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The modern idea of football is extremely different to what it was a decade ago. The sport has evolved in a strange way which has both amused and bemused the viewers. It is purely a result based industry now where it would be quite sensational to find a club sharing the idea of an 'Arsenal-Wenger' type romance with its manager.
Managers are hired and fired consistently in search of glory; just ask Vincenzo Montella, who was sacked twice within 12 months.
However, some managerial appointments turned out to be quite remarkable. With these managers in the dug-out, their teams went on to achieve great heights, and lift some major silverware.
On that note, here are five of the best managerial appointments made over the last decade.
#5 Luis Enrique - FC Barcelona
Enrique was appointed to take up the top job at the Camp Nou after a dreadful 2013-14 season under Gerardo Tata Martino. The Spaniard took the office on 19 May 2014.
Also read: 5 worst managerial appointments over the last decade
In his first season in charge, the boss won the treble with the Catalan club and rescued the club from misery. Notably, the star forward line of Messi, Suarez and Neymar caused havoc in opposing defenses on their way to glory.
However, his non tiki-taka brand of football was not well received by the players and the fans. It was reported that a few players had also fallen out with him.
In his second spell in charge, Enrique inspired the team to a domestic double but constantly kept losing the dressing room battles.
On 1 March 2017, Enrique announced his departure from the club when his contract was due to expire at the end of the season. Barcelona ended the 2016-17 season with only the Copa del Rey, and it appeared to be in the best interest of both parties that a new manager was appointed.
Nevertheless, Enrique won almost 76 percent of his games while in office at the club. He remains one of the best managers to have taken up a job in Spain.
#4 Diego Simeone - Atletico Madrid
Simeone is one of the most underrated managers in the business at the moment. Despite the budget constraints, the Argentine has constantly been delivering in office more than the ones with briefcases recharged in the Middle-East.
The manager was assigned the job in the Spanish capital on 23 December 2011. The same season, he led Atletico to Europa League glory, beating Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the final.
At the start of 2012 season, he added another silverware in the form of UEFA Super Cup, defeating Chelsea 4-1. Later in May, the team won the Copa del Rey after defeating Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Atletico finished third domestically.
The 2013-14 season was remarkable for Simeone as his men went on to lift the La Liga trophy after getting the better of Barcelona at the Camp Nou on the final day of the season.
The team also reached the Champions League final where they faced and lead the mighty Real Madrid by a goal which was equalized only in the dying moments by Los Blancos.
Eventually, Atletico lost 4-1 in added time. The Argentine led his team to another Champions League final in 2015-16 where they faced Real Madrid again and took the game to penalties, only to lose out disappointingly.
Simeone's current contract runs till 2020, and he won another Europa League title last season.
Not bad a record for a manager under such financial constraints.
#3 Jupp Heynckes - FC Bayern Munich
The former Bayern boss makes it to this list courtesy of his third spell at the club which ended in 2013 with him being at the top of European football.
On 25 March 2011, it was announced that Heynckes would be replacing Louis Van Gaal as the manager of Bayern Munich going into the 2011-12 season. The manager was the oldest man in charge in the league at 66.
That season was an absolute disaster for the club as they lost both the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal Cup to rivals Dortmund. However, the team had a Champions League final yet to be played against Chelsea. Bayern infamously lost the final after taking it to penalties.
In the 2012-13 season, Heynckes's men lost just one league game and held the record for the earliest title victory, winning it on 6th April 2013. Bayern owned the record books for their stellar performance during the campaign.
In the Champions League, Bayern thrashed the favourites Barcelona 7–0 in the semis on aggregate to reach a second successive final. The German champions then defeated arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund 2–1 to lift their fifth European title.
The manager added one more piece of silverware in the form of the DFB Pokal Cup, which completed the team's treble. The club appointed Pep Guardiola as the manager's successor in January.
Bayern remain the only German side to have won a treble till date. Heynckes is arguably the best manager Bayern have had in a long time.
#2 Pep Guardiola - FC Barcelona
Magical, mesmerizing, unreal.
This is exactly how each and every football fan describes Guardiola's time as Barcelona's boss till date. In May 2008, Guardiola was appointed manager of the senior Barcelona squad to replace Frank Rijkaard at the end of the 2007-08 season.
He made a huge call by not keeping Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto'o as part of his plans. That sparked the start of a new era at the club, as their brand of football was simply flawless.
Guardiola's men destroyed Real Madrid 6-2 at the Bernabeu on their road to the Spanish title. They then completed a treble win as they defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League final, with the Copa del Rey title being more or less a formality for them.
Pep finished the calendar year 2009 with six trophies, becoming the only manager in history to do so. He was also the youngest one to coach a Champions League winning team.
2009-10 was relatively dull for him in terms of silverware as he only lifted the La Liga trophy. But in the following season, the team went on to clinch a second Champions League title in three years by defeating Manchester United yet again.
In May 2011, Barcelona won the Spanish top flight title - the club's third in a row. But the 2011-12 season saw Guardiola face much criticism for his tactics as Barcelona missed out on the Champions League and La Liga.
However, he won the Copa del Rey as his final and 14th trophy as Barca manager, making him the most successful manager in the club's history.
On 27 April 2012, Guardiola announced he would step down as Barcelona's coach at the end of the season. Those four years will never be forgotten by the Catalans.
#1 Zinedine Zidane - Real Madrid
Los Blancos have been an unstoppable force in the past few years, and much of the credit goes to their former boss - Zinedine Zidane.
The French legend took the top job after a coaching spell with the Real Madrid Castilla in 2016. On 4 January 2016, Real Madrid announced him as the man to replace Rafael Benitez.
In his first El Clasico, Zidane ended Barcelona's 39 match unbeaten run. Real finished the season as the runners up to their arch-rivals domestically, but clinched their 11th European title by defeating Atletico Madrid on penalties.
Zidane thus became the seventh individual to lift the trophy both as a player and a manager. In 2016-17, the boss had an astonishing win record, and went unbeaten for 40 straight games, eclipsing Barca's achievement in the previous season.
In the same season, Los Blancos lifted their 33rd La Liga title and the FIFA Club World Cup, with the Champions League final yet to be played in Cardiff against Juventus. The Spanish giants thrashed the Italians 4-1 to become the first team to defend the UEFA Champions League crown.
This was Real's 12th European Cup and they were simply unstoppable. Zidane's success saw him named Best FIFA Men's Coach in 2017.
In the 2017-18 season, the manager was severely criticized for his tactics which lacked organisation. At one point in the season, Real were outside the top four domestically.
Mid-way through the season, the Champions League was left to be their only ray of hope. But the best was still to come. Zidane's men booked a spot in the UCL final against Liverpool after defeating Bayern Munich.
Real brought their A-game into the match and defeated the Merseyside team 3-1. Zidane thus became the first manager to win the trophy in three consecutive seasons.
On 31 May, five days after the Champions League final, Zidane announced his resignation as Real Madrid manager.
It was truly a golden era experienced by the Bernabeu faithful.
