2025: Top 10 football coaches in the World

As a tactical game, football requires great minds that can always bring forth new ideas and train excellently. The top football coaches discussed in this article are experienced men who understand the nitty-gritty of the game. According to softfootball,  the coaches working for clubs are the ones considered other than national team managers who have fewer games to handle. 

Below are the top football coaches in the world as listed by SportsDunia:

1. Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)

Carlo Ancelotti, born on 10 June 1959, is the top football coach in the world. He is an Italian professional football coach who manages the Spanish giant team, Real Madrid. He began his career in an Italian club called Parma, where he played as a midfielder and helped the club move to Serie B in the 1978 to 1979 season. 

He is regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time. In the history of the UEFA Champions League, Ancelotti won the trophy five times and twice as a player. He has also won the World Cup three times.

2. Arne Slot (Liverpool)

Arne Slot is a professional Dutch football manager who is currently the head coach of Liverpool FC in England.  Slot, who was born on 17th September 1978, started his career at Bergenthrim in Nertherland before moving to FC Zwolle — where he got into the first team. After he retired from playing football in 2013, he became the assistant coach of Henk de Jong. 

In 2024, he was officially pronounced the new coach of Liverpool, replacing Jurgen Klopp. He is the first Liverpool manager to win his first game since 1998 and the first Liverpool coach to win 11 out of 12 matches at the start of a season. He is currently regarded as one of the best football coaches in the world.

3. Xabi Alonso (Bayer Leverkusen)

Xabi Alonso, born on the 25th of November 1981 is a Spanish professional football coach and former player born 25 November 1981. He is often recognised as one of the best young football managers in the world. 

Alonso who is considered to be one of the best midfielders of his time started his career with Real Sociedad, then made his international debut for Spain in 2003. During Euro 2012, he won his 100th cap for Spain and retired from international football after the 2014 World Cup. Alonso became the head coach for Bayer Leverkusen in 2022.

READ ALSO: 2024: Top 10 richest football clubs in the world

4. Simone Inzaghi (Inter Milan)

Simone Inzaghi is the current coach of the Serie A club, Inter Milan. He was born on 5 April 1976. He is a professional who started his career in 1994, playing for Piacenza, then was loaned to several clubs where he won multiple titles. 

In 2016,  Inzaghi began his coaching career with Lazio; he joined Inter Milan in 2021. He has won a Serie A title, Coppa Italia titles, and three consecutive Supercoppa.

5. Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)

Pep Guardiola is a professional football manager and former player born on 18 January 1971. He is referenced as one of the greatest managers of all time. He spent most of his career at Barcelona and was part of the team that won the club’s first cup in 1992. 

After Guardiola retired from playing football, he managed Barcelona B, then Bayern Munich, before leaving for Manchester City in 2016 and has won six Premier League titles.

6. Antonio Conte (Napoli)

Antonio Conte is the coach of Serie A club Napoli and former football player born 31 July 1969. He started as a midfielder with club Lecce and later rose to become one of the most honoured and influential players in the history of Juventus. 

Conte won one UEFA Cup, Coppa Italia, and five Serie A titles during this period. His coaching career started in 2006; he worked with Juventus and won three Serie A titles consecutively. He joined Napoli in 2024.

7. Hansi Flick (FC Barcelona)

Hansi Flick is a German football coach working for FC Barcelona and a former player of Bayern Munich, SV Sandhausen, and FC Koln. His managerial debut was with Victoria Bammental then Hoffenheim — which he successfully led. 

Between 2006 to 2014, Flick was the assistant coach of the German national team under Joachim Low. He became the director of the German Football Association from 2014 to 2017. He was appointed as the manager of FC Barcelona in 2024.

8. Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)

Diego Simeone was born 28 April 1970. He is a former Argentine football player and now the manager of Atletico Madrid. Simeone played in Spain, Italy, and Argentina after his debut in 1987. He has coached various clubs such as River Plate, San Lorenzo, Estudiantes, Catania and then joined Atletico Madrid in 2011. 

He transformed Madrid; the team became a big competitor, breaking records. Simeone has won La Liga twice, two UEFA Europa Leagues and the Cola del Rey. He is the longest serving coach in La Liga.

9. Unai Emery (Aston Villa)

Unai Emery is a former Spanish football player and manager of Aston Villa. He played for Spain’s Segunda Division for years before retiring in 2004 and proceeding to coach. 

He was appointed the head coach of Arsenal in 2018; succeeding Arsene Wenger. He was later dismissed and hired by Villarreal where he won the Europa League. In 2022, he was appointed as Aston Villa coach.

10. Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)

Mikel Arteta was born 26 March 1982. He is a former player and coach of Premier League club, Arsenal. Arteta started at Barcelona in 1999 then moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2001 where he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

In 2002, he joined Rangers, then left for Arsenal in 2011 — he won two FA Cups before retiring in 2016. The same year, he was appointed assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before being appointed as coach for Arsenal in 2019 and won the FA Cup in his debut season.