Top 5 Managers of the 2013/14 season in Europe

An army without an apt leader is a ship on a directionless voyage. A bunch of great football players without an apt manger are headless chickens loitering around in a battlefield. No wonder then football coaches are the first to face the axe when a team under-performs.David Moyes is the latest casualty after getting sacked after just 10 months in charge at Manchester United. An astounding eight managers were sacked in the English top flight mid season, five in the Spanish La Liga, three in the French Ligue 1 and seven in the German Bundesliga. The impulsive Italians lead the sack race with over a dozen mid season manger sackings in the Serie A.Perhaps stability is the reason why Sir Alex Ferguson became a magnanimous figure in football management. However, when a team performs well managers take a backseat behind the opulent praise star-players receive, managers somehow dont receive their fair share of the pie . Here are the 5 men who have had stand-out performances behind the touch-line:

#1 Laurent Blanc - PSG

Paris Saint Germain appointed Laurent Blanc as the manger last summer after the departure of Carlo Ancelotti to Real Madrid. The high spending French Ligue 1 side has not only been a Zlatan show but it’s also been the serene flair of their manager Laurent Blanc. After finishing the French national team job in frustration, a question mark remained over his man-management skills after indiscipline rippled through his Euro 2012 squad.

His PSG tenure began with success, as he won the Trophee des Champions for the third time in his managerial career with a 2-1 victory over former club Bordeaux. Since then he has never looked back with PSG in firm control of the Ligue 1 and winners of the French league cup. Blanc guided PSG to the quarter-finals of the Champions League where they bowed out to Chelsea on the away goals rule.

The first leg of the quarter-final against Chelsea is testimony to his shrewd tactics where he edged out the king of tactics “Jose Mourihino” with a 3-1 victory. PSG are keen to extend Blanc’s contract.