs during his managerial career and has had extremely successful stints in various countries across Europe. He just guided Real Madrid to the 2021-22 La Liga title and has become the first manager to win the league title across all of Europe's top five leagues.
He has won one league title each with AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in his coaching career.
Carlo Ancelotti is the first manager ever to win all of Europe’s top five leagues.
Legend. 👑 https://t.co/Suf1B8J59Y