Most innovative managers ever
No, it is not a ranking. They are in no particular order.
Remember that innovators do not necessarily mean winners.
Clearly there are many other managers who deserve to be in this ranking.
Herbert Chapman
The King of England
1878 – 1934
The man who brought English and global football into modernity.
His Arsenal became a watershed in the history of football, and the system he codified became the reference model for numerous clubs for decades. It’s difficult to find limits to his influence
Helenio Herrera
El Hombre Vertical
1926 – 1996
The man who elevated the Catenaccio to a superior and winning art form.
In a hyper-specialized football like the Catenaccio, he managed to outsmart many hybrids and “fake/false” (such as Facchetti as a false full-back, Corso as a fake winger, etc.).
If he had any limits, they perhaps lay in the excessive edges of his character.
Rinus Michels
The rigorous anarchist
1928 – 2005
The theorist and founder of Dutch Total Football in its freest and anarchic version.
He gifted the world of sport with some of its grandest spectacles and redefined the concept of position. Even in his case, it’s difficult to find limits. Perhaps we can observe that he didn’t remain at the top for too long, although Euro 88 completes his career.
Ernst Happel
The Chameleon
1925 – 1992
The Picasso of football, the man who codified the rules of Total Football in its most chameleon-like version. He was one of the rare revolutionary coaches who achieved a series of miracles, winning everything with ordinary or just good teams.
In his case, the only limits may concern his relationship with players, as Happel treated them with extreme and punitive severity. Euro 88 completes his career.
Arrigo Sacchi
The Mad designer
1946 –
The creator of an unprecedented hybrid, the man who gave the decisive impetus to Italian football by absorbing the genetic heritage of Eastern European Total Football (with Lobanovsky as the prime influence) and, to some extent, the Dutch greats.
His limit lies in an obsessive rigor that prevented him from evolving after 1991, and in a very short prime career that effectively lasted only four years (excluding the parenthesis of the American World Cup, where Sacchi’s football was nowhere to be seen).
Johan Cruyff
The Prophet of Aesthetics
1947 – 2016
Michels’ disciple who softened the edges of the master’s Total Football, transforming it into something more airy and further devoted to the exaltation of individual technique.
His Ajax and Barcelona provided spectacle and victories. However, his career was relatively short and not exempt from serious setbacks due to overconfidence or underestimating opponents.
Pep Guardiola
The visionary philosopher
1971 –
The adopted son of Michels and Cruyff, he had the merit of reviving their values after many years of neglect and constructing some of the most spectacular and successful football machines ever seen.
He exalted individual technique like never before within a collective concept.
Nevertheless, he wasn’t always flawless in reading and managing knockout matches and sometimes fell victim to overthinking, resulting in unexpected eliminations or defeats against inferior teams.
Valery Lobanovsky
The Statistician
1939 – 2002
Lobanovski is a true product of the Soviet Union, embodying its ideology on the football field for decades.
He is perhaps the epitome of the scientific approach associated with football.Lobanovski was the first manager to employ data analysts and statisticians, utilizing computers to improve team performance.
His coaching style was characterized by unwavering discipline, almost military-like, devastating physical preparation, an offensive and energic style of play, but also resource-intensive.
Hugo Meisl
The Football Mastermind
1881 – 1937
Hugo Meisl is the father of the Wunderteam, the magnificent Austrian national team that delivered captivating performances for many years and is rightfully considered one of the best nationall teams of all time, thanks to an incredible balance between individual skill and physical power.
Meisl was an innovator: he despised the English style of football (long ball and physical approach) and advocated for a fluid, technical style of play characterized by precise passing and a special focus on the technique of his players.
Gusztáv Sebes
The Gamechanger
1906 – 1986
The coach of the Aranycsapat (The Golden Team), arguably the strongest national team ever to not have won a World Cup. We are talking about a legendary team that shook Europe with its beautiful, offensive, and spectacular style of play. With 32 undefeated matches, a gold medal in 1952, triumph in the International Cup, and a legendary victory over England on their home soil, these are just a few of their achievements.
And much credit goes to coach Sebes: he deployed a revolutionary formation without traditional strikers (despite having a formidable striker like Ferenc Deak), with two inside forwards and a precursor to the “false nine” (Hidegkuti) who would drop deep, creating space for his teammates. Furthermore, the team played a spectacular, fluid, and technical game, with intricate passing, effective pressing, and clear dominance over their opponents.
Most of the article was written by my friend Francesco Buffoli