Top 5 Managers in Europe for the Season 2011 / 2012

What was Chelsea‘s pre-match training before the final? Nothing special, pass around, dribble round the cones, try to beat Cech and fail miserably. But the important part was what RDM did in his main training session. He took the lads to the conference room and showed them emotional messages of family members saying good luck. The effect was instant as Ryan Bertrand was the first to leave with tears rolling down his cheeks, after being told he was going to start.

Di Matteo perfects the saying ” Italians can only defend”. After completing the perfect Italian job with a FA Cup and a maiden Champions League, one would just wonder how many reasons could Roman Abramovich think of to not give him the job on permanent basis. Brought in as a caretaker manager, he has revolutionized the way Chelsea played. In exact words his love and passion for the club made them win the Champions League and FA Cup and not his tactics. Anyone can defend but you need to instill the right attitude in your players to never give up and keep believing in yourself no matter how many odds are against you.

“Remember Me?” – Heiko Vogel the manager of Swiss side FC Basel that continues to haunt Manchester United fans, players and Sir Alex Ferguson. Taking over as caretaker manager after the departure of Thorsten Fink, he successfully architectured the downfall of the Red Devils with a scoreline of 2-1 and put themselves in the Round of 16. They met Bayern Munich and surprised everyone once again by embarrassing them 1-0. He achieved a domestic double by winning the league after going 18 points clear and also the Swiss Cup on penalties. He was soon appointed as head manager. Noticed something? Caretakers or interim managers, always end up being very successful.

People keep pestering me, ” Why wasn’t he in your previous article? ” The sole reason, was that he didn’t deserve to be in England’s top 15 list, he was more deserving in Europe’s top 5 list.  Mastermind, tactical genius and just about the wisest transfer man I’ve seen in a few years . You can contradict me on the transfers, but his aim to provide excellent youth with recent signings is commendable. The Arsene army surprised Milan after being beaten 4-0, but the comeback was just about picture perfect.  Mounting a surprise challenge to finish third in the league shows that he one of the finest in Europe. Hopefully we’ll see more of the Gunners next season and to make a bold prediction they will win the FA Cup.

A manager who has won 2 German titles with Bayern and a Champions League title with Real Madrid. How many Madrid fans even know him today? One of the best in Europe found himself in 2 finals and inches away from clinching the League title. But it all crumbling down, due to nervousness and inability to provide good performances at crucial stages by the players. He did all the homework for his players and then just had to submit it, but if you have the likes of Robben and Ribery with huge ego’s, you would find yourself drifting away. Nevertheless, they gave a very attacking performance in their European campaign and a memorable Champions League final.

Regarded by pundits and players to be one of the best in the game. He has just about proved himself in almost every league. Success follows “The Special One” wherever he goes due to his winning mentality. Jose Mourinho had a very impressive season at Madrid, winning La Liga, breaking goal-scoring record and to top it all beating rivals Barcelona to it. They also had a terrific European campaign, only to lose out in penalties. He says he’ll come back to England but after tying himself to Real Madrid till 2016 it doesn’t look like it will happen soon.

Pep Guardiola :  Bad season for his and his former club’s standards. If they had won the League along with the Kings Cup, they could have been shortlisted at least in to the top 5.

Sir Alex Ferguson : Terrible European campaign.

Roberto Mancini : With the star studded squad they had expected much better.

Diego Simeone : Definitely in to Top 6 if there was one, a very strong European campaign winning the Europa league. He’ll fare well against Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup.

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