40. Gian Piero Gasperini
If ever there’s a manager who doesn’t get the credit they deserve, it’s Atalanta boss Gasperini. Prior to his arrival in 2016, the Bergamo side seemed destined for relegation to Serie B.
Since, however, Atalanta have been consistently challenging for European spots under the Italian, even achieving qualification for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history in 2019. They’ve played in the competition a further two times under Gasperini’s stewardship, such has been his influence on the side.
39. Brendan Rodgers
Things turned sour at Leicester City but Brendan Rodgers is still a reliable pair of hands, as referenced by his return to Celtic to steady the Bhoys post-Postecoglou. It really doesn't get said enough how good a job the Northern Irishman did with the Foxes, either: an FA Cup, two fifth-placed finishes (both confirmed on the final day of the season when Leicester were still in the hunt for top four) and a European semi-final. The relegation was particularly unfortunate but shouldn't take too much away from some of the earlier success.
38. Frank Schmidt
When Frank Schmidt took charge of Heidenheim in 2007, they had just become an independent club and were sat in the fourth tier of German football. Fast forward 16 years, and Heidenheim are competing in the Bundesliga for the first time in their history.
Currently the longest serving manager in German football, Schmidt has overseen three league titles - the most recent of which came last season in 2.Bundesliga in dramatic fashion, with two stoppage time goals against Jahn Regensburg moving them from play-off bound third to the top of the table.
37. Sergio Conceicao
Sergio Conceicao took the Porto job in 2017 following £100 milion of sales to satisfy Financial Fair Play. Conceicao grabbed the nettle – and beat Benfica to the title.
A reliability in Portuguese football, the Dragons have won three titles, every two years, under their current manager – all while playing a front-footed style of play amid plenty more sales, since Portuguese football is built on quicksand. They're due another title this season, according to schedule.
36. David Moyes
A decade on from a humiliating 10 months at Manchester United, Moyes has turned his reputation around with West Ham United. Consolidating the Hammers in the Premier League, Moyes has helped achieve continental qualification in three consecutive seasons - topped off with their Europa Conference League victory in Prague last June.
While certain sections of the West Ham fanbase are still unconvinced Moyes is the man to help the club progress further, the Scotsman's record ensures he enters into the conversation of being arguably their greatest manager ever.
35. Martin Demichelis
Martin Demichelis was given a tough task, coming into River Plate to replace the iconic Marcelo Gallardo. He ended up winning his first seven in a row without conceding and quickly scooped the league title.
An aggressive defender at Man City and Atletico Madrid among others, Demichelis has proven himself a wise hire. His stint in charge of Bayern Munich II may hold him in stead to return to Europe one day.
34. Maurizio Sarri
Chelsea fans might disagree, but Sarri’s record as manager is simply excellent - especially when considering he’s had to work up from the eighth tier of Italian football over a 30+ year coaching career.
Despite being criticised for his approach at Stamford Bridge, Sarri still managed to win the Europa League - his first major trophy - before earning Juventus their most recent Serie A title in 2020. Now at Lazio, Sarri achieved a second-place finish last term. Not bad for a chain-smoking 64-year-old.
33. Roger Schmidt
Roger Schmidt was the second German to manage Benfica after the legendary Jupp Heynckes. He became the first to win the title, however – doing so in some style.
The Lisbon outfit won their first 13 matches across the Primeira Liga and Champions League in their best start to a season in almost 40 years; they ended a nine-match hoodoo against Porto and they topped a Champions League group with PSG and Juventus before getting to the quarter-finals. All while having lost Darwin Nunez over the summer and Enzo Fernandez midseason: it's been an impressive tenure thus far.
32. Ivan Juric
Previously appointed as Genoa manager on three separate occasions, Juric enjoyed two successful seasons at Hellas Verona, finishing ninth and tenth despite operating with one of the league’s smallest budgets, before being poached by Torino. There, the Croatian has continued his perennial mid-table league finish, coming tenth in the past two campaigns.
His death metal style of football is where he truly stands out, relentlessly encouraging his players to aggressively man-mark opponents with such ferocity that it seems the only defensive word in their vocabulary is ‘press’.
31. Marco Rose
The Borussia Dortmund gig didn’t quite go to plan but Marco Rose is still an exceptionally talented coach, now at RB Leipzig. Like all good Red Bull coaches, he favours a high-intensity style that wins admirers – he led Leipzig to a DFB-Pokal last term – but his work with individual players is excellent, too. Even though BVB struggled at times under Rose, several players improved under his tutelage: just as at Borussia Monchengladbach and Red Bull Salzburg.
