Football management deals with hiring and firing, which is common. Dissatisfaction by club owners and fans often results in some of the best football managers staying out of work for a while and becoming available as free agents.
However, the good performance makes it difficult for good coaches to stay as free agents. That said, it is common to see a good manager remain without a job because of how challenging the role in the dugout has been throughout the sport’s history.
In 2023, it will interest you that there are a lot of unemployed football managers out there.
Interesting Football lists the best available football managers currently who are unemployed and out of work today:
Joachim Löw (Germany)
Remembered for his role at the Nationalelf (the German Men’s National Football Team), where he won the FIFA World Cup in 2014. The 62-year-old has been available as a free agent since he left the German national team in 2021. He has been in charge of top teams, including VfB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Joachim Löw is one of the most successful managers in the world.
Zinédine Zidane (France)
Arguably one of the most successful managers in the modern era of football, Zinédine Zidane has been out of work since he left Real Madrid in 2021.
The Frenchman was promoted to the first team following his success with the Real Madrid B youth team in the lower division of Spanish football.
Despite being his first professional managerial job, Zidane successfully won the UEFA Champions League three times in a row as Real Madrid became the first team to win the trophy in three successive seasons since it was rebranded. He also won the La Liga, Super Cup, and Club World Cup.
A lot of rumours have been circulating regarding the future of the French manager, but he remains out of work.
Tite (Brazil)
Tite is one of the most famous football managers on the South American continent. He was head of the Brazilian Men’s National Football team for four seasons before leaving the role.
Tite won the Copa America in 2019 and finished runners-up two years later.
Apart from his role at Brazil’s top job, he has been with some of the biggest teams in South America, including Corinthians, Internacional, and Palmeiras. He won the Copa Libertadores and FIFA Club World Cup.
Xavi (Spain)
Xavi Hernandez is one of the biggest names on the list when it comes to ranking the best coaches who are unemployed. The Spanish tactician went from a club in Qatar to managing FC Barcelona.
Xavi was appointed to be the new manager of FC Barcelona in November 2021. He won the 2023 Supercopa de España title and the 2022–23 La Liga title.
During his time at Al Sadd in Qatar, he won several trophies, including the Qatar Stars League, Qatar Cup and Super Cup.
Gareth Southgate (England)
At the top of his CV is the head coach of the English Three Lions. He was in charge of the team for almost eight years.
Gareth Southgate led England to the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-finals, the UEFA Euro 2020 final, and the quarter-finals at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and was a runner-up in the UEFA Euro 2024.
Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany)
Jürgen Klinsmann is one of the highest-profile football coaches in the world right now with his experience managing some of the biggest teams.
He'd led the German national team to third place in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2005 and third place in the FIFA World Cup in 2006.
Ange Postecoglou (Australia)
Ange Postecoglou is one of the unemployed football managers currently with an impressive CV. The Australian manager helped Tottenham Hotspur to win the UEFA Europa League in 2025.
He had previously led some of the biggest British football clubs, including Celtic and Nottingham Forest FC.
Laurent Blanc (France)
Laurent Blanc is one of the top managers in world football. His most recent role was at Al-Ittihad, where he won the Saudi Pro League and King's Cup in the 2024–25 season.
He was successful in the domestic scene with Bordeaux and Paris Saint-Germain, winning numerous domestic titles.
Walter Mazzarri (Italy)
Walter Mazzarri was in charge of Napoli between 2023 and 2024, finishing runner-up to Inter Milan in the final of the Supercoppa Italiana. He is a popular figure in Italian football, having coached top teams including Inter Milan and Napoli.
Thiago Motta (Italy)
Thiago Motta, who is well known for his impressive football career, is one of the newest faces in football management.
His first senior role was at Genoa in Italy, where he became the new manager in October 2019 before later being out of the position due to inconsistent form. He was later appointed manager of Spezia in 2021, before taking over as manager of Bologna in September 2022.
Thiago Motta led Bologna to qualify for the Champions League in his second season. He was later appointed head coach of Juventus.
Patrick Vieira (France)
Patrick Vieira was with the Manchester City development squad before switching to New York City FC. The Frenchman moved to Nice before the top job at Crystal Palace.
Vieira oversaw the Eagles for twenty months before heading for the exit door. He was also in the books for Italian Serie A side Genoa.
Marco Rose (Germany)
Marco Rose is also one of the top managers with a good profile. The German led RB Leipzig to successful DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup titles. He also has an impressive career in Austria, where he won the Austrian Bundesliga twice and the Austrian Cup.
Erik ten Hag (Netherlands)
Following a successful career with Ajax, Erik ten Hag was on the move to Manchester United in the English Premier League with hopes of a revival at the British football club.
However, his tenure at the club was full of mixed results, which eventually led to his exit from the club. He was later appointed at Bayer Leverkusen and was later dismissed by the club.
Edin Terzić (Borussia Dortmund)
Edin Terzić is the next name on the list. The German isn't one of the biggest names on the European football continent but has a good record. He won the DFB-Pokal in the 2020–21 season and led the club to UEFA Champions League runners-up in the 2023–24 season.
Sam Allardyce (England)
Sam Allardyce is a household name in English football, having managed some of the popular names like Leeds United, Everton FC, the England National Football Team, and Newcastle United.
Stefano Pioli (Italy)
Stefano Pioli's biggest achievement yet as a football manager came in the 2021–22 season when he led AC Milan to win the Italian Serie A title and was awarded the Panchina d'Oro for best coach of the season in Italy.