One of the highlights of the 2000s – and we’re talking club football here – was Porto’s Champions League victory in 2004, a win widely attributed to a confident young coach named Jose Mourinho.
Not long after that fairytale, the Portuguese joined Chelsea, and immediately declared that he was the “special one”. It was a bold statement, but one that he would not regret making.
There can be little doubt that Mourinho was one of the best managers of the 00s, but who else makes it onto this list?
32. Roger Lemerre
Roger Lemerre wouldn’t have survived very long had he not delivered the goods at Euro 2000. The French were world champions, and many expected the side to go back-to-back in major tournaments. That Lemerre survived the job until 2002, when it all came crashing down for the French, was down to the fact he more than played his part in that epic double.
31. Massimiliano Allegri
You don’t get offered the top job at AC Milan without having the credentials. Massimiliano Allegri earned his stripes at Cagliari, where his attacking style won the Italian a lot of praise. It earned him a crack with the Italian giants. In 2011, he stepped up to win the Rossoneri the title in his first season in charge.
30. Joachim Low
Joachim Low’s finest hour as Germany’s manager came when they won the World Cup in 2014, where they thrashed hosts Brazil 7-1 en route to the final. Much of Low’s good work had been done in the years prior, where he remained patient with his talented crop of youngsters, including Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer and Mesut Ozil.
29. Pep Guardiola
The Spaniard’s job might not have been in the balance after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Numancia in the La Liga opener of the 2009/09 season, but Guardiola would have been feeling the pressure. However, by the end of that campaign, Barcelona were celebrating a treble achieved with some of the finest football ever played. This was just the beginning.
28. Fernando Santos
Fernando Santos – a champion with Porto, three-time cup winner and Greek Superleague Manager of the Decade 2000-10 – is well versed in getting a team over the line. His fine work at club level was to be rewarded years later when, in 2016, the Portuguese led his country to their first-ever international conquest.
27. Carlos Bianchi
You couldn’t miss the charismatic Argentinian barking orders from the sidelines, not with that wonderful head of hair (around the sides at least). Carlos Bianchi's legacy in South American club football is secured thanks largely to a golden spell with Boca Juniors, where he triumphed in the Libertadores in 2000, 2001 and 2003.
26. Valeriy Lobanovskyi
Demanding ‘universality’ from his players – the likes of Oleg Blokhin, Igor Belanov and Andriy Shevchenko among them – the Ukrainian won 13 league titles (eight Soviet, five Ukrainian) and two Cup Winners’ Cups with Dynamo Kyiv. He co managed with Ukraine at the end of his time in football, and finished with a remarkable 30 career honours.
25. Fatih Terim
The former defender has coached Turkey on a number of occasions. During his second spell in the hot seat, ‘The Emperor’ guided them to the semi-final of Euro 2008. He instilled a hard-running, hard-tackling style that helped the team to punch above its weight. “He’s extraordinary,” former charge Gheorghe Hagi once said. “He could coach any side.”
24. Vicente del Bosque
Vicente del Bosque took charge of Spain in 2008. Four years later they had run pretty much every national team ragged. Under his guidance, Spain finally got their hands on the World Cup in 2010, and they were crowned champions of Europe again two years later. Prior to coaching Spain, Del Bosque won two La Liga crowns and two Champions Leagues at Real Madrid.
23. Gerard Houllier
“When I go to Liverpool, I’m surprised people are so nice to me,” Houllier once said. He was well liked not just because he delivered The Reds a cup treble in 2001, but for his warm-natured personality. He was also a top coach. Before his time on Merseyside, Houllier won the league title with PSG in, 1986, and two Ligue 1 crowns with Lyon.
22. Hassan Shehata
Hassan Shehata led Egypt into the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations as a man under pressure. Knives were being sharpened when he took off Mido with 12 minutes to go in their semi-final against Senegal, only for replacement Amr Zaki to notch the winner within two minutes. Egypt went on to win it, and they repeated the feat in 2008 and '10.
21. Silvia Neid
Tina Theune won Germany’s first World Cup in 2003; Silvia Neid led them to their second four years on without even conceding. Ruthless, expertly drilled and yet a delight to watch in possession, Neid’s side won European Championships in both 2009 and 2013, before she signed off with gold at the 2016 Olympics.
20. Didier Deschamps
Before conquering the world with France as manager (he also won the World Cup as a player), Didier Deschamps did his time in club management. He started at Monaco and led the French side to their first Champions League Final in 2004, before joining Juventus. His fortunes were a little mixed in Turin, and he returned to France with Marseille in 2009.
19. Jurgen Klopp
The style of play that would eventually come to Liverpool in 2015 was something that Mainz and Borussia Dortmund fans were treated to in the 2000s. The German liked his teams to win the back immediately after losing possession – and he had great success with it. He won silverware in his first season at Dortmund, the 2008 German Supercup, and more titles would follow.
18. Tina Theune
The first woman in Germany to acquire the DFB’s elite coaching licence, Tina Theune led her nation to three European Championship triumphs in a row in 1997, 2001 and '05. The pinnacle came in 2003, however, when her Nationalelf were crowned world champions by defeating hosts USA 3-0, then edging out Sweden with a golden goal in the final.
