Ranking the best managers of the 2000s

Browse By

  • Since the 2000s, many talented coaches have emerged.
  • Many have made their name and are still working as team managers today.
  • These 10 trainers are considered to have done the best work of their time.
Ranking the best managers of the 2000s

One of the highlights of the 2000s was FC Porto’s Champions League triumph in 2004, led by a young and confident coach, José Mourinho, who soon moved to Chelsea and declared himself “The Special One”.

However, there is little doubt that Mourinho is one of the best managers of the 2000s, and today we take a look at some of the other great managers who left a mark during that time.

10. Guus Hiddink

It wasn’t just his huge success at club ยูฟ่าเบท https://ufabet999.app level, and most notably with PSV Eindhoven, that Hiddink enjoyed a breakthrough on the international stage in the 2000s too, with the Dutchman guiding South Korea to the semi-finals of the 2000 World Cup and Australia to their first World Cup in 32 years in 2006 before guiding Russia to the semi-finals of Euro 2008.

9. Fabio Capello

Capello managed three of England’s biggest clubs before taking over as England manager in 2007. Despite a disappointing five-year spell with the Three Lions, his club record remains impressive, with seven league titles with AC Milan, Real Madrid and Roma.

8. Arsene Wenger

Arsenal went 49 Premier League games unbeaten in the early 2000s, which earned Wenger’s side the nickname ‘The Invincibles’. The Gunners of 2003/04 combined fine attacking play with a solid defence and amassed 90 points that season, with second-placed Chelsea 11 points behind.

7. Louis van Gaal

Van Gaal was once described as “the best coach in the world”, having enjoyed great success with Ajax in the 1990s and, although his international career has been tarnished, he became the first Dutch coach to win the Bundesliga title when he managed Bayern Munich in the 2009-10 season.

6. Ottmar Hitzfeld

Hitzfeld took over at Bayern in 1998 and, despite a late Champions League final defeat to Manchester United a year later, returned in 2001 to lead the Bavarians to victory, winning a total of 18 major trophies during his managerial career.

5. Carlo Ancelotti

“Don Carlo” won several league titles with several clubs and countries, and in the 2000s he was part of AC Milan’s golden era that won numerous trophies, including the UEFA Champions League in 2003.

4. Giovanni Trapattoni

“Il Trapp” enjoyed a decade of greatness with Juventus from 1976 to 1986. He then enjoyed success with Inter Milan and Bayern before leading Benfica to their first Portuguese league title in 11 years in grand style.

3. Sir Alex Ferguson

Whether it was a “hair dryer” or a “flying cleats”, the fiery Scottish coaching legend knew how to make the most of psychology. Ferguson led Manchester United to every trophy in his path during his 23 years at the club, and there is no one who will ever achieve the same greatness at Old Trafford as he did.

2. Jose Mourinho

When Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004 he was proclaiming himself “special”, fresh from winning the European Cup with FC Porto and having turned Chelsea into a winning machine as they won back-to-back Premier League titles and a treble with Inter Milan.

1. Marcello Lippi

Lippi led Italy to the 2006 World Cup and has enjoyed success with teams on several continents, and was also the brainchild of Juventus’s strong early 2000s.