Tactics make a better team and, of course, deliver the results for clubs. But the right tactics deliver the best result and trophies.
When it comes to the debate for the best coaches in the world, we've seen top names like José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Zinedine Zidane and Jurgen Klopp dominate the list. But who is leading the managers' ranking currently?
Interesting Football takes a look at the best football managers and coaches in the world right now:
20. Gian Piero Gasperini (Italy)
Gian Piero Gasperini turned the tides around for Atalanta following his appointment in 2016. He won the Europa League in 2024 and had a competitive team in the Italian Serie A as well as regular Champions League qualifications throughout his stay at the club.
He is currently the head coach of AS Roma.
19. Julian Nagelsmann (Germany)
Julian Nagelsmann retired from football early on in his career and switched to football management, leading Hoffenheim to a third-place finish in the league and Champions League qualification.
He also took RB Leipzig to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2020 before landing the top job at Bayern Munich in 2021 and winning the Bundesliga in his debut season.
18. Oliver Glasner (Germany)
Oliver Glasner successfully built a formidable team at Crystal Palace in the English Premier League following his appointment in 2024. The German manager went on to win the FA Cup and Community Shield with the team.
He had worked with some Bundesliga clubs, including VfL Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt (where he won the UEFA Europa League).
17. Thomas Tuchel (Germany)
Thomas Tuchel moved from winning the German Cup with Borussia Dortmund to two UEFA Champions League appearances, with one triumph with Chelsea, to leading the English national team.
Tuchel also won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea before landing the top English football job. He guided them to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
16. Didier Deschamps (France)
Didier Deschamps remains one of the best football managers in the world with his impressive statistics over the years. He helped Monaco lift the French Cup and Champions League final before guiding Juventus to the Serie B title and a return to Serie A.
He managed Marseille before being appointed to lead the French national team, where he led the team to the 2018 FIFA World Cup title.
15. Lionel Scaloni (Argentina)
Lionel Scaloni became a well-known manager following his immediate appointment as Argentina's national team boss after previously being named to lead the U20 side.
In his first major task, he led the team to finish third at the 2019 Copa América before beating Italy in the 2022 Finalissima.
Scaloni led the national team to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2024 Copa América.
14. Unai Emery (Spain)
Unai Emery has gradually built a formidable team that has proven to compete at the highest level of European football. The Spanish manager who won the Europa League three consecutive times has been leading the Birmingham-based football club over the last couple of seasons.
Emery has proven to be a top-level manager with his exploits at the clubs he's led over the years. His move to PSG resulted in the domestic quadruple in his second season, a Europa League runner-up in his first season at Arsenal, the UEFA Europa League triumph at Villarreal CF in his first season and a Champions League semi-final finish the following season.
13. Mikel Arteta (Spain)
Arteta's journey began as an assistant coach to Guardiola at Manchester City before his appointment as head coach of Arsenal in 2019. Ever since, he has built a competitive team, winning the FA Cup in his debut season and two Community Shields thereafter.
Arteta and Arsenal came close to winning the English Premier League on several occasions but lost to Manchester City.
12. Diego Simeone (Argentina)
Diego Simeone is one of the longest-serving football managers in world football.
After his managers' stints at Racing Club, Estudiantes, River Plate, and San Lorenzo, he moved to Italian club Catania before joining Atlético Madrid in 2011, where he led the club to two La Liga titles, Copa del Rey, two UEFA Europa Leagues, and the UEFA Super Cups.
Diego Simeone also guided Atlético Madrid to runner-up in the UEFA Champions League twice.
11. Arne Slot (Netherlands)
Arne Slot rose to become one of the best coaches in world football within a short time following a bright start at Liverpool FC. The Dutchman joined Liverpool in 2024 and went on to win the Premier League title in his first season.
In the lead-up to his appointment as Liverpool's head coach, he led Feyenoord to the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final and won the Dutch league and cup title.
10. Luciano Spalletti (Italy)
Luciano Spalletti is also one of the Italian football managers making waves in Europe. He won the Coppa Italia twice with Roma and made the highlights.
Spalletti won the Italian Serie A with Napoli in the 2022–23 season and is currently in charge of Juventus.
9. Antonio Conte (Italy)
It has been an outstanding career for Antonio Conte, who led Bari to a Serie B title and Siena to promotion within the early years of his managerial career.
His performance in the lower divisions of Italian football led to his eventual move to Juventus in 2011, which saw the successful lifting of three consecutive Serie A titles.
