20 Managers With the Most Points in Champions League History.
The Champions League has showcased some of the greatest managers in football history since its inception. Given that the competition hosts the very best in Europe, the footballing ideologies are bound to be vastly different from Spain through to Ukraine and there will be varying levels of success as a result.
What has been evident over the years is that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for success, as this diversity of styles has enabled numerous managers to achieve incredible results. But which managers have claimed the most victories? GIVEMESPORT has the answer as we rank the 20 managers with the highest points accrued in the Champions League era.
10
Ottmar Hitzfeld
171 points
Ottmar Hitzfeld as Bayern Munich manager
A two-time winner of the competition. Ottmar Hitzfeld is one of the most decorated German managers in the country’s history. having earned his stripes at the likes of FC Aarau and Grasshoppers, his big break would come at Borussia Dortmund where he would win the club’s only Champions League title in 1997 which is still regarded as one of the biggest upsets in European Cup history.
He would eventually move on to domestic rivals Bayern Munich and lead them to the final in 1999, where they suffered one the most famous losses to Manchester United. He made up for it two years later as the Bavarians got their hands on the trophy. Hitzfeld finished his career amassing 171 points in the Champions League.
9
Rafael Benitez
182 points
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez looks frustrated on the touchline.
Rafael Benitez’s finest hour in management came in the UEFA Champions League, and there’s no prize for guessing what it was. With Liverpool 3-0 down at half-time to an AC Milan side full of world-class names like Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo and Kaka, the Spaniard managed to completely turn things around and come away with the trophy after winning on penalties.
Benitez was known as a tactical manager, and his nous was on full display in Istanbul. While he would never be able to replicate that success, his 182 points earn him ninth place.
8
Louis van Gaal
187 points
Louis van Gaal in action as Manchester United manager
While more recent fans of football may know Louis van Gaal for his press conference blunders and other antics while in charge of Manchester United, the Dutchman does have a storied history in European football that includes reigns as Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager.
The 73-year-old is currently acting as an advisor for Ajax, the same club with which he achieved his only Champions League triumph back in 1995 in a team that boasted the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Clarence Seedorf and a teenage Patrick Kluivert. In total, Van Gaal has accrued a respectable 187 points in the competition.
7
Jurgen Klopp
189 points
klopp sanchez pizjuan-1
The Champions League has been a competition that has caused Jurgen Klopp a lot of heartbreak down the years. While the German was finally able to win the competition in 2019 with Liverpool, he has also finished as a runner-up on three occasions – once with Borussia Dortmund and twice with the Merseysiders.
With that being said, in order to get to the final, Klopp’s teams have had to rack up plenty of wins, which they well and truly have done throughout the years, leaving him on 189 points. While many would figure this will continue to grow at some point, it is unknown when that will be, with the former defender taking time away from management to become the head of global football for Red Bull.
6
Diego Simeone
193 points
Diego Simeone
What Diego Simeone has managed to achieve in Europe’s elite competition, despite not managing what most would describe as one of the biggest teams on the continent, is truly astonishing. The two-time finalist has turned Atletico Madrid into a team that can never be ruled out of contention, even when they aren’t at their best.
Though the Argentine has never lifted the famous trophy, with a stoppage-time Sergio Ramos equaliser in 2014 putting a stop to that when it seemed within his reach, he has still recorded 193 points during his time managing in the competition.
5
Jose Mourinho
276 points
Jose Mourinho smiling
The first man to break above the 200-point barrier, Jose Mourinho’s career arguably would not be where it is today without the Champions League. As a promising young manager in Portugal, the ‘Special One’ shocked the world by winning the 2003/2004 edition of the tournament with Porto.
He managed the same feat six years later, taking an unfavoured Inter Milan team past the dominant force of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and then beating Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabéu in his final game before making the stadium his permanent home at Real Madrid.
4
Arsene Wenger
308 points
Arsene Wenger
The manager to have picked up the most points without ever winning the Champions League is Arsene Wenger. The revolutionary former Arsenal coach only took the Gunners to one final, where they lost to a Ronaldinho-led Barcelona in 2006. It was his failure to conquer Europe that saw Jamie Carragher rank him as only the fifth-best manager in Premier League history.
What Wenger excelled at, however, was ensuring Arsenal consistently qualified for the tournament, even when they weren’t at their best. He managed to secure top-four finishes in 19 consecutive seasons across three separate decades, which helped him amass a total of 308 points.
3
Sir Alex Ferguson
365 points
Sir Alex Ferguson with the Champions League trophy
The legendary manager always believed he could never consider himself truly great until he had won the European Cup. He finally reached that milestone during Manchester United’s famous treble-winning season in 1999, with one of the most dramatic winners in all of football.
Being the winner he was, Sir Alex Ferguson still felt it wasn’t enough and sought a second title, which he claimed in 2008. Unfortunately for Ferguson, his perfect record in European finals ended with defeats to Barcelona in both 2009 and 2011. Nevertheless, throughout his storied career, he managed more than enough wins. The Scot finished with 365 Champions League points, securing his place on the podium.
2
Pep Guardiola
370 points
Pep Guardiola with the Champions League trophy
Ferguson started the 2024/25 season in second place on this list, but while Manchester City have not had a stellar European campaign at the time of writing, they have done enough for Pep Guardiola to move five points clear into second—a gap that is only expected to grow.
A two-time winner with Barcelona, it often felt as though an albatross hung around Guardiola’s neck, with critics pointing out that he hadn’t won the trophy for a third time without Lionel Messi’s magic to help him. However, after years of trial and error, he finally returned to the summit in 2023 as the Cityzens beat Inter Milan to secure their own treble, further cementing the legacy of their great manager.
1
Carlo Ancelotti
407 points
Carlo Ancelotti hoisting the Champions League trophy aloft
The man with the most Champions League trophies as a manager also claims the top spot when it comes to overall points. The great Carlo Ancelotti has done it all during his time on the sidelines, managing a plethora of the biggest teams in the world.
His five triumphs are split across two clubs – AC Milan and Real Madrid. The latter is even more impressive, as he left the Bernabeu only to return and win the title twice in three years. There is hardly any stopping the Italian in Europe, and while his time at the top may be limited, he will surely be eyeing up plenty more points to add to his remarkable tally.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt – accurate as of 06/01/2024
