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For well over a century, the Serie A has been a hotbed of footballing revolution and has produced a host of legendary visionaries that have stamped their authority on the beautiful game. The Italian peninsula has given rise to generations of exceptional managers that have profoundly impacted the way the beautiful game is played.
Football has aged like fine Italian wine over the past century and much of its tactical evolution can be attributed to the Serie A. Italy has produced some of the finest players in Europe over the years and these superstars of the modern game owe much of their success to the finely tuned brilliance of their mentors.
Serie A has had a profound tactical impact on the game
As far as the history books are concerned, football players arguably have it easier than managers. To be considered an all-time great, a football manager has to either propel his team to incredible heights over a sustained period of time or tweak the nuances of the game with an invention that has far-reaching consequences for the future of football.
The Serie A has had its highs and lows over the years but has always managed to produce characters that have had a definitive impact on the game. With over a century of concrete footballing knowledge under its belt, Italy has produced some of the best coaches the beautiful game has ever seen.
#10 Roberto Mancini
While a highlight reel of his career is likely to heavily feature his achievements in the Premier League, the making of Roberto Mancini as a manager is a testament to the Serie A's emphasis on tactical football. Mancini took over as Inter Milan's manager in 2004 and led the Nerazzurri to their first Serie A title since 1989.
Mancini was an attacking midfielder during his playing days and imbibed some of his creative flair in his playing style. The former Manchester City manager added shades of passing football to the Serie A's traditionally defensive set-up and achieved unprecedented success in his early years as a coach.
Roberto Mancini went on to play a pivotal role in Manchester City's renaissance before returning to Italy for another stint with Inter Milan. Mancini is now mentoring a new generation of Serie A stalwarts with the Italian national team.
#9 Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte might be a polarising figure in European and Italian football but his track record as a manager speaks for itself. Conte started his managerial career with stints at Arezzo, Bari, and Atalanta before a successful year with Serie B side Siena attracted Juventus' attention.
Antonio Conte introduced the 3-5-2 formation at Juventus and sparked an era of unprecedented dominance in the Serie A. The former Chelsea manager won three consecutive Serie A titles with the Bianconeri before becoming the head coach of the Italian national team.
Conte is currently managing a resurgent Inter Milan side and has propelled the Nerazzurri into the Serie A title race with his efforts this season. The Italian coach still has several years ahead of him in the game and is likely to end his career as one of football's most inventive characters.
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#8 Massimiliano Allegri
The Serie A has historically been a competitive league with the likes of AC Milan, Juventus, and Inter Milan battling each other for the Scudetto among a host of other formidable teams. Under the tutelage of Massimiliano Allegri, however, Juventus shattered Serie A's competitive image and monopolised the league in a stunning display of consistency and hunger.
After an exceptional start to his managerial career with Sassuolo, Allegri joined AC Milan in 2010 and led the Rossoneri to their first Serie A title in six years. The young manager spent three more years at AC Milan before joining Juventus in 2014.
Massimiliano Allegri was given the daunting task of building on Antonio Conte's progress with the Bianconeri and arguably surpassed his predecessor's achievements in the Serie A. Allegri won five consecutive Scudettos with Juventus and is now one of the most sought-after managers in Europe.
#7 Nereo Rocco
With the modern sporting era placing an unnecessary amount of emphasis on silverware and glory, pure footballing genius is often lost in the annals of history. 'Catenaccio' is a school that Italian football continues to swear by and imbibe in its folklore and it is an unfortunate travesty that the forebearer of this revolutionary art is often omitted entirely from contemporary discourse.
Nereo Rocco was as disciplined with his formations on the pitch as he was charming in the streets of Milan. Rocco's personality was the antithesis of his more popular nemesis Helenio Herrera but the two visionaries were two sides of the same coin with their tactical exploits in the Serie A.
The 1960s witnessed an irreversible change in Italian football and the 'King of Catenaccio' played a massive role in creating a system that dominates the Serie A to this day. Nereo Rocco may have only two Scudettos in his silverware cabinet but his time at AC Milan arguably resulted in decades of Italian success on the European front.
