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Bob Paisley, Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane have 3 of them. Sir Alex Ferguson has two of them, as does Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. Even Roberto Di Matteo has one.
The Champions League is a hallmark of excellence and sheds its stardust on every hand that lifts it. This includes the players, the club and most notably, the manager.
Every manager wants to have the Champions League in his CV, however, not everyone can win it. Only five active managers have won the coveted trophy more than once, which highlights what a rare breed the Champions League winning managers belong to.
The trophy is not easy to earn, it requires the perfect blend of talent, luck and management techniques to be the best in Europe. However, there are a few exceptional managers right now who have not been able to lift the Champions League trophy yet.
They have found success at their respective clubs, some at more than one clubs. Some have even won quite a few silverware; however, the premier European Club Competition still eludes them.
Today, we take a look at the top 5 current managers who have not won the Champions League yet:
#5 Maurizio Sarri
Sarri has played a total of 14 UEFA Champions League games, with two more qualifying stage games. He has won just 5 of those 14 games, drawing 2 and losing 7.
It is not a record deserving of his managerial qualities. The move to Chelsea should improve his record, however, the Italian will have to wait for at least a season, because Chelsea are currently in the Europa League, having missed the coveted Champions League spots last season.
Maurizio Sarri moved to football management in 1990 at U.S.D. Stia 1925, but it was not until he moved to Empoli in the Serie B in 2012 that he first attracted attention. He also earned them promotion to Serie A in his second season and in his third season, his club successfully managed to avoid relegation.
He moved to Napoli in June 2015 and in his 3 seasons, Napoli finished second twice and third once, as the Sarri Ball revolution brought Napoli to within touching distance of the Serie A – in his last season, Napoli finished just 4 points behind Juventus in second.
It was the performance which earned him a high profile job at Stamford. However, his record in the UEFA Champions League hasn’t been too impressive.
#4 Jurgen Klopp
The German manager started his career at Mainz 05 but earned much recognition after joining Borrusia Dortmund in 2008. At Dortmund, he won back to back Bundesliga titles, and also won the DFB-Pokal, and DFL Supercup, however, the Champions League eluded him.
He did manage to lead Dortmund to the finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2013 against Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich but lost the game 2-1. In 2015, Klopp moved to Anfield to take charge at Liverpool and guided them to the 2018 UEFA Champions League final, only to taste defeat again, this time at the hands of Real Madrid.
Klopp’s statistics in the Champions League is quite decent, he has overseen 50 games in the tournament in his career, winning 25 of them and losing 15. He was also involved in 2 qualifying matches and won both of them.
This season, Liverpool have been off the blocks quickly. They have strengthened one of their weak points from the Champions league final – signing talented goalkeeper Alisson at the start of the season and are unbeaten so far.
Klopp will be hoping that he can finally break his Champions League jinx and with a talented Liverpool side backing him, the onus is on the German Manager to justify his abilities.
#3 Unai Emery
The current Arsenal Boss has a phenomenal record in the Europa League, winning the title 3 times in succession with Sevilla. However, the Spaniard’s record in UEFA Champions League is a tad underwhelming. In the 41 matches he has appeared as a manager, he lost 16 and won 17.
Emery first appeared in the Champions League with Valencia in the 2010/11 season, where he won 3 of the 8 games played and reached the last 16. Next season, Valencia were eliminated from the group stages of the tournament.
Emery then moved to Spartak Moscow and with them, he won just 1 of the 5 Champions League games, getting eliminated in the group stages again. The Spaniard returned to the Champions League with Sevilla in the 15/16 season, but ended the group stages in 3rd position, entering the UEFA Europa League, which he won for the third time.
In the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, Emery reached the last 16 with PSG, winning 9 of the 16 games and losing just 4.
The Spaniard’s record in the Champions League has improved in recent times, however, those statistics will have to wait as he is currently involved in the UEFA Europa League with Arsenal.
Emery will be hoping to repeat his success in the tournament this season and build on the preparation to have an extended run in the Champions League next season.
#2 Massimiliano Allegri
The Italian has spent 8 seasons in the Champions League, reaching the finals on 2 occasions, however, Allegri has been unable to lift the trophy yet. The current Juventus Manager has 5 Serie A titles to his name, along with a host of other trophies, but the big one has eluded him so far and it is not for lack of trying.
As the manager of Milan, Allegri managed 32 games in the Champions League, winning just 10 of them. The farthest he had gone in the tournament in that time was the Quarterfinals in the 11/12 season.
When he took the job at Turin, his record in the tournament significantly improved. Since moving to Juventus, he has managed 45 games in the tournament, winning 25 of them and losing just 8.
In the 2014/15 season, Juventus lost just 2 games as they reached the finals, only to be defeated at the hands of Barcelona. In the 2016/17 season, Allegri did even better, losing just 1 game in the entire tournament, however, it was the all-important final at the hands of Real Madrid.
This season, buoyed by the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Italian will be hoping to finally get his hands on the holy grail.
#1 Diego Simeone
The charismatic Argentinean first appeared in the Champions League as a manager with Atletico Madrid in the 2013/14 season and managed to lit up the tournament. His team won 9 of the 12 games, drawing the other 3, as they reached the finals of the tournament, only to come up against local rivals Real Madrid.
They were seconds away from lifting the title, before finally succumbing to a 4-1 defeat in Extra Time. Simeone would take them to the finals again two years later, only to be undone by their local rivals for the second time, as Real Madrid lifted the title at Atletico'sexpense, this time on penalties.
In the 2016/17 season, Atletico Madrid reached the semi-finals, whereas last season, they were eliminated to the Europa League, but ended up winning that tournament.
Simeone has managed 55 games in the Champions League, winning 31 and losing just 11 and even though his team have been a regular in the tournament in recent times, the Argentinean has never lifted the trophy.
He will be hoping for all that to change again this season and having broken the duopoly of Barcelona and Real Madrid in the La Liga successfully since his arrival, Simeone deserves to get his hands on the Champions League soon.
