There are many incredible managers in world football at the moment, with some experienced veterans in the game enduring a wonderful 2024, while younger bosses are emerging to stake their claim as the best around in 2025.
With the 2024/25 season almost complete, there has been plenty of time for coaches to stake a claim that they are deserving of a higher spot among other leading tacticians as they enter the crunch periods of the campaign and as such, the rankings have changed to reflect their performances.
With all that said, below is a list of the 20 best managers in football currently, and the following factors have been taken into consideration when trying to order them.
Ranking factors
- Trophies.
- Recent success (Honours won).
- Longevity.
- Performance compared to expectations.
- International managers and out-of-work bosses are ranked lower due to a lack of recent games.
In pictures: The world’s best football managers right now
20 Nuno Espirito Santo
Nottingham Forest
After Steve Cooper brought Nottingham Forest back to the promised land, it was hard to imagine anyone doing a better job with the team. Up stepped Nuno Espirito Santo, though, who was tipped to struggle with the club once they let Cooper go, but he’s gone from strength to strength while in charge and has Forest on the cusp of European football for the first time in decades.
Forest fans are in dreamland every week as their side defies the odds and holds onto a spot in the top four. Wins against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United have underlined what’s been a sublime campaign so far, but there’s no doubt they wouldn’t be in the position they are without the gaffer.
19 Gian Piero Gasperini
Current team: Atalanta
A 30-year overnight sensation. That is one way you could describe Gian Piero Gasperini. The 67-year-old Italian has been quietly going about his business, establishing himself as one of the most reliable managers in his native country, doing serviceable jobs without finding any major success until recently.
Having had stints at Genoa, Palermo and a five-game run with Inter Milan, Gasperini took the Atalanta job in 2016 and, eight years after his arrival, picked up the first trophy of his career as his side defeated the unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final. It was the icing on top of the cake for all the good work the veteran coach had done at the club, though he has recently found himself embroiled in a spat with the man who scored a hat-trick in the final, Ademola Lookman.
18 Luciano Spalletti
Current team: Italy
Italy have found qualification for international tournaments to be hard to come by at times in their recent history, but Luciano Spalletti has managed to turn the tide a little, guiding them to Euro 2024. It was ultimately a disappointing outing, though, with the nation crashing out in the round of 16 following a 2-0 loss to Switzerland.
The former Inter Milan boss took charge of the national side in 2023 after leaving Napoli. During his time in Naples, Spalletti proved he was capable of getting his team to work hard as he guided the club to a first Serie A title in over 30 years. This is the biggest triumph of his managerial career to date. That could change, though, if he manages to lead his nation to glory in a major tournament somewhere down the line.
17 Luis de la Fuente
Current team: Spain
After working his way up through the Spain youth team, Luis de la Fuente was handed a chance with the nation’s senior team in 2022, and he hasn’t looked back since. Euro 2024 marked a dominant campaign for his team, with the 63-year-old leading them to glory. Having beaten England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final, Spain became the first team ever to win all seven of their games in the major tournament.
After a disappointing few years, the manager turned things around quickly and Spain dominated their opposition in style during the European Championship. With such a talented, young squad at his disposal, it might be wise to start getting used to the idea of the former left-back and his men dominating international football.
16 Antonio Conte
Current team: Napoli
While gone are the years of Antonio Conte being one of the hottest managers around, the Italian has been able to re-establish himself as one of the top tacticians at Napoli as he looks to push the Naples-based outfit back to the top of Serie A.
Conte’s reputation had taken a bit of a hit following his ill-fated stint at Tottenham, though history has proven that he actually did a commendable job given the circumstances. Before that, he helped Inter Milan win Serie A, took Chelsea to the Premier League title, and impressed as Italy’s first-team coach. All this in the span of a decade. Now, though, his defence-first mindset looks set to remain in his native country.
15 Julian Nagelsmann
Current team: Germany
Despite failing to win Euro 2024 while being the hosts and one of the favourites, big things are still expected from Germany in the future and that’s largely due to the revolutionary ideas of Julian Nagelsmann. Eyebrows were raised when Bayern Munich dismissed the German, as the 37-year-old was doing a commendable job at the time.
Nagelsmann has since been hired by the national team and has won 12 of his first 21 games in charge of Die Mannschaft, including an impressive and dominant victory over France. He has some of the most exciting young players in the world at his disposal, such as Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala, and the young boss’ stock will rise significantly if he helps his country to another major honour.
14 Thomas Tuchel
Current team: England
Thomas Tuchel might have left Bayern Munich under a cloud after he was beaten to the Bundesliga title by Bayer Leverkusen, but that has not wrecked his reputation as a top-tier manager. Man United were in talks over potentially appointing him as Erik ten Hag’s replacement until the German pulled out of discussions.
Despite his domestic troubles in the hot seat, Tuchel has a solid track record in Europe and guided the Bavarian outfit into the Champions League semi-final. They were eliminated by Real Madrid, but considering their pedigree in the European competition, it’s hard to hold that loss against Tuchel. The 51-year-old has now been appointed England’s new manager and will be tasked with ending their long, long wait for a major trophy. His time in charge of the Three Lions has gotten off to a positive start too, winning both of his opening matches as manager.
13 Didier Deschamps
Current team: France
When adding all of his medals as a player to those in his managerial career, Didier Deschamps must be one of the most successful people in football history. The Frenchman is the definition of a serial winner and proved that at the 2018 World Cup.
Some fans have been known to get impatient with the lack of success in recent international tournaments, but the France manager was a penalty shootout away from retaining the biggest prize in world football in 2022. They did underperform at Euro 2024 but still made it to the semi-finals. No matter what, France always stand a chance in major tournaments because they have one of the best managers working in international football right now.
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12 Lionel Scaloni
Current team: Argentina
Everyone knows the biggest achievement of Lionel Scaloni’s stint as a football manager. He will forever be known as the man who helped Lionel Messi complete football by winning the World Cup in 2022. Of course, that doesn’t do enough justice to the overall work he’s done to transform the nation from almost a sleeping giant for many years into a side competing for all the major honours on offer.
The 46-year-old was also at the helm when Argentina defeated Brazil in the Copa America 2021 final and when they beat Colombia in the Copa America 2024 final. He’s been in the job since 2018, taking the role before he hit the age of 40. To have achieved the success he has as such a young manager is worthy of a relatively high place on this list.
11 Unai Emery
Current team: Aston Villa
Before the 2023/24 campaign kicked off, very few would have given Aston Villa a chance of securing a Champions League spot, but Unai Emery ensured that the West Midlands outfit finished in the top four. Comparing the state of the Villans now to when the ex-Arsenal boss took over from Steven Gerrard shows just how remarkable this achievement is.
He has been highly regarded as a brilliant tactician after winning multiple European trophies in his career with Sevilla, and Emery nearly added the Europa Conference League to his extensive list of honours before Villa were dismantled by Olympiacos. Nevertheless, he has elevated the likes of John McGinn, Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa to heights that previously looked impossible, which proves the Spaniard is a brilliant man-manager and his side are in the middle of another season fighting for European football.
