Ranking the 20 Best Managers in World Football Right Now

Summary

• There are many incredible managers in world football right now, with both experienced and young managers catching the eye.
• Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Hansi Flick are among the best-performing managers around.
• The 20 best managers on the planet have been ranked based on trophies, success and longevity.

There are many incredible managers in world football at the moment, with some experienced veterans in the game enduring a wonderful 2024, while younger bosses are emerging to stake their claim as the best around in 2025.

With the 2024/25 season almost complete, there has been plenty of time for coaches to stake a claim that they are deserving of a higher spot among other leading tacticians as they enter the crunch periods of the campaign and as such, the rankings have changed to reflect their performances.

With all that said, below is a list of the 20 best managers in football currently, and the following factors have been taken into consideration when trying to order them.

Ranking factors

• Trophies.
• Recent success (Honours won).
• Longevity.
• Performance compared to expectations.
• International managers and out-of-work bosses are ranked lower due to a lack of recent games.

In pictures: The world’s best football managers right now

20Luciano Spalletti

Current team: Unattached

Luciano Spalletti drops to 20th place after being sacked as manager of Italy’s national team in June. The 66-year-old was relieved of his duties after a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Norway in a World Cup qualifier.

It will be fascinating to see whether the vastly-experienced Spalletti, who most recently had spells with Serie A giants Inter Milan and Napoli, still possesses the drive to re-establish his status as one of the world’s elite coaches following this latest setback. But there’s no doubt that the Italian has been one of the best in the business over the past two decades.

19Nuno Espirito Santo

Current team: Nottingham Forest

After Steve Cooper brought Nottingham Forest back to the promised land, it was hard to imagine anyone doing a better job with the team. Up stepped Nuno Espirito Santo, though, who was tipped to struggle with the club once they let Cooper go, but the Portuguese coach has gone from strength to strength at the City Ground.

Nuno was deservedly awarded with a new three-year contract in June after guiding Forest to their highest league finish (seventh) in 30 years, which secured the club European football for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign. Securing Nuno’s services for the foreseeable future represents a huge coup for the Tricky Trees.

18Eddie Howe

Current team: Newcastle United

Eddie Howe enjoyed a season of exceeding all expectations in his first full campaign as he helped bring the return of Champions League football to St James’ Park. That, however, made his job all the more complicated in the following terms as the mega-rich Magpies – under their Saudi premiership – looked to push further.

The project may have needed patience at first, but Howe has already secured his place in Newcastle folklore by guiding the Magpies to their first major honour in 70 years, crushing Liverpool under the iconic Wembley Stadium arches in the League Cup final back in March.

17Gian Piero Gasperini

Current team: AS Roma

A 30-year overnight sensation. That is one way you could describe Gian Piero Gasperini. The 67-year-old Italian has been quietly going about his business, establishing himself as one of the most reliable managers in his native country, doing serviceable jobs without finding any major success until recently.

Having had stints at Genoa, Palermo and a five-game run with Inter Milan, Gasperini took the Atalanta job in 2016 and, eight years after his arrival, picked up the first trophy of his career as his side defeated the unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final. It was the icing on top of the cake for all the good work the veteran coach had done at the club. He was then appointed manager of AS Roma ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

16Luis de la Fuente

Current team: Spain

After working his way up through the Spain youth team, Luis de la Fuente was handed a chance with the nation’s senior team in 2022, and he hasn’t looked back since. Euro 2024 marked a dominant campaign for his team, with the 64-year-old leading them to glory. Having beaten England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final, Spain became the first team ever to win all seven of their games in the major tournament.

After a disappointing few years, the manager turned things around quickly and Spain dominated their opposition in style during the European Championship. With such a talented, young squad at his disposal, it might be wise to start getting used to the idea of the former left-back and his men dominating international football.

15Julian Nagelsmann

Current team: Germany

Despite failing to win Euro 2024 while being the hosts and one of the favourites, big things are still expected from Germany in the future and that’s largely due to the revolutionary ideas of Julian Nagelsmann. Eyebrows were raised when Bayern Munich dismissed the German, as the 37-year-old was doing a commendable job at the time.

Nagelsmann has since been hired by the national team and has won 12 of his first 21 games in charge of Die Mannschaft, including an impressive and dominant victory over France. He has some of the most exciting young players in the world at his disposal, such as Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala, and the young boss’ stock will rise significantly if he helps his country to another major honour.

14Thomas Tuchel

Current team: England

Thomas Tuchel might have left Bayern Munich under a cloud after he was beaten to the Bundesliga title by Bayer Leverkusen, but that has not wrecked his reputation as a top-tier manager. Man United were in talks over potentially appointing him as Erik ten Hag’s replacement until the German pulled out of discussions.

Despite his domestic troubles in the hot seat, Tuchel has a solid track record in Europe and guided the Bavarian outfit into the Champions League semi-final. They were eliminated by Real Madrid, but considering their pedigree in the European competition, it’s hard to hold that loss against Tuchel. The 51-year-old has now been appointed England’s new manager and will be tasked with ending their long, long wait for a major trophy. His time in charge of the Three Lions has gotten off to a positive start too, winning both of his opening matches as manager.

13Didier Deschamps

Current team: France

When adding all of his medals as a player to those in his managerial career, Didier Deschamps must be one of the most successful people in football history. The Frenchman is the definition of a serial winner and proved that at the 2018 World Cup.

Some fans have been known to get impatient with the lack of success in recent international tournaments, but the France manager was a penalty shootout away from retaining the biggest prize in world football in 2022. They did under-perform at Euro 2024 but still made it to the semi-finals. No matter what, France always stand a chance in major tournaments because they have one of the best managers working in international football right now.

12Lionel Scaloni

Current team: Argentina

Everyone knows the biggest achievement of Lionel Scaloni’s stint as a football manager. He will forever be known as the man who helped Lionel Messi complete football by winning the World Cup in 2022. Of course, that doesn’t do enough justice to the overall work he’s done to transform the nation from almost a sleeping giant for many years into a side competing for all the major honours on offer.

The 47-year-old was also at the helm when Argentina defeated Brazil in the Copa America 2021 final and when they beat Colombia in the Copa America 2024 final. He’s been in the job since 2018, taking the role before he hit the age of 40. To have achieved the success he has as such a young manager is worthy of a relatively high place on this list.

11Unai Emery

Current team: Aston Villa

Before the 2023-24 campaign kicked off, very few would have given Aston Villa a chance of securing a Champions League spot, but Unai Emery ensured that the West Midlands outfit finished in the top four. Comparing the state of the Villans now to when the ex-Arsenal boss took over from Steven Gerrard shows just how remarkable this achievement is.

He has been highly regarded as a brilliant tactician after winning multiple European trophies in his career with Sevilla, and Emery nearly added the Europa Conference League to his extensive list of honours before Villa were dismantled by Olympiacos. Nevertheless, he has elevated the likes of John McGinn, Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa to heights that previously looked impossible, which proves the Spaniard is a brilliant man-manager and his side are in the middle of another business end of a season fighting for European football.