Top five managers across Europe so far this season

A manager is always the captain of the ship who is solely responsible for his team’s fortunes. Right from Sir Matt Busby to Arrigo Sacchi to Sir Alex Ferguson, all these managers not only built a team but they also built a long standing legacy. This legacy always acted as the marker to their eventual successors. Success and failures in football are more often than not dumped on the manager’s head.This summer saw quite a few moves in the managerial market as some top names made new appointments for some reason or the other.Here is a look at the five managers who have done a commendable job with their respective clubs this season.

#5 Massimiliano Allegri

Massimiliano Allegri had a decent spell as the manager of AC Milan. It was not a trophy laden reign as they imagined but it certainly didn’t live up to the hype and expectations of all the Milanese junta.

Ironically he replaced the guy who decimated his old team as the gaffer of Bianconneri as Allegri was chosen as the successor to now Azzurri boss Antonio Conte. Allegri has seamlessly fit in at the Turin club as Juventus continue their domination under the new regime.

One of the major highlights under Allegri has been the duality in the system structure. The Old Lady plays with two systems, one with a three-man defence and one with a four-man defence, at times both the formations in the same match.

This change in the system has given this Juve team a different dimension altogether and is on the course of making them a formidable force in Europe. Juventus has dominated Italian football for the past four seasons but in Europe they have somehow always fell short of their targets and reputation.

Allegri has a decent record in Europe as he always lead Milan into the knockout stages and this is what Giuseppe Marotta will be expecting of him. Allegri has one of the most gifted midfield in all of Europe with Pirlo, Pogba, Marchisio and he has utilized them very well. He had a shaky start to his campaign as few of his key players were injured initially but Allegri rotated his squad marvellously and made the Bianconneri sit atop the league table and look unstoppable in the Serie A.

#4 Ronald Koeman

The Premier League was buzzing when they heard about a certain Dutchman (Louis van Gaal) gracing their turf this season. But the league and the world are going gaga over another Dutchman who made a low profile entry into the English football with a small club on the south coast.

Ronald Koeman inherited a depleted Southampton squad which was being billed by the majority as relegation favourites. And they were rarely wrong with their assumptions. The former Feyenoord boy has turned the tables around and now Southampton are billed as favourites to get into Champions League next season.

The Saints are riding on some shrewd signings made by Koeman and also his unique approach to the game. Koeman is known for experimenting with new systems, one of his latest experiments was the 5-3-2 formation, which was made a rage by his compatriot Louis van Gaal at this year’s FIFA World Cup.

The Dutch manager is also known as the ‘master of rebuilding’ as he has rebuilt all his clubs from dead. In his his stints with Ajax, Valencia and Feyenoord, the Dutchman has rebuilt all the teams who were going through a phase of transition or were down and out. In his Feyenoord days, he challenged the duopoly of Ajax and PSV by making them a title challenging team.

At Southampton, he is doing a commendable job and it is this unique and indomitable style which has brought back a renewed sense of optimism at St. Mary’s, where they can expect some kind of silverware under their new gaffer in the near future.

#3 Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola is a scientist as he always discovers something which is a rage in the world of football tactics. First he came up with Tiki-Taka and now he has an old approach with Bayern Munich albeit in a new bottle.

He is bringing back the notorious 3-4-3 which is one of the systems which are favoured by the former Barcelona boss. But this time around his 3-4-3 is a variation of 3-6-1 or a 3-5-2. The Catalan has a midfielder par excellence in Xabi Alonso in the side, who is more often deployed as ball playing defender.

Unpredictability has been Guardiola’s premier virtue this season as one may never know whether he is playing a 3-man defence or a 4-man defence with almost the same set of players in the starting eleven. Bayern are unbeaten in league as they sit comfortably ahead of Wolfsburg.

It seems Bundesliga will be retained by the Bavarian giants this season, but the real priority lies in Europe where Pep has had a couple of hiccups in his stint at the Allianz Arena. He inherited a treble winning team, but it is a known fact that Bayern want to wrestle back that European crown from Real Madrid’s clutches.

#2 Carlo Ancelotti

The Italian genius did the task for which he was specifically brought to Santiago Bernabeu by Florentino Perez. He helped Real get its holy grail, he gave them their dream. He gave them La Decima.

Yes, Carlo Ancelotti achieved his main target last season by winning the Champions League but now he has got a new mission and it is to make Real Madrid the most feared team in the world. And it would not be foolish to admit that Real Madrid is the best team in Europe at the moment.

Despite offloading one his key player in Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid hasn’t felt any sort of complacency in their post Decima campaign as they look hungry for more success. A midfield sans general is unheard of in modern day football, but Carlo is making it a new fad by playing two supremely creative midfielders in a more combative role. This fresh approach has proved to be a masterstroke as Real has been unstoppable, both domestically and in Europe this season.

King Carlo has found a unique blend of conventional wing-play with possession based football. Also, he is blessed as he has a pair of wide men like Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, which is a luxury that every manager dreams.

It would barely astonish me if Real Madrid becomes the first team to defend their European crown in the Champions League era.

#1 Jose Mourinho

He is widely regarded as one of the best managers of all time and he has proved this time and again. This season he has again thrown the gauntlet at Chelsea’s rivals by storming into an eight-point lead at the top of Premier League.

Chelsea’s team of this season in appearance is so un-Mourinhoesque yet this team is built on the very foundations which the Portuguese has always symbolized. We are slowly seeing Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, which everyone anticipated to witness post his return to Stamford Bridge.

Jose has shunned his usual safety first approach for the more adventurous and flamboyant approach. His signings of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa have given a different level of potency and dynamism which this Chelsea team was so desperately yearning to have.

Jose’s tactic of resorting to a double pivot of Matic-Fabregas has reaped huge dividends. Chelsea is unbeaten in Premier League and it is just couple of weeks away from Christmas.

If they cling on to this form, they are not only winning this league by a country-mile but also smashing their erstwhile points record tally of 95 points by quite some margin. No wonder why there are murmurs of an Invincibles encore which slowly and gradually is being expected of this Jose Mourinho side.

With the master tactician like Jose at the helm it is not quite impossible as some peeps are making it out to be.