Top 10 International Managers
This is a very difficult list to produce, international bosses have so little to do throughout the year that you are often forced to judge them on what they did before. Then there are the likes of Didier Deschamps and, until recently, Gareth Southgate, whose victories (and trophies in Deschamps’ case) feel like more of a case of being in spite of their management, rather than because of it.
10. Gernot Ruhr – Benin
This is probably a choice many will not agree with, but I think his years spent building up nations around Africa just about gets him a spot. And it is only just ahead of Michael O’Neill. He has not yet had a golden generation of players, like say Roberto Martinez, so his results do not look the greatest on the face of it, but when you look at the teams he has been in charge of you have to say he has done well to achieve them.
9. Murat Yakin – Switzerland
He had a decent level of success in club football before being appointed to take charge of the Swiss national team in 2021, but he has still shown humility and has always seemed to praise others for results achieved. When his Basel team shocked Chelsea by beating them in the Champions League group stage, Yakin was full of praise for the fans for pushing the team on. Little things like that can make a huge difference when you need the players and fans to get behind you in a bad run. He has also achieved a decent level of performance out of what is a very small pool of players, reaching the Quarter Finals during the recent Euros. Like Ruhr, he will always be held back by the quality of player available to him, but he has done well with what he has.
8. Vincenzo Montella – Turkey
Like Yakin, he led his team to the quarters of the recent Euros, but he had only been appointed in October 2023. His career has been characterised with getting jobs at the wrong time, almost every club job he took was accompanied by a period of upheaval behind the scenes. He does show signs of struggling to cope with the better players and his better periods have come in charge of weaker teams that he can get overperforming. Montella really could do with a settled period in charge to build something, rather than just continue his rollercoaster ride of jumping from team to team.
7. Roberto Mancini – Saudi Arabia
His record stands comparison with anyone, in club football he was won trophies and built teams. However, it does feel like his time has passed and he is on the downward slopes of his career now, which explains how he has ended up with a job that is, despite the vast amount of money it pays, not exactly a sought after position. There is no real win in this job. They are a long way off ever being competitive in World Cups and the Asian confederation is still one of the weakest.
6. Mauricio Pochettino – USA
A good coach, who will bring the team together playing decent football, but he is not a winner. He will not pull a team over the line the way Mancini was able to do when at his peak. It is only that Mancini has lost his way that puts Pochettino above him now. It is more down to the paucity of quality among international coaches that he is so far up the list though.
5. Domenico Tedesco – Belgium
Tedesco graduated from the same class as Nagelsmann when doing his coaching badges, coming top of that class. Despite being the first manager to win the man of the match award in the Bundesliga, after dragging his Schalke 04 team back from being 4-0 down to rivals Borussia Dortmund to pick up a 4-4 draw, he has not quite yet hit the heights he was expected to. At just 39 years old, he still has plenty of scope to learn and improve, but he will have to unite a fractured national team, that fell apart under him in the Euros after he led them to qualification with some good football. This season could make or break his career. He really needs to come good on his promise now, before he finds it all slipping through his fingers.
4. Julian Nagelsmann – Germany
He was a fast-rising star before taking the Bayern Munich job. It was probably just too soon in his career to take over a club with so many off-field issues, but it did cause a big hit to his profile. So far he has impressed with his ability to turn around a sinking ship with the German national team. One thing is for sure, he will need to learn to stop letting his heart rule his head in future. And no, I am not just referring to his dalliance with a female journalist who used him to get access to the Bayern team, but in his choice of teams to manage. He took the Bayern job on because he is a fan of the club, when it was probably better for his career to turn it down and wait until he was in a stronger position or Bayern were in a better place.
3. Marcelo Bielsa – Uruguay
One of the great coaches of the modern era, there is a reason so many cite him as an influence and his advice is so often sought by other coaches. Not the best club manager, his incredible intensity and singlemindedness without any breaks for the players can be too much for them to handle. But in international football, he can make an average bunch of players so much better than their individual ability. He turned Chile into one of the better sides in South America, he is now making Uruguay one of the most feared teams in the region. The football he produces is, almost without exception, breathtaking to watch but it does require the players to buy into having to work for the team, rather than play as individuals. That probably explains why he is so much better with lesser players, rather than the top players.
2. Luciano Spalletti – Italy
It is bizarre that a man who led Napoli to a Serie A win in 2023, has ended up already slipping into international football. Though he probably chose the wrong job to take on, with an Italy camp that is a complete mess and it was little wonder they struggled and went out in the Round of 16 of Euro 24. You would expect him to turn it around and return Italy to regular contention for trophies, anything less will probably mean his career slides away in a similar way to so many others in the past.
1. Lionel Scaloni – Argentina
There is no real option to Scaloni at international level. Yes, he has a very good pool of players to pick from, but so have many others before him and not managed to bring the World Cup back to Argentina. In fact, it is impressive that he managed it with a Lionel Messi who was past his best, while those that had peak-Messi could not manage it. Admittedly, it did seem like they were getting a lot of help from the officials, but it is not the only trophy he has won. Two Copa Americas show that it was not just down to favourable decisions only, as the first Copa was in Brazil, where there is no chance of the officials leaning towards Argentina, as it would have been hazardous to their health to do so! It must also be pointed out that he has done it all, despite being an extremely unpopular choice when appointed to lead Argentina, mainly due to his inexperience. The media were against him at the start, but now he is a national hero and rightly recognised as the top of the tree in international management.
Written by Tris Burke September 18 2024 09:23:06
