The 20 best coaches in world football
What would football be without the coaches? Sure, players like Bobby Charlton, Pelé, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and others are great, but the strategy and motivation that the boss brings is undeniable.
Managers come and go, but a handful of them become key elements of the club or national team they are in charge of.
Johan Cruyff, Pep Guardiola, Matt Bubsy are just some of these masterminds of world football.
Franz Beckenbauer
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The Emperor was one of the best players in the world, but Franz Beckenbauer had some success as a manager too.
He's the only person to have won the World Cup as captain and coach, after hoisting the trophy in his own country in 1974 and again in Italy in 1990.
Beckenbauer's managerial style focused on savoring the game and encouraging his players not to concede a single goal.
He translated his charisma and leadership from the pitch to the locker room, which helped him lead Olympique de Marseille to the the Ligue 1 title in the 1990/1991 season, win the 1993-1994 Bundesliga and the 1995-1996 UEFA Cup on the sideline for Bayern Munich.
Sir Matt Busby
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A standard bearer of Manchester United, Sir Matt Busby managed to put the Red Devils atop the table in two periods: the early 50's and the late 60's.
The team was called the Busby Babes, due to the young players that he coached, including Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards. The club was en route to a golden era, but eight footballers were killed in the Munich tragedy.
After a lot of effort, Matt built a brand new team and led the club to two more First Division titles. He had already won three, plus a European Cup.
He's part of the English and European Halls of Fame, inducted into both under the coach category.
Fabio Capello
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Former England boss Fabio Capello was loyal to the Italian defensive style, but later found an equilibrium with the offensive line.
He gave us the first glimpses of his ability with Milan in the early 90's, when he led the team on an undefeated run of 58 Serie A games. He also established himself as a tough manager when it came to discipline.
In 1996, Capello left the Rossoneri and went to Real Madrid, but his defensive style sent him off of the club, so he returned to Milan. Then came Roma, Juventus, a second spell on Real Madrid and finally the English football team.
It was with the Three Lions that he developed a new style of play based on passes and touches, which allowed the midfielders to show their creativity and distribute the ball more accurately.
Brian Clough
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Perhaps the most impressive thing Brian Clough did was taking Derby and Nottingham Forest to the First Division after being Second Division teams.
Even more impressive is the fact that he managed to win the First Division title with both of them.
He was a coach that believed in discipline and intuition as cornerstones and the way his squads played wasn't attractive at all, as he used strength and physical attributes as major boosters.
Clough's honors include two European Cups, four League Cup titles and a FA Charity Shield.
Johan Cruyff
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If someone showed us that football can be attractive, fun and enjoyable, it is Johan Cruyff.
The Dutchman took Barcelona to a whole new level by implementing the tiki-taka strategy, characterized by two key elements: short, quick passes accompanied by players moving around. This system is currently used by Spain's national team and Barça.
Keeping the strategy simple and always forward was a must for Cruyff's teams, hence the total play strategy he adopted both as a player and as a manager.
He won the Copa del Rey, La Liga, Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Champions League.
Sir Alex Ferguson
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Being in charge of a club for 25 years is not an easy task, but Sir Alex Ferguson has taken to his role as Manchester United's manager with aplomb.
He got to the club in 1986, but it wasn't until the 1989-1990 season that he grabbed his first title, at the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield (shared with Liverpool).
Ferguson has always been a manager that supports and trusts his players, but demands discipline on and off the pitch.
He has taken individual talents—including Wayne Rooney, Eric Cantona and Roy Keaneto— to their highest point by polishing their skills.
Manchester United has been through a lot of phases and the boss has managed to adjust to every single one of them, becoming the most successful coach in English football history with a record 19 league titles, two UEFA Champions Leagues and a FIFA Club World Cup.
He was recently appointed by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics as the Best Coach of the 21st century.
Pep Guardiola
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Barcelona's boss has taken the tiki-taka strategy to heart and has been quite successful. Pep Guardiola has created a team whose lines understand the tactic perfectly.
When he came to his first team, in 2008, Pep decided to sell or release players on loan, like Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o and Deco, and put together a team which included several players from La Masia.
He's widely known for his inspirational methods, such as the video he showed his players before the final match of the 2008/2009 UEFA Champions League, which the team won.
Guardiola has given Barça more titles than any other manager and he keeps proving why he received the FIFA Ballon d'Or as Best Coach in 2011 and IFFHS World's Best Club Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2011.