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5. Diego Simeone
Teams managed this decade - Catania, Racing Club, Atletico Madrid
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At the time of writing, Diego Simeone is the longest-serving manager for any club in the top 5 leagues of Europe, having been in charge of Atletico Madrid since 2011. It takes a special level of dedication and ability to manage one team from the depths of mediocrity to the biggest glories of Europe, which is something Simeone can proudly claim to have done.
Simeone is one of the most entertaining and dynamic characters in world football. Resembling more a gritty war veteran than the manager of a top football club, the former Catania manager is a tough-as-boots personality who loves his defence more than he loves his all-black suits.
A common feature of Simeone's teams is defensive compactness and quick counter-attacks. The manager chooses to focus a lot on the former, and for a while in the middle of this decade, no team in Europe could match Atletico's defensive prowess or break down their "bus". The Argentine international has often come under fire for playing too defensive a brand of football, which does not please the eye, but by the looks of it, he cares about that as much as he does about conducting himself in front of the camera. (*that* famous celebration against Juventus, anyone?)
When Simeone took over Atletico, the club was languishing in mid-table and struggling to make a name for themselves. Five years later, the club had reached two Champions League finals, won the Europa League, and broken the Barca-Madrid hegemony over the La Liga title as they captured the crown in the 2013-14 season. Atletico secured another Europa League victory in 2018, and if Simeone had managed to win even one of his two Champions League finals, he would have ranked higher on this list.
Nevertheless, the former River Plate coach has transformed Atletico into one of the best teams in Europe. However, it looks unlikely that the team will reach the heights it did in 2013-14, and if the Atletico-Simeone marriage is to end any time soon, it might change the face of world football in the years to come.
