5 Best football managers in the world right now
Football management has changed a lot over the years. It is no longer as simple as setting out a team with set tactics and waiting for the results. The intricacies and complexities of football management require special skills right now. Managers have to handle various aspects of club football now and have to be multi-talented too. From man-managing the big egos of highly paid footballers to reacting to opponent tactics immediately on the field, from helping the club with its marketing commitments to handling the moderns aspects of the sport, from making delicate team selections to handling one’s composure among the press, Managers now-a-days have to be masters of themselves and of their craft.
A lot of young, dashing football coaches with modern styles and attitudes towards coaching arrive to make their mark in football every year, however, not all of them are successful. In an age where success is only defined by trophies, the job of a manager is one of the toughest in the world. However, the world does have some of the brightest managers around at present and as such, picking the top five among them is no small task, but these five are the best around right now.
Note: Zinedine Zidane, Antonio Conte and similar managers currently not associated with any teams were not considered.
Honorary Mentions: Maurizio Sarri, Unai Emery, Leonardo Jardim, Mircea Lucescu, Jurgen Klopp.
#5 Ernesto Valverde
The former Spanish forward started his managerial career as an assistant at Atletic Bilbao in the 2001/02 season. He then moved on to take over the Atletic Bilbao B team next season and from June 2003 was in charge of Atletico Madrid but could not find success. After a year-long sabbatical, Valverde joined Espanyol in May 2006, yet in the two years he was there, the closest he came to trophies was when Espanyol ended as the UEFA Cup runners-up in the 2006/07 season. It was only after joining Olympiacos that Valverde won his first trophy as a manager. His three years at the Greek club was one of the finest of his managerial career, where he won three Superleague Greece titles and two Greek Football Cups.
After leaving Olympiacos at the end of the 2011/12 season, Valverde joined Valencia in December 2012, where again, he was not met with much success. He returned to Athletic Bilbao in June 2013 and his second stint was a lot more successful, as he was in charge of 213 games, winning 102 of them, and winning the Supercopa de Espana in 2015.
When Luis Enrique stepped down at Barcelona at the end of the 2016/17 season, Valverde was the surprise choice for the Nou Camp job. Yet the Spaniard repaid the trust put on him by the Catalans, winning the LaLiga and the Copa del Rey in his debut Season at the Nou Camp. Under him, Barcelona almost ended the season undefeated, only to be defeated in the penultimate game of the season away at Levante UD. But Valverde had already proved a lot of people wrong and had struck gold at Barcelona.
His Champions League run was the only sour point last season and as such Valverde will be desperate to do well in the premier European club Tournament. This season could see Barcelona reach newer heights under the guidance of Ernesto Valverde, who has managed 63 games for the Catalan side so far, winning 45 of them and losing just 5, boasting of a fabulous 71.43 win%.