17. Mircea Lucescu
Mircea Lucescu often encouraged his cosmopolitan squads to study, read, learn languages and take cooking lessons. “Lucescu is a Shakhtar legend. He was our teacher not only in football, but in life.” So said captain Darijo Srna of his departing coach in 2016. The Romanian boss has also bagged multiple league titles around Europe, including a hatful at Shakhtar Donetsk.
16. Roberto Mancini
As a young player at Bologna, Roberto Mancini demanded to take every corner, free-kick and penalty. If coaches resisted, he’d walk off. A similarly uncompromising approach in management, ever since cutting short a 2001 loan spell at Leicester to take his first job with Fiorentina, has earned the Italian a lot of silverware.
15. Frank Rijkaard
The Dutchman was a fine player, but he had a lot to prove as a manager when he was appointed Barcelona coach in 2003. By 2005, Rijkaard had made the Spanish giants champions again. A year later, they went one better and won their first European Cup since 1992, built around the talents of Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o.
14. Luis Aragones
Some critics say Luis Aragones inherited Spain at a perfect time, just as a golden generation was beginning to shine. In truth, he was the perfect candidate to help realise the team’s potential. Spain added steel – committing more fouls than any team at Euro 2008 – and their boss united a fractured dressing room. “He was the most influential person in my career,” revealed Xavi.
13. Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel took lowly Kaiserslautern back up to the Bundesliga in 1996/97 before winning it a season later. The German could have been forgiven for thinking football management couldn’t get much better at that point – but it did. In 2004, he led huge underdogs Greece to Euro 2004 glory, beating hosts Portugal twice along the way.
12. Rafael Benitez
The Spaniard might not have delivered Liverpool the Premier League they so desperately craved, but he did play his part in giving the club one of its greatest ever nights. Before winning that incredible Champions League final in 2005, Benitez had led Valencia to two La Liga crowns and the 2004 UEFA Cup.
11. Luiz Felipe Scolari
Who knows what might have happened had The FA got their hands on ‘Big Phil’. The Brazilian had masterminded victories over the Three Lions at the 2002 World Cup (with Brazil) and Euro 2004 (with Portugal), so why not go after the man who broke so many England fans’ hearts, as The FA did in 2006. Alas, it wasn’t to be.
10. Guus Hiddink
Although Guus Hiddink enjoyed plenty of success at club level – most notably with PSV – the Dutchman turned into something of a specialist on the international stage. In the 2000s, he led South Korea to a World Cup semi-final (2002); Australia to their first World Cup for 32 years in 2006; and then Russia to the semi-finals of Euro 2008.
9. Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello managed three club giants before taking the England job in 2007. Even the Italian was left scratching his head after a disappointing five years in England, but his club record holds up against the best. His style of play didn’t suit everyone, but with seven league titles across spells with Milan, Real Madrid and Roma, he knew how to win.
8. Arsene Wenger
Arsenal went a staggering 49 Premier League games unbeaten in the early 2000s, which led to Arsene Wenger’s team being labelled 'The Invincibles'. The Arsenal side of the 2003/04 campaign had an aura, and a perfect blend of attacking and defensive qualities that made them, well, invincible. They amassed 90 points that season, with Chelsea a distant second, 11 back.
7. Louis van Gaal
Louis van Gaal once declared that he was “the best coach in the world”, and whilst a handful of other managers obviously enter this debate, the Dutchman, who achieved great success with Ajax in the 90s, has had his moments. His time in charge of the national team didn’t go well, but he did become the first Dutch coach to win the Bundesliga.
6. Ottmar Hitzfeld
‘Gottmar’ took charge of Bayern Munich in 1998. Despite suffering defeat late on in the final of the Champions League against Manchester United a year later, he bounced back in 2001 to lead the German giants to European glory. In all, he won 18 major titles during his managerial career.
5. Carlo Ancelotti
If you ever get stuck answering a quiz question that starts, ‘Which Italian manager won…’ just guess Carlo Ancelotti. ‘Don Carlo’ has claimed multiple league titles with multiple clubs, and in a number of countries. In the 2000s, he became part of the furniture at AC Milan, where the silverware flowed, including the Champions League in 2003.
4. Giovanni Trapattoni
‘Il Trap’ enjoyed a decade with Juventus from 1976 to 1986, after which he enjoyed fruitful spells with Inter and Bayern Munich, as well as another three years in Turin. The Italian started with the national team, where he was unable to replicate his great club success, before delivering Benfica a first league title in 11 years.
3. Sir Alex Ferguson
Whether it was the ‘hair dryer treatment’ or flying football boots, the fiery Scot knew how to get the best out of his troops. It’s claimed that the Manchester United boss was once just one game away from getting the boot himself. He survived, of course, and produced title-winning sides, year after year aftter year.
2. Jose Mourinho
When the Portuguese arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004, he announced that he was the “special one”. He’d just won the European Cup with Porto, and he would immediately get to work on turning Chelsea into a winning machine. After claiming back-to-back titles in London, he moved to Inter Milan and did the same.
1. Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi led Italy to World Cup glory in2006, to add another title to his very long list of achievements. Like most coaches, he’d done a fair bit bit of globe-trotting, and he would go on to spend a long spell coaching in China. Long before heading east, however, he was the brains behind the powerful Juventus sides of the early 2000s.
