Top 5 longest serving football managers in the last 50 years
Football has changed so much over the past few decades that failure to keep up with new innovations and advancement in philosophy sees managers fall behind. As most experts would say, a world class manager usually enjoys a decade at his peak before he is found out and goes into relative decline.
Consider this; nowadays the average reign of a manager at a single club in the Premier League is 18 months. Such are the demands that a lack of instant success usually sees boards move on to Plan B with business also a factor involved in the decision-making and not just football.
In an era where betting odds getting slashed on which manager gets sacked first are not uncommon anymore, longevity in the modern game is looked up to and respected by the football fraternity. Here are five managers who had reigns longer than 20 years.
Note: This article was updated on 1 July 2018
#5 Arsene Wenger: 22 years at Arsenal
On 22 September 1996, Arsene Wenger was announced as the new Arsenal boss and the football landscape soon changed for the better in England. The Frenchman wasn’t the first foreign manager to cut his teeth in the Premier League but he was one of the first pioneers.
When he arrived at Highbury, the club did not even have a training ground of their own. He set about changing player diets, training regimens, commissioned a state-of-the-art training centre, complete with physiotherapists and sports scientists, and changed the brand of football. The Gunners were soon transformed from the ‘Boring, boring Arsenal’ to the most exciting side to play attacking football in the country.
Three Premier League titles, including an unbeaten campaign in 2003/04, a record seven FA Cups, and the move to the Emirates Stadium have defined his career in north London.
His reign can be separated into three distinct eras – the initial success at Highbury, the rebuilding project with financial restrictions and the current era where trophies have returned along with the money to spend on world class players.
The only thing he lacks is an elusive European trophy. And the last time he came close to winning it was the 2006 Champions League when the club lost to Barcelona in the final.
However, after the Gunners failed to qualify for the Champions League for two seasons in a row and slipped further down the Premier League table, it was time for him to step down and the 2017/18 season was the Frenchman's last before the club's reins were handed over to Unai Emery.