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From making team selections, formulating strategies, conducting training sessions and motivating players during games, a football manager has his hands full.
Football managers also have a say in the transfer policies of a club - the players they would like to sign and the ones they would like to jettison. In that backdrop, it's not surprising that a football manager often gets the boot when their team fails to produce the desired results.
At some clubs, merely delivering results isn't enough. The style of football that the team plays is also taken into cognisance. Many football managers in recent times have been ousted even after delivering titles: former Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri is a notable example in this regard.
In the cut-throat world of professional football, a manager is expected to deliver results from the get-go. Long gone are the days when they were allowed time to build their legacies at a club and develop a squad that could compete for the biggest titles. In this regard, the likes of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Pep Guardiola at Manchester City are glorious anomalies.
In modern-day football, managers need to hit the ground running, be on their toes at all times and exhibit tactical flexibility to outplay and outmanoeuvre the opposition because there is a lot at stake, both literally and figuratively.
Five most successful football managers since the turn of the century
Many football managers become synonymous with a particular playing style for their preference of the same.
Pep Guardiola made his name at Barcelona for his tiki-taka football, Klopp became renowned for his gegenpressing while Jose Mourinho became famous (infamous?) for introducing the 'parking the bus' style of play to frustrate creative and more skilful opposition.
Regardless of their individual preferences in terms of tactics and formations, these men and a few others have been the most successful in the highest echelons of the sport since the turn of the century. On that note, let us have a look at the five most successful football managers in the 21st century (not necessarily in terms of the trophies they delivered).
Without further ado, let's get started.
#5 Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is one of the most decorated managers in world football. The Italian has delivered league titles at four top-five leagues in Europe and is one of a handful of managers to have won the Champions League with two different teams.
Ancelotti, who has managed the likes of AC Milan, Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris St. Germain and Chelsea, to name a few, is currently at the helm of English club Everton, who were one of the surprise early leaders in the Premier League this season.
The first manager to win three Champions League titles exhibited a proclivity for heavy-pressing football during his early managerial days. However, Ancelotti became tactically flexible in due course that has allowed him to prosper at top clubs in many different countries.
The 61-year-old has worked with some of the finest players in the world like Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski, drawing the highest of praises for his exemplary man-management skills and for allowing creative players to express themselves.
#4 Zinedine Zidane
After a glorious playing career, Zinedine Zidane took to senior club football management like a fish to water.
In his first managerial stint with Real Madrid, the mercurial Frenchman delivered a hat-trick of Champions League titles in as many years - a first in the near three-decade Champions League era - amidst a rich haul of other domestic and continental honours.
Although he hasn't managed a club other than the Spanish giants, that doesn't take anything away from his pedigree and tactical nous.
In his second stint at the Bernabeu, Zidane impressively turned around the fortunes of the club that was reeling from a lack of goals and creativity after the exit of record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer of 2018.
The Frenchman has exhibited remarkable tactical flexibility - a hallmark of a successful football manager - as he transformed Real Madrid, a team that was never renowned for its defensive resilience, into one of the finest defensive teams in club football.
Zidane has also endeared himself to the Madrid faithful by delivering results at the home of arch-rivals Barcelona. After a 1-3 win in the 2020-21 La Liga, he is now unbeaten in a staggering six El Clasico games at the Camp Nou.
#3 Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola, one of the finest football managers in the sport, was also a fabulous player during his playing days.
After taking over the reins of a big club like Barcelona despite having no prior managerial experience, the former player ushered in an era of unprecedented success at the Camp Nou.
During a successful four-year stint, Guardiola became renowned for tiki-taka football as he became the first person in the Champions League era to win the competition both as a player and as a manager while also delivering Barcelona's first-ever continental treble.
The Spanish tactician has since won domestic honours galore at Bavarian giants Bayern Munich and at his present club Manchester City, despite another Champions League title being conspicuous by its absence.
Nevertheless, Guardiola has received high praise from the likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Robert Lewandowski, Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany for his tactical acumen and managerial skills.
#2 Jose Mourinho
Unlike all other managers in this list, Jose Mourinho rose to the highest echelons of football management despite having no prior playing experience at the top level.
After winning the Champions League with unfancied Porto in 2004, Mourinho has since managed some of the best clubs in world football like Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
The Portuguese tactician won the continental treble with Inter in 2010 to join an exclusive group of men to have won the Champions League title with two different clubs.
Renowned for his tactical prowess, game-management skills and flexibility, Mourinho, despite not being the most-loved manager in the football world, has delivered the goods at many top clubs.
The current Tottenham Hotspur manager has won league titles with the likes of Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid, although, like Guardiola, he hasn't won another Champions League title in almost a decade.
#1 Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the most decorated football managers in the history of the sport.
During a long and illustrious stint at Manchester United, Ferguson transformed the fortunes of the Old Trafford club, lifting them from mid-table mediocrity to the most successful team in Premier League history while also delivering on the European stage.
The legendary Scot also deserves credit for honing an unpolished diamond like Cristiano Ronaldo and transforming him into one of the finest players to have ever graced the game of football.
Such has been his impact at Manchester United that the club hasn't managed to win another Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson won his 38th title at the club and 13th league title in the Premier League era.
