Ranking Real Madrid's top 5 managers of all time

Zinedine Zidane has achieved success as Real Madrid manager
Zinedine Zidane has achieved success as Real Madrid manager

#3 Jose Villalonga

Jose Villalonga is the youngest manager to win the European Cup when he won the first edition with Real Madrid
Jose Villalonga is the youngest manager to win the European Cup when he won the first edition with Real Madrid

Real Madrid and the European Cup have an intertwined history, and it all dates back to the Spanish giants winning the first-ever edition of the tournament in 1956.

Villalonga was appointed midway through the 1954-55 season. He helped the club win a double in his first season in charge.

This saw Real Madrid partake in the first edition of the European Cup. Los Blancos made it all the way to the final where they defeated Reims 4-3 in Paris.

Jose Villalonga was aged just 36 years and 184 days, making him the youngest manager to win the trophy to date. He successfully defended the continental crown as well as the La Liga title. He also won two Copa Latinas during his time in charge at the club.

He departed Real Madrid with a win percentage of 62.86% in two-and-half years, which underlines just how impressive his tenure as a manager was.

#2 Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane was the first manager to successfully retain the Champions League
Zinedine Zidane was the first manager to successfully retain the Champions League

Few players successfully transition from being great players to becoming great managers but Zinedine Zidane has done so as effortlessly as he controlled games from midfield in his heyday.

The World Cup winner is unarguably one of the greatest players in history and won everything winnable in a playing career that was littered with accolades.

However, it can be argued that his spell on the sidelines has been even more impressive.

The Frenchman took over the Real Madrid reins in the middle of what was a chaotic season. He ended the campaign by winning the club's 11th UEFA Champions League crown.

A year later, he successfully retained the title, becoming the first man in history to achieve this feat since the tournament's rebranding. He even went one further by making it a three-peat in 2018.

Zidane shockingly resigned during his press conference celebrating the third continental crown. However, he returned a year later and guided the club to La Liga glory in 2020.

In total, the 48-year-old has won 11 major trophies as Real Madrid boss and, rather remarkably, is yet to lose any final he has contested as a manager.

#1 Miguel Munoz

Miguel Munoz is the longest-serving and most successful manager in Real Madrid's history (Image credit: Realmadrid.com)
Miguel Munoz is the longest-serving and most successful manager in Real Madrid's history (Image credit: Realmadrid.com)

Miguel Munoz was the first man to win the European Cup as a player and manager, having captained Real Madrid to consecutive victories in 1956 and 1957.

He also scored the club's first goal in the European Cup and retired in 1958, having represented Los Blancos in over 300 matches.

His managerial spell was even more productive. He guided the club to two more European Cup triumphs in 1960 and 1966, in addition to nine La Liga crowns (including five in a row between 1961 and 1965).

He was also charged with transitioning the team from the golden era of Alfredo di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Raymond Kopa into the new blood of Amancio Amaro, Santillana and Ignacio Zoco.

Munoz achieved this and made the team competitive, despite the departure of those iconic players.

He left the club in 1974 after spending 16 years at the helm, winning 14 major trophies. This makes him the longest-serving and most successful manager in Real Madrid's history.

For context, between 1955 and 1960 Real Madrid had seven coaches, while the next longest tenure as Los Blancos manager after Munoz is a paltry four years.

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