Top 10 Famous Football Managers who Smoke

They’re always under pressure and when they have that urge to light up a cigarette, who’s to stop them? We’ve had footballers smoking in public and managers smoking on the sidelines, but once they’ve achieved something in life, the smoke goes out of the window.

Here’s a list of the top 10, well-known football managers who used to smoke while managing their country or club.

10. Sam Allardyce

It is no secret that Big Sam always enjoyed a puff on the bench. Fans even claim to have seen him post-match in the hotel, wearing nothing more than a bath robe while smoking a big cigar with a glass of red wine in his hand at the time.

9. Zdenek Zeman

He’s managed 19 clubs, mostly in Italian football, and most of his players would vouch for the fact that Zeman barely opened his mouth while on the sidelines; well except to smoke another cigarette.

Zeman looked less like a manager and more like that kid at school who hung around in the shadows, dragging on a crafty roll up and mumbling on about Nick Cave.

8. Gianluca Vialli

While on one hand, Vialli does admit to the evils of smoking; on the other, he also claims that it’s a healthier alternative to getting drunk every night.

During his playing career, Vialli was caught smoking many-a-times after being substituted. It is also rumoured that during the 1990 World Cup, he was spotted trying to smoke sneakily next to the bench.