Read our top 10 list of the best football coaches in the world right now and see if you agree.
There are many coaches whose names are bandied about when we talk about the best football coaches in the world. To rank the coaches in a top 10 is a hard task, as several criteria can go into defining some as the best.
In the 2024/25 season, we have seen several new managers take teams to the next level and return others to the summit of the game. Some are at the start of their careers, some at the end, and some have turned it around and are right at their peak.
Some managers have remained the same, and questions about dwindling power and the end of legacies have started. In the same breath, though, you have to respect the competitiveness of their team and where they still sit in the football pyramid.
Many will have their opinion on who the best football coach is, and we are going to try and give our own opinion based on the following metrics.
Criteria of Ranking
To rank the coaches, we followed the following criteria so that they could be compared. In this ranking, the criteria used are:
- Performance and achievements
- Influence on the game
- Consistency and longevity
- Awards and recognitions
So, below, see if you agree with our list of the top 10 best coaches in the world right now.
Top 10 football coaches in the world right now
10. Antonio Conte
The Renaissance man this season is Antonio Conte. He has returned to his native Italy in style, transforming a faltering, unmotivated and dysfunctional Napoli team, who were champions two seasons ago, back into champions elect this season. The tactical innovation, strategic player acquisitions, and a revitalised team mentality are all products of Conte’s management and should see Napoli get over the line for the Scudetto.
9. Mikel Arteta
Since taking over at Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has turned the Gunners into one of the best teams on the continent, if not the world. They're are competitive in the league, finishing second for two seasons, and that looks like becoming three and the performances in Europe this season have been nothing less than breathtaking, showing great footballing nous to navigate themselves far in the competition. What does Arteta need to do to get higher up this list? Turn Arsenal from the eternal bridesmaid into the bride.
8. Unai Emery
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has shown that he is one of the world’s best coaches since taking over the team from Birmingham. Last season, he led them to a top-four finish, and although they have a battle on their hands to achieve that again this season, the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, semi-finals of the FA Cup, and potentially European football again this season has shown how good this Villa team is. Emery has developed the players he has and made fringe players transferred in in great again. A top manager.
7. Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso is being touted by all the big clubs for what he has done at Bayern Leverkusen. He is the Real Madrid manager in waiting, many will have you believe, and his football was so innovative last season that Leverkusen won the double, losing only one game all season. He plays possession-based, pressing football, utilising wing-backs more successfully than many have ever been able to.
6. Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti’s time at Real Madrid may be coming to an end, but what he has done with the team since he took charge of them again has been remarkable. Yes, they are a team built of superstars, but getting that to actually work is much harder said than done. His adaptability in using the pieces at his disposal means Real stay competitive, dangerous and constant collectors of silverware.
5. Simone Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi has kept Inter Milan at, or near, the summit of Italian football continuously since he took over in 2021. His brand of football is recognisable, blending solid defensive displays with exciting creativity. He is a master tactician who has Inter challenging for another Scudetto this year and potentially making their second Champions League final in three years.
4. Luis Enrique
Possibly everyone’s favourite team to watch this season, Luis Enrique has transformed PSG into one of the best teams we have ever seen come out of Paris. The transformations from a branding/Galtico powerhouse into a balanced and competitive football team is nothing but extraordinary. His intense approach has worked on his younger players who have less ego and more willingness to learn, and when you see the results, you can see why the players have taken to him more than ever. A potential historic Champions League victory is in their sights.
3. Hansi Flick
A Barcelona team that is purring puts Hansi Flick in at number three on this list. Barcelona are top of La Liga and challenging for another Champions League. The team’s attacking prowess mixes youth and experience and has proved an absolute killer at times. Their high line, because of their high press, does make for gaps in the defence, however, they can blow you away before you even manage to utilise their apparent weakness. Barcelona are a global force once again on the pitch.
2. Arne Slot
Has anyone taken to the Premier League more like a duck to water than Arne Slot? The Dutchman inherited a great Liverpool team, but he has made them the undeniable best, winning the Premier League in his first season in charge. There have been simple tweaks to some players' positions and changes to the way the team uses its intensity that have turned a team that made one acquisition in the summer into champions. That one player doesn’t even start, which highlights Slot’s skills as a manager of a team.
1. Pep Guardiola
His team may be faltering, but for the longevity, what he has done and what his teams still can do, Pep Guardiola should be regarded as the best manager in the world still. For a while, Pep’s Manchester City were the Thanos of the footballing world; they were inevitable. Pep’s changed the way that managers think and play their football because of his constant innovations and tinkering. They won a historic treble in the 2022/23 season, and after a rebuild in the summer, City will be going to do that again under the intense Spaniard.
Debates, controversies and the reflections on the evolution of the sport
There were always going to be some amazing names who have missed out on making the list. Diego Simeone is the first that comes to mind, with his Atletico Madrid side being one of the most consistent and competetive teams in Europe. With the inconsistencies of international fixtures too, managers like Didier Deschamps, Lionel Scaloni, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann are easily overlooked despite all being great managers in their own right.
It's also easy to just look at the major leagues in Europe who produce some of the most well known teams, however managers doing amazingly with small teams and small budgets get easily overlooked. Both Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth and Cesc Fabregas at Como are doing really exciting things with the teams they have and you throuohly expect them both to be in charge of big teams in the near future.
Modern football is not entering a new era of management too. With the dominant structure and possesion based football that has dominanted the recent times, new exciting brands of football are being developed giving more creativity to the individual players. As the times develop and people start to invent new ideas in a post-Guardiola world, football will enter a new age of true excitement.