In the modern era, the role of the football manager has evolved. Traditionally, the manager would select the team and let their players go out onto the field and simply play football. The likes of Brian Clough and Matt Busby were among the first to transform the managerial world and introduce a new brand of man-management at the top level.
Nowadays, everything is a lot more tactical and the best football managers can make a huge difference over the course of the season. Just look at Sir Alex Ferguson for example, he was an influential figure at Manchester United for decades and was a key reason why they won so many trophies during his years at the club.
After Ferguson’s retirement, many labelled Jose Mourinho as the greatest football manager on the planet but not everything has gone the Portuguese’s way in recent times. Mourinho was recently sacked by Chelsea after an incredibly poor start to the season.
Despite his disappointing performance this campaign, Mourinho has been linked with a move to Old Trafford in the near future and Louis van Gaal, who is priced at 1/4 with Betway, could be the next Premier League manager to lose his job. Football is an unforgiving sport and results matter now more than ever before.
It could be argued that Pep Guardiola is actually the best manager in the game and the Spaniard’s record speaks for itself. As manager of both Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he has led two clubs to dominant eras in their respective domestic leagues. In fact, he must rank as one of the top managers of all-time based on win percentage.
Guardiola will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season and could well be on his way to Manchester City and the Premier League.
Another top manager is Diego Simeone. Since taking over at Atletico Madrid, Simeone has broken the Barcelona-Real Madrid stranglehold in La Liga and has built up a truly sensational squad at the Vicente Calderon. Atletico won the title back in 2014 and JUST missed out on the Champions League crown after Real Madrid equalised in injury-time.
Simeone’s impact at Atletico is clear for all to see and the former Argentina international is a dominant presence on the touchline. He has a unique way of motivating his players and is constantly giving them instructions and tactical changes to give Atletico the best chance of winning matches.
There are plenty of great managers in the sport nowadays, but these three are probably the cream of the crop. Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti aren’t a million miles behind but none of these can compete with Mourinho’s drive, Guardiola’s philosophy and Simeone’s determination.