Top 10 managers of the 2017/18 season

#9 Eusebio Di Francesco

Eusebio Di Francesco brought a mental toughness in Roma

No, they didn't win anything, but season 2017-18 will nevertheless be a season they won't forget for long. A fine debut season for Eusebio Di Francesco who built a team that could threaten champions with a meagre finance and quality of the squad, finishing 3rd in a nail-biting Serie A campaign.

Di Francesco has brought a much required mental toughness to a squad of promising players. And make no mistake, this comes after Roma lost a host of stars like Mo Salah, Antonio Rudiger, Emerson Palmieri and Thomas Vermaelen, while club legend Francesco Totti hung up his boots at the start of the season.

A fine testament to their mentality was the game that left Barcelona stunned and out of the Champions League. The Catalans entered the match with a 4-1 advantage following the first leg, but Di Francesco's men gathered a deserved applause throughout the globe with a 3-0 victory, thereby advancing to the UCL semi-finals. Even against Liverpool, Roma were a whisker away from completing another historic comeback as they waved goodbye to the competition with a 7-6 scoreline over two legs.

While their Champions League campaign exceeded expectations, the Italians have a lot of room for improvement in the domestic competitions. If Di Francesco can bring consistency in the performances of his players, why, the Giallorossi could be a force to reckon sooner than later in the football world.