It’s the recipe for success. A good team can only get so far if they don’t have a world-class manager dictating the tactics. 

A world-class manager is a non-negotiable if you want your club to have success. The likes of Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel have taken underperforming sides and made them some of the most feared in Europe with both ushering in Champions League success into their clubs. 

The talent on the touchline is arguably more important than the talent on the pitch and is often the difference between an average side and a very good one. Multiple factors determine who is the pound for pound best manager in world football, so let's examine these factors so we can arrive at a conclusion as to who truly is the best.

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Trophies won

It's the barometer for all managers. Success can only be truly measured by the number of trophies won. It shows that you can handle either the pressure of a knockout competition or the rigours of a long and arduous league season. Teams have often come so close to winning a trophy, only for their agonising loss in the final to spiral them down the standings and never return to their once glorious form. 

Trophies can be won in a multitude of different ways. There are the traditional league formats, in which managers like Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho have experienced major success. Then, there are the cup competitions, where in recent times a figure like Thomas Tuchel has distinguished himself as a master of the the knock-out competition. He’s led Chelsea to 5 cup finals in 18 months, winning 3 of them.

Despite debates being raging on about the legitimacy and validity of what type of trophy is won, there are key characteristics that a manager needs to win each type of trophy. To win a league, you need to be able to have the patience and resilience to sustain tactical nuance throughout a campaign and to be able to tweak systems and structures throughout to maintain unpredictability. Whereas in a cup competition, it's more about man-management. You need to have an uncanny ability to get the buy-in from the players and have to players fully invested in what system they are playing. You can afford to employ a more taxing system in cup games as they don’t come around as often. As well as this, a key aspect of being a good cup manager is being able to scout the opposition and build an opposition based tactic that aims to exploit their weaknesses. In a league format, this style of management is not viable due to the number of games played against a variety of opponents, whereas in a cup format, it's the perfect way to manage. In the last 5 years, 4 managers have lifted the European Cup. Whereas in the same period, 3 have lifted the Premier League, 3 have lifted the Serie A, 4 have lifted the Ligue 1 and 4 have lifted the Bundesliga. This goes to show that it is equally as hard to win a league competition as it is to win a cup competition, putting them on an even playing ground. 

Managers like Guardiola and Conte have mastered the ability to win leagues, whereas Zidane, Tuchel and Ancelotti have mastered the art of cup management. When discussing it in the pound-for-pound best argument, it is all about the volume of trophies won, rather than what type of trophies. This is because both managerial styles are as taxing and tricky as each other, just in different ways.  

Punters- At TopSport, Man City are paying $1.40 to win the title while Liverpool are at $2.91.

Style of football

While this holds next to no weight in judging the ability of a manager, it is still an interesting avenue to dissect in the pursuit of finding out the pound for pound best manager in the world. There is a common consensus among many fan groups that it doesn’t matter how you play, as long as you win. While for every Pep Guardiola and Julian Nagelsmann who employ brilliant, attractive football that’s mesmerising to the eye there’s the likes of  Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho and Diego Simeone whose methods are often labelled boring and revolve more around discipline and counter-attacks. Yet both sets of managers have been able to find success in their way of playing. Furthermore you have the likes of Tuchel and Zidane who play ruthlessly effective football that is an acquired taste.

In terms of the pound for pound debate, the style of football is almost irrelevant, however, it is interesting how a specific style of football is suited to a particular competition. Many people think that the more defensive and structured style of football lends itself to being more successful in cup competitions, whereas the more fluid and expansive way of playing dominates the league formats. Depending on what your club value, there will be a manager that will suit your club’s ‘philosophy’, regardless of their standing in the pound for pound debate

Punters- At TopSport, Man City are paying $2.25 to win the the Champions League while Liverpool are narrow favourites at $2.20.

The curious case that is Jurgen Klopp 

Perhaps the only elite manager that hasn't been mentioned thus far is Jurgen Klopp. Klopp has been a managerial enigma for some time. Because his quality is undisputed, and his Liverpool side of 2019/2020 and 2021/22 has proven that he is coaching one of the best teams playing sides in the world. However, his on-field prowess hasn't directly translated to the trophy cabinet. No doubting that his trophy cabinet is one that nearly every manager in the world will envy, and one that should he retire today, he would be extremely proud of. 

However, with how good his Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool teams have been, his accolades are relatively empty in comparison to how dominant his teams have been. Now, there is a lot of bad luck that has come along the way. If John Stones was a fraction of a second late to clear the ball off the line, he probably adds another league title to his resume. If Mohamed Salah isn’t shoulder dragged to the ground by Sergio Ramos, maybe another Champions League trophy as well. And if the injury plague hadn't ripped through the red half of Merseyside last year, we could be speaking about one of the most successful managers in recent times. 

However, what Jurgen Klopp has mastered more than anyone else is his ability to be the best man-manager in the world, bar none. Jurgen Klopp managed to get a Liverpool team without Roberto Firmino and Mohammed Salah to beat Barcelona 4-0 at home. He managed to get a Liverpool side to win the Champions League and League title the season after they heartbreakingly lost each of them. When most sides would roll over and accept defeat, Klopp can galvanise his Liverpool team and turn them into an unstoppable force. Not only this, but he was able to turn Virgil van Dijk into the best centre half in the world and Salah into the best player in the world. Andrew Robertson is one of the best left-backs in the modern era after playing for relegation riddles Hull City only a few years ago. 

While the trophy cabinet won't translate Klopp's managerial ability fully, he is undoubtedly one of the best managers in the world. And a manager that has been riddled with bad luck over the years, but a manager that has dragged his side over the line when their backs have been against the wall. If Liverpool can complete the seemingly impossible quadruple this season, he could put his name in the hat as one of the best managers of all time. 

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So, who is the pound for pound best manager in world football?

It's a debate that will live as long as football lasts. Unfortunately, there is no one metric that can determine the ability of a manager, or how they compare to those around the world. However, to answer this question, you need to look at it in multiple parts. In a one-off game, it would be hard to go past either Jurgen Klopp or Thomas Tuchel. Both managers have shown they have the tactical flexibility and nuanced eye to manage a one-off game brilliantly, as well as the man managerial ability to drive their players to give everything to win that game. 

Over a league season, it would be hard to go past Pep Guardiola. The current Man City boss has shown that he is the master of winning leagues. Winning the title at every club he has managed and won it multiple times. The style of football will be elegant and brilliant, and he will have the longevity to maintain that brilliance throughout the whole season. 

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