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Several top managers have got sacked already this season and then are these ones who have silenced their critics by surpassing all expectations.
Managing football teams at the highest level is one of the most stressful jobs in the sporting industry. Fortunately or unfortunately, we live in a world that demands instant success and quick, easily discernable progress. The pressure this puts on the gaffers is immense and not all of them thrive under it.
The 2020-21 season has been rather unpredictable on several counts and one look at the league tables across Europe will confirm the same. The giants have faltered, the underdogs have prospered and there's no saying how many more surprises we will encounter before this immensely exciting season draws to a close.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five managers who have exceeded expectations so far this season.
#5 Dean Smith (Aston Villa)
Aston Villa survived the drop last season by a hair's breadth and were fortunate to have kept hold of their main man Jack Grealish. Dean Smith's men offered no great shakes in the 2019-20 season and we weren't expecting to see them perform as well as they have so far this term.
Aston Villa stunned everyone by starting the season with five straight wins which included a 7-2 hammering of reigning Premier League champions Liverpool at Villa Park. The side has shown significant improvement from last season and they are currently sitting at eighth on the table with 26 points.
Here's the kicker, Aston Villa have two games in hand right now and if they win both of those games, they will have 32 points from 17 games, which will be one less than what league leaders Liverpool and Manchester United have from as many games. To put things into perspective, this is the same side that survived relegation on the last day of the season last time around.
Dean Smith put a lot of work in during the COVID-19 break and reportedly held video reviews with every single player on his squad. He has transformed his side from a rigid, one-dimensional unit into a team that recognizes its opposition's weaknesses whilst playing to their own strengths.
They have become stronger in midfield and seem well-versed in digging their heels in and grinding out results with performances that are not exactly easy on the eye. The likes of John McGinn and Douglas Luiz have added an extra layer of protection to their defence that now sit higher than they used to last season.
Their attack is much better co-ordinated and there is more compactness about the team allowing them to start from deep and foray on counter-attacks in menacing fashion. Dean Smith's in-game management also deserves a lot of praise as Aston Villa are yet to drop points from a winning position in the league so far.
#4 Unai Emery (Villarreal)
Unai Emery had become almost a comical figure of sorts towards the end of his stint at Arsenal. But Emery's appointment at Emirates always looked like an ill-advised move. He wasn't familiar with the language and was at odds with some of the players and it's fair to say that he was thrown under the bus at Arsenal.
But while his former club is struggling in the Premier League, languishing in the bottom half of the table, Unai Emery's Villarreal are sat comfortably at third on the La Liga table. Towards the end of his stint at Arsenal, everyone was talking about the Gunners because they were so poor.
But now people are talking about Unai Emery's Villarreal because they are excellent at football. He has several excellent individuals operating on different parts of the field like Pau Torres and Gerard Moreno but Emery has also improved the youngsters, drawing excellent performances from the likes of Fer Nino and Yeremi Pino.
It has been quite an unusual La Liga season so far and Emery will do well to ensure that his club can finish in the top four and claim a Champions League berth.
#3 Rudi Garcia (Olympique Lyon)
Rudi Garcia's appointment in October 2019 was met with much objection by the Olympique Lyon supporters as they were used to seeing him and his theatrics in the tactical area of arch-rivals Olympique Marseille.
Lyon were going through a poor run of form domestically and ended up finishing seventh on the table in their first season under Garcia. However, their spectacular run to the UEFA Champions League semifinal proved to be a major saving grace for manager Rudi Garcia. This was in addition to making it to the final of the Coupa de la Ligue which they lost to PSG.
He still received a lot of stick despite improving his side since he took over. But Rudi Garcia seems to have thrived in that unfriendly environment and has now transformed Lyon into title contenders, sitting at the top of the Ligue 1 table, three points clear of Paris Saint-Germain after 18 gameweeks.
While Memphis Depay, Karl Toko Ekambi and Tino Kadewere have been excellent in attack, it is Rudi Garcia's use of Lucas Paqueta that has truly transformed the side with both his attacking and defensive contributions helping Lyon become a more well-rounded unit on all fronts.
#2 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Manchester United)
Where the likes of Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have failed, it is the unlikely Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who has kickstarted the much needed culture reset at Old Trafford with a focus on improving the football that's played while keeping one eye on the future.
Solskjaer was not given a chance this season especially after the disappointing summer transfer window he had where the club failed to land any of his top targets. Solskjaer was in fact, tipped to be sacked before long.
It would have been a sad way to go for the Norwegian who guided the team to a surprise third placed finish in the Premier League last season.
Starting the new Premier League season having played just one pre-season friendly, the United players took some time to hit their stride and after stuttering initially, Solskjaer's men have looked more and more like a well-rounded unit with each passing week.
While their UEFA Champions League group stage exit was a blip, there is much to feel optimistic about it since it was perhaps the toughest group and they did manage to register wins against Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig.
Manchester United are currently sitting at second on the Premier League table tied on points with Liverpool. This is a side that has been relentlessly criticized and a manager who was ridiculed and called a 'P.E teacher'.
Led by a prolific Bruno Fernandes and an excellent Marcus Rashford, Manchester United have one of the most intimidating attacking units in the league. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's man-management has been of the highest level too.
Despite Mino Raiola kicking up a storm about Paul Pogba's potential exit, Solskjaer has still managed to get the best out of him. He has immensely improved the depth of the squad and the signing of Edinson Cavani has had a positive impact as well.
Solskjaer has also made bringing in highly talented youngsters a priority and the transfers of Amad Diallo and Facundo Pellistri are testaments to the same. The Red Devils have a long way to go before they cement their status as title-contenders but they are definitely on the right path under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
#1 Stefano Pioli (AC Milan)
Since taking over at AC Milan in October 2019, Stefano Pioli has had multiple hurdles to overcome but few could have predicted that his side would be sitting on top of the Serie A table having lost a singular game after 16 matches.
He has already outlasted eight of the previous AC Milan managers after Massimiliano Allegri and more than that, he has brought the Rossoneri back from the dead and they once again look like the club that used to dominate the Italian top-flight.
It has been a very long time since the fans of the Rossoneri would have felt so good about a title challenge but that's what Pioli has delivered. Credit where it's due, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's arrival in January 2020 has had a galvanizing effect on the club and his prolific streak in front of goal has transformed the side.
Pioli has greatly improved Milan's midfield, with Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessie forming a formidable partnership and pulling the strings to great effect at the centre of the park. Pioli has also instilled a winning mentality among his players and these days they go into battle ready to give it their all.
Under Pioli now, each player is aware of his role and his 4-2-3-1 setup seems to be working like a well-oiled machine with Hakan Calhanoglu adding much needed creativity to midfield ahead of the Bennacer-Kessie double pivot.
If they can keep this up, they will surely upset Juventus' plans of winning a tenth consecutive Serie A. As for Stefano Pioli, this is his chance to etch his name into Milan folklore and he definitely looks like he packs the tools to do it.
