Ranked! The 50 best club managers in the world right now

30. Massimiliano Allegri

Manager Massimiliano Allegri of Juventus looks on during the Serie A TIM match between ACF Fiorentina and Juventus at Stadio Artemio Franchi on November 5, 2023 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Allegri has proven his ability in his career (Image credit: Getty Images)

Five straight Serie A titles, four consecutive Coppa Italias and two Champions League finals certainly isn’t a record to be sniffed at. And yet, Allegri still faces question marks over his ability as a manager. 

His return to Juventus in 2021 hasn’t yielded any trophies yet, true, but off-the-field issues have clouded his second spell in charge. Someone who prefers a slower build-up and more control, Allegri is flexible in his tactics in order to deal with certain opponents.

29. Tite

Adenor Leonardo Bacchi, Head Coach of Brazil, looks on prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 quarter final match between Croatia and Brazil at Education City Stadium on December 09, 2022 in Al Rayyan, Qatar.

Tite has returned to club football after being in charge of Brazil (Image credit: Maja Hitij - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

If you think that England is the impossible job, try managing Brazil. Tite (that’s more like “chi-chi” than “tee-tay, y’know) did admirably, actually – and has moved onto Rio heavyweights, Flamengo.

The 62-year-old has been at Big ‘Mengo for mere weeks and hasn’t yet put his stamp on the side. Like some others on this list, his place here is more for his ability and history than his current club exploits – but Tite is still one of the most highly respected managers in his homeland.

28. Stefano Pioli

Stefano Pioli, Head Coach of AC Milan, reacts during the Serie A TIM match between AC Milan and Juventus at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 22, 2023 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Pioli on the San Siro touchline (Image credit: Getty Images)

Revitalising an ailing Milan side hasn’t proved easy for Pioli, especially because he’s previously managed Inter, but the Italian finally ended Milan’s decade-long wait for a Scudetto in 2022 in what was also the first trophy of his managerial career. A Champions League semi-final last term proved encouraging, too, with his faith in youth and tactical flexibility ensuring Milan’s positive progress on the pitch.

27. Adi Hutter

Adi Hutter Head coach of AS Monaco reacts prior to kick off in during the Ligue 1 Uber Eats match between AS Monaco and Stade Brestois 29 at Stade Louis II on November 05, 2023 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)

Monaco manager Adi Hutter (Image credit: Getty Images)

Adi Hutter first came to attention for some in a way that will adhere them to many German hearts: battering Bayern Munich in their biggest defeat since 1978 with Borussia Monchengladbach.

The Gladbach gig, while steady, was temporary – and now, he’s proving himself a capable pair of hands at Monaco, overseeing Paul Mitchell’s crop of scintillating signings in the principality. It’s high time someone took them back to the top. 

26. Ruben Amorim

Ruben Amorim Sporting Lisbon manager

Amorim is still a very young manager at Sporting (Image credit: PA)

Whenever a Premier League job becomes available, Amorim is invariably linked - and it’s easy to see why. At 38, the Portuguese has been hugely impressive ever since winning Portugal’s league cup final with Braga in 2020 against Porto, just three weeks into his first senior managerial reign. Sporting quickly came calling, and Amorim hasn’t looked back. A possession-based manager, a league title followed in 2021, and they look the team to beat this time around, too.

25. Franck Haise

Franck Haise Head Coach of RC Lens looks on before the UEFA Champions League match between RC Lens and PSV Eindhoven at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on October 24, 2023 in Lens, France. (Photo by Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)

Haise has got his Lens side playing brilliantly (Image credit: Getty Images)

Leading Lens to their first Champions League group stage in two decades and doing so with an exhilarating young side, Franck Haise has won hearts in Ligue 1 for his brand of football. This summer dealt them a tough hand, too, as Seko Fofana and Lois Openda jumped ship – and true to Ligue 1 tradition, Haise is having to find answers and evolve after seeing his biggest stars leave.

The Frenchman is doubling down, however, making his side difficult to play against and giving a good fist of Europe. His inexperience hasn’t shown.

24. Michel

Head Coach Miguel Angel Sanchez 'Michel' of Girona FC looks on during the LaLiga Santander match between Girona FC and Getafe CF at Montilivi Stadium on August 22, 2022 in Girona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Girona manager Michel (Image credit: Getty Images)

While many look towards Barcelona for exciting, attacking football in Catalonia, Girona are impressing many in La Liga through the slick tactics employed by Michel. Overloading with a box-midfield is common, while five attackers pushing defences back is regularly visible, too. Having earned promotion from Spain’s second tier in his first season at Girona, Michel then led them to 10th last term. 

They have been one of the surprise packages of the 2023/24 season, challenging at the top of La Liga against the likes of Real Madrid and Barca.  

23. Urs Fischer

Urs Fischer, head coach of 1. Union Berlin during an interview prior to during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund at Stadion an der alten Försterei on October 16, 2022 in Berlin, Germany.

Fischer is the Union Berlin boss (Image credit: Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Urs Fischer is fiercely intelligent and the underdog’s underdog, playing a unique mid-block press to stifle opposition and create transitions for his men to wreak havoc – but the detail pales in comparison to the headlines: he’s already a legend in East Germany. 

Fischer led Union Berlin to their first-ever promotion to the Bundesliga, let alone their first-ever Europa League and Champions League campaigns – and he’d have earned a point in the Bernabeu, had Jude Bellingham not broken Berliner hearts in stoppage time of their first-ever UCL fixture. 

22. Fernando Diniz

Fluminense Head Coach Fernando Diniz Silva (L) celebrates with his team after winning Boca Juniors during the final match of Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores 2023 between Fluminense and Boca Juniors at Maracana Stadium on November 4, 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Caique Coufal/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Diniz celebrates winning the Copa Libertadores (Image credit: Getty Images)

Forget Pep, Cruyff and even Herbet Chapman: Diniz is one of the greatest innovators of them all. Generally, managers want their players spread out across the pitch, ready to exploit spaces left by opponents. Not Diniz. The Fluminense gaffer – in interim charge of the national side, too – encourages overloading specific areas to such an extent that positions become obsolete. 

There’s method to the madness, too, with the Brazilian leading Fluminense to the Copa Libertadores trophy. Don’t be surprised to see his tactics make their way to Europe sooner rather than later. 

21. Vincenzo Italiano

Manager Vincenzo Italiano of ACF Fiorentina looks on during the Serie A TIM match between ACF Fiorentina and Juventus at Stadio Artemio Franchi on November 5, 2023 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Vincenzo Italiano watches his Fiorentina side in Serie A (Image credit: Getty Images)

Italian football prides itself on coaching acumen perhaps more than any other, so a man named “Italiano” was always going to be a ‘final boss’ of Serie A’s tactical nous, right? 

Fiorentina have been meticulously built in the image of their coach to be well-structured in buildup but ambitious in attack: this is a manager, after all, who continues to push higher and higher with each season, guiding Spezia to promotion, keeping them in the top flight and then improving i Viola.

Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future. 

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