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Finding the right manager for a club can be a difficult task. Managers have their own footballing philosophies, tactics and styles of play. These things are usually reflective of a lot of things ranging from the manager's personality to the resources at his disposal.
A lot of managers prefer the possession-based style of play where long balls are frowned upon. Teams build from the back in a patient manner by stitching passes together and weaving their way forward using intricate patterns of play.
There are other managers whose priority is damage limitation. So they take the pragmatic and defensive route. They put as many players behind the ball as they can afford to and look to capitalize on the mistakes of the other team. Each and every kind of system and managers have their merits.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the most tactically astute managers in the world.
#5 Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
Diego Simeone's arrival at Atletico Madrid had a galvanizing effect on the club. The Argentine had won two league titles in his native country prior to his arrival in Spain. However, he had his work cut out trying to go shoulder to shoulder with two of Europe's biggest powerhouses, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
With the kind of resources he has had at his disposal, 'Cholo' Simeone has done a stellar job. He won the La Liga title with the Rojiblancos for the second time in 2020-21. Simeone has turned Atletico Madrid into one of the toughest and most defensively formidable units in all of Europe.
Simeone's pragmatic approach has become synonymous with Atletico Madrid. He sticks to a 4-4-2 formation and tweaks it during games to suit the need of the hour. Being compact in defence and hitting teams on the counter are hallmarks of Simeone's side.
In attack, Atletico shift to a 4-2-2-2 fluid formation with their forwards going out wide to create more space to facilitate faster movement. Simeone also utilises counter pressing, which is a way of eliminating passing options available to the player in possession and thereby disrupting their build-up play.
#4 Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Like Diego Simeone, Jurgen Klopp had to work with limited resources. He did it at Borussia Dortmund and he's been doing it at Liverpool as well. Klopp's 'gegenpressing' system, whereby teams hurriedly look to win back possession immediately after losing it, has proven to be very effective.
Klopp reached the Champions League final with Liverpool in successive seasons, winning it in their second attempt in 2018-19. He won the Premier League title a year later in 2019-20.
Of course, such a system wouldn't work without players who have a lot of stamina and discipline. So Klopp grooms his players to be physically and tactically adept. His system has also evolved to accommodate more of a possession-based style of play.
Klopp generally uses a 4-3-3 formation where full-backs push high up the pitch and are heavily involved in playmaking. They move the ball up the pitch at a high-tempo and the forwards are always looking to run off the shoulders of defenders and get in behind them. So a long ball floated into their paths is not a rarity either.
#3 Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Roberto Mancini took over as manager of the Italian national football team in 2018 and has since turned their fortunes around. Italy were crowned the champions of Europe this past summer and they're currently undefeated in their last 37 games.
Mancini has managed Fiorentina, Lazio, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Galatasaray and Zenit St. Petersburg. He has won trophies at all clubs except for Zenit St. Petersburg and that is a testament to the tactical mastermind that he is.
For the Italian national side, Mancini has developed a version of the 4-3-3 formation. This allows him to play possession-based offensive-minded football. At the same time, Mancini wants his teams to be solid defensively and is usually categorized as a 'pragmatic' coach rather than an adventurous one.
#2 Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea)
Towards the end of Frank Lampard's tenure at Chelsea, the team looked pretty ordinary on the pitch. But after taking over in the last week of January, Thomas Tuchel immediately transformed Chelsea into the most defensively solid side in Europe.
His effect was so profound that even Chelsea players who were in the doghouse under the previous manager suddenly became undroppable. The Blues went on to win the Champions League and it was in no short part thanks to Thomas Tuchel's tactical ingenuity.
Tuchel uses a three-man defence with wing-backs pushing high up the pitch and almost working as attackers. His teams attack and defend in fives. When going forward, the centre-backs and the defensive midfielders stay behind to contain counter attacks.
At the same time, the attacking midfielders, strikers and wing-backs will cause an overload in and around the box. As a result, Tuchel's side hardly ever gets exposed or look vulnerable. They always have an adequate number of players committed on either side of the pitch.
Tuchel is more of a coach than a manager and that shows in the way his teams set up and play their game. He has been quite successful too. Prior to joining Chelsea, Tuchel won the Ligue 1 title twice with Paris Saint-Germain and took them to the UEFA Champions League final in the 2019-20 season as well.
#1 Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
Pep Guardiola is a tactical genius. He was the manager of Barcelona between 2008 and 2012, when the Catalans were nearly unstoppable in Europe. They won the La Liga thrice and the Champions League twice during the years he was in charge.
After a successful stint at Bayern Munich, Guardiola was appointed manager of Manchester City. Guardiola has grown in reputation as one of the most tactically astute managers in the world since coming to the Premier League.
Guardiola ensures his team is replete with technically proficient players who are excellent with the ball at their feet. Even the current Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson is widely renowned for his distribution and adeptness in possession.
Fortunately for Guardiola, he has only worked at clubs where he gets the sort of financial backing he needs to build such a team. He uses a possession-based style of play and employs intense high pressing when out of possession.
Guardiola also uses training ground automations to intricately break down low-blocks since teams often take a defensive approach while going against City. The Spaniard has won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and four League Cups in his Manchester City stint so far.