Conte moved to Chelsea and won the Premier League title in his first season and the FA Cup in the second before joining Inter Milan, where he won the 2020–21 Serie A title.
He joined Napoli after leaving Tottenham Hotspur and won the 2024–25 Serie A title in his first season and the Supercoppa Italiana in the 2025–26 season.
8. Simone Inzaghi (Italy)
Simone Inzaghi moved from a youth coach at Lazio to leading the first team to a Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana titles before switching to Inter Milan in 2021 and winning one Serie A title, two Coppa Italia titles, and three consecutive Supercoppa Italiana titles, as well as reaching the UEFA Champions League final in 2023 and 2025.
Simone Inzaghi is now ranked among the elite football managers in the world.
7. Enzo Maresca (Italy)
Enzo Maresca caught the eyes of major teams in English football after leading the Manchester City U23 side to the 2020–21 Premier League 2 title.
He then moved to Italian Serie B side Parma in 2021 and later back to Manchester City in 2022 and served as an assistant manager under manager Pep Guardiola before signing for Leicester City in the 2023–24 season and successfully led the club through the EFL Championship to Premier League promotion.
With Chelsea's search for a new manager in full swing and Maresca's rise in English football, he was appointed to the top job, and he led the club to the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League title and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup title.
6. Carlo Ancelotti (Italy)
Carlo Ancelotti is arguably one of the most successful managers in world football. The Italian has managed several high-profile teams, including Real Madrid, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
He won his first Champions League title as manager with AC Milan in the 2002–03 season, where he also won the 2002–03 Coppa Italia at the same time. He later won the Serie A the following season and later won the second Champions League title in the 2006–07 season before his eventual move.
He joined Chelsea in 2019, winning the domestic double, moving to PSG, winning the domestic league and landing in Real Madrid, winning the club's tenth Champions League. He later left the club for Bayern Munich, where he was also successful, but returned to Madrid to win the Champions League double.
5. Luis De La Fuente (Spain)
Luis De La Fuente began his career as a youth coach of the under-19 team, leading the team to victory in the 2015 European Championship and the under-21 2019 Championship. He also took charge of the Olympic team and achieved a silver medal at the 2020 games before his eventual appointment as head coach of the national team.
Luis De La Fuente successfully led the Spanish national team to win the Nations League in 2023 and the European Championship in 2024.
4. Hansi Flick (Germany)
Hansi Flick's journey in professional football management was in the role of assistant manager when he worked for the German National Team from 2006 to 2014, under Joachim Löw, when the team went on to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
In 2019, he took up the role of assistant manager at Bayern Munich and eventually was made interim manager following the departure of Niko Kovač. He was later appointed permanently.
Hansi Flick was successful during his Bayern Munich career, winning the UEFA Champions League and completing the club's second continental treble and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Following his appointment as Barcelona manager, he won the Supercopa de España, Copa del Rey and La Liga in his debut season.
3. Xabi Alonso (Spain)
Xabi Alonso rose to prominence following his appointment as Bayer Leverkusen head coach in the German Bundesliga. He led the club to an unprecedented unbeaten domestic double (Bundesliga and Cup) in 2023–24 and the DFL-Supercup.
Xabi Alonso's Bundesliga triumph as head coach was the club's first ever title and first DFB-Pokal since 1993. He spent two-and-a-half years at Bayer Leverkusen before his appointment by Real Madrid.
Although Xabi Alonso had not started his career as manager at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on a strong note, he remains one of the best.
2. Pep Guardiola (Spain)
Pep Guardiola has remained a dominant force in world football with his achievements at Manchester City. He joined the Citizens in 2016 and has since won six English Premier League titles, including four consecutive wins from 2019 to 2024. This historic achievement was the first time a club had achieved this in the English top flight.
Pep Guardiola broke additional records in his second season at Manchester City, including attaining 100 points in a single season, which was the first in the league, as well as a domestic treble in 2018–19.
The Spanish manager also guided the club to their first Champions League title.
1. Luis Enrique (Spain)
Luis Enrique's reign at Paris Saint-Germain has been a success for the Spanish tactician who led the club to a historic achievement after years of attempts.
He joined PSG in July 2023 and went on to win three trophies in his first season, which includes the league title and domestic cup. Then in his second, he won four more trophies, including the club's first UEFA Champions League in history.
Luis Enrique and PSG were closer to lifting the FIFA Club World Cup but lost to Chelsea in the final. But they defeated Flamengo to win the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. These performances earned him a place among the best coaches in world football.