Footballers may garner most of the attention when it comes to the game, but the people behind the scenes are just as important. Managers in particular play a crucial role in the success of a team, and can be the difference between winning the league or getting relegated.
Keep reading to discover the top 11 football managers with the most trophies, and the impact they’ve made on the teams they’ve coached.
Arsène Wenger
Number of trophies: 21
First on our list is Arsène Wenger, who is best-known as the manager of Arsenal. He coached Arsenal from 1996 until 2018, making him the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club’s history. Prior to his stint at Arsenal, Wenger joined Monaco in 1987, winning the League Championship in 1988, and the Coupe de France in 1991. In 1995, he moved to Japan to coach Nagoya Grampus Eight, winning the Emperor’s Cup and Japanese Super Cup in his first year.
In 1998, Wenger won the Premier League and FA Cup double with Arsenal, making him the first foreign manager to do so. He went on to win the Premier League with the club twice more, as well as a further six FA Cups and seven FA Community Shields.
Giovanni Trappatoni
Number of trophies: 23 trophies
Giovanni Trapattoni is considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. He’s one of only five coaches (alongside Carlo Ancelotti, Ernst Happel, José Mourinho, and Tomislav Ivic) to have won league titles in four different European countries (Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria).
He has also won all three major European club competitions (European Cup, UEFA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup), and is one of the few people to have won the European Cup, the Cup Winners’ Cup and Intercontinental Cup as both a player and manager. Most recently, Trapattoni was manager for the Republic of Ireland national football team, where he led them to their first European Championship in 24 years.
Carlo Ancelotti
Number of trophies: 25
Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti has an impressive track record, accumulating numerous accolades over the years. He is the most decorated manager in UEFA Champions League history, having won the trophy a record number of times as coach (twice with AC Milan and twice with Real Madrid).
Ancelotti is the first and only manager ever to have won league titles in all of Europe’s top five leagues, and has won the FIFA Club World Cup a joint-record three times. He’s also the manager with the most UEFA Super Cup wins.
His other achievements include winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup with Juventus, the UEFA Champions League with AC Milan and Real Madrid, the FA Cup with Chelsea and the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.
Ottmar Hitzfield
Number of trophies: 26
German manager Ottmar Hitzfield won an impressive 26 titles throughout his managerial career. These were primarily achieved during his time with Grasshopper Club Zurich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. Hitzfield is one of the most successful German coaches, and has been elected for World Coach of the Year twice.
Hitzfield won the Champions League twice, with Borussia Dortmund in 1996-97 and Bayern Munich in 2000-01. He is also one of only six managers to win the European Cup and UEFA Champions League with two clubs.
Luiz Felipe Scolari
Number of trophies: 26
Luiz Felipe Scolari is a Brazilian former player, and current head coach at Atletico Mineiro. Scolari lead the Brazil national team to a FIFA World Cup win in 2002 and managed the Portugal national team from 2003-2008.
Scolari resigned in 2008 after Portugal lost to Germany in the UEFA Euro, and returned to club management with Premier League team Chelsea. He was hired again as manager of Brazil in 2012 and led them to victory at the 2013 Confederations Cup and semi-final of the 2014 World Cup.
In 2015, Scolari worked at Guangzhou Evergrande and went on to win the 2015 Chinese Super League and 2015 AFC Champions League during his first season at the club.
Jock Stein
Number of trophies: 26
John ‘Jock’ Stein was a Scottish football player and manager who became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup with Celtic in 1967. He began his managerial career in 1960 with Dunfermline, and guided them to win the Scottish Cup in 1961. After a brief spell at Hibernian, Stein became manager of Celtic in 1965, where he spent 13 years.
With Celtic, Stein won the European Cup, ten Scottish league championships, eight Scottish Cups and six Scottish League Cups. He briefly managed Leeds United, before coaching Scotland from 1978 until his death in 1985.
José Mourinho
Number of trophies: 26
José Mourinho is one of the most decorated managers of all time, and is up there as one of the greats. Mourinho began managing Porto in 2002, where he won the Primeira Liga twice, the UEFA Cup, UEFA Champions League and Taca de Portugal.
He then moved to Chelsea in 2004 where he went on to win two Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup. He joined Inter Milan in 2008 where he won the Serie A twice, the Coppo Italia and the UEFA Champions League. After that, Mourinho moved to Real Madrid and won the La Liga with record points, the Copa del Rey and a Supercopa de Espana.
Mourinho also managed Manchester United, where he won the UEFA Europa League, League Cup and FA Community Shield. He moved to Roma in 2021 and won the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League.
Valeriy Lobanovskyi
Number of trophies: 29
Valeriy Lobanovskyi is best-known as the manager of FC Dynamo Kyiv and the USSR national team, and was the most successful manager of the 20th century. Lobanovyski saw great success with Dynamo in the 1970s and 80s, winning the Soviet Top League eight times and the Soviet Cup six times. In 1975, under the leadership of Lobanovyski, Dynamo became the first team from the Soviet Union to win a major European trophy (The Cup Winners’ Cup).
Lobanovskyi holds multiple records in Soviet football, including most Soviet League titles, most Soviet Cup wins and most USSR Super Cup wins. He is also the only manager to win a major European competition with an Eastern European club twice.
Pep Guardiola
Number of trophies: 36
Pep Guardiola is one of the most famous names on the list, and is respected around the world. After retiring as a player, Guardiola briefly managed Barcelona B, before taking on the first team in 2008. In his first season with Barcelona, he won the continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. In 2011, he was named the FIFA World Coach of the Year, and ended his stint at Barcelona in 2012 with 14 honours.
Guardiola joined Bayern Munich in 2013 and won the Bundesliga in each of his three seasons. He left Munich in 2016 to manage Manchester City, and led them to the Premier League title in his second season as manager. Since then, he has helped City win the domestic treble, their first Champions League final, and their first Champions League title as part of the continental treble.
Mircea Lucescu
Number of trophies: 36
Romanian manager, Mircea Lucescu has coached a variety of sides in Romania, Italy, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia, and is best known for his twelve-year stint managing Shakhtar Donetsk. With Shakhtar Donetsk, he won eight Ukranian Premier League titles, six Ukrainian Cups, Seven Ukrainian Super Cups and a UEFA Cup.
Lusescu also won trophies with Dynamo Kyiv, as well as Divizia A Titles with Dinamo București and Rapid București, and Turkish Süper Lig titles with Galatasaray and Beşiktaş. Lusescu was named Romania Coach of the Year and Ukraine Coach of the Year multiple times, and was given the Manager of the Decade award in Romania in 2013.
Sir Alex Ferguson
Number of trophies: 49
Top of the list, and widely regarded as the greatest football manager of all time, is Sir Alex Ferguson. Ferguson is best known for managing Manchester United, which he did from 1986 until 2013. During his 26-year stint with United, Ferguson won 38 trophies, including two UEFA Champions League titles, five FA Cups, and 13 Premier League titles.
Before joining United, Ferguson enjoyed a successful period as manager of Aberdeen. He helped the club win three Scottish league championships, four Scottish Cups and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983. He also briefly managed the Scottish national team and took them to the 1986 World Cup.
Final Thoughts
We’ve gone through the top 11 football managers with the most trophies, and discussed their various impressive achievements. All of these names have made a huge impact during their managerial career, and will be remembered for years to come.
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