Italian and Serie A figures dominate 50 best coaches list

Italian and Serie A-based tacticians dominate FourFourTwo magazine’s list of the current 50 best managers in the world, including Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte, Stefano Pioli, Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho.

The British magazine placed Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as the best coach on the planet right now, having taken his side to another Premier League triumph, even though the Champions League continues to evade him.

In second place is Real Madrid coach Ancelotti, fresh from winning the Champions League and the Liga double last season.

Ancelotti is the only man to have ever won all five top European league titles, as well as more Champions League trophies than any other.

There are more Italians packing the top five, namely Tottenham Hotspur chief Conte and Milan’s Pioli in fifth, the latter having won only one trophy in his entire management career, last season’s Scudetto.

Current Italy manager Mancini gets 18^th position after leading the Azzurri to the EURO 2020 title, despite missing out then on the 2022 World Cup.

Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gasperini is in 23^rd place