#6 Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi's illustrious track record in the Serie A makes him one of Italy's best-ever managers. The veteran tactician dominated the league in the 1990s and made Italian football a formidable force in Europe.
Lippi was appointed in a managerial role by Juventus in 1994 and went on to win five Serie A titles with the Bianconeri. In a decade that saw Italian football at its peak, Marcello Lippi defied the odds to make Juventus a near-invincible force with a combination of defensive acumen and offensive flair.
The Juventus legend is also the only manager on this list to win the World Cup and managed the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Edgar Davids during his time in the Serie A.
#5 Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello has always been a controversial figure in the world of football but his managerial credentials are unquestionable. 'Don Fabio' has often clashed with his star players over the course of an illustrious career but his discipline and pragmatism have yielded incredible results over the years.
Widely regarded as one of the most successful coaches in the history of the game, Capello conquered the Serie A with AC Milan and AS Roma and could have also won two Scudettos with Juventus had it not been for the infamous Calciopoli scandal.
Fabio Capello has had his detractors over the years but his impeccable record in the Serie A makes him one of Italy's best tactical exponents. Capello also enjoyed success outside Italy and retired after a trophy-laden managerial career.
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#4 Carlo Ancelotti
The Serie A saw a spate of incredible managers in the 1990s and Carlo Ancelotti is unique in his achievements over the past few years. In addition to building some of the greatest teams to have ever graced European football, Ancelotti also achieved success outside Italy and has carved a legacy for himself as one of football's greatest managers.
Ancelotti coached the likes of Parma and Juventus in the 1990s and honed his skills as an astute manager. The former midfielder joined AC Milan in 2001 and gave the Rossoneri some of their most special moments since the turn of the century.
In his eight years as the manager of AC Milan, Carlo Ancelotti sculpted the careers of Andrea Pirlo, Andriy Shevchenko, Kaka, and several other legendary Serie A figures. Ancelotti also went on to makes waves in La Liga and the Premier League and is a modern-day coaching legend.
#3 Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi may not have an illustrious a trophy cabinet as some of the other names on this list but his body of work with AC Milan remains a special and unique chapter in Serie A history.
The 1980s were a particularly intriguing time for footballing revolution as distinctive schools of thought began to imprint themselves on European football. The Italian game was pigeonholed into a defensive nutshell when Arrigo Sacchi decided to take the Serie A by storm.
Sacchi contrasted the defensive genius of Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini with the attacking flair of Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten to create one of the greatest footballing units known to history. The all-conquering AC Milan side dominated the Serie A and also won successive European Cups under the legendary Arrigo Sacchi.
#2 Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni was a devoted disciple of legendary Rossoneri behemoth Nereo Rocco and brought traditional Catenaccio into a new era that saw the rise of prodigious creative midfielders who threatened to consign Italian defences into forgotten corners of football history.
Nicknamed 'Il Trap' and widely adored by the Italian press, Giovanni Trapattoni's managerial career in Italy spanned over two decades and yielded a record seven Serie A titles.
Trapattoni was often referred to as the 'Old Fox' for his uncanny ability to adapt to a plethora of tactical systems. The Bianconeri great is widely credited for reviving Catenaccio in European football and initiating yet another glorious era in the Serie A.
#1 Helenio Herrera
As far as legacies are concerned, Helenio Herrera's clout in Italian football remains unrivalled in the post-war era. The Argentine tactician moved to Serie A giants Inter Milan after a successful stint with Barcelona and was one of the founding fathers of traditional Catenaccio.
Herrera was one of the first managers in history to use aggressive wing-backs like the legendary Giacinto Facchetti to devastating effect in a 5-3-2 system. The revolutionary tactician was also a shrewd operator and was one of the first to use the San Siro's ferocious atmosphere in his favour to create a near-unbreachable fortress.
Inter Milan won three Serie A titles and two European Cups during Helenio Herrera's time at the club. The Nerazzurri had a lasting impact on Italian football and remains one of the most important footballing figures of the 20th century.
Also Read: 10 Greatest Football Managers of all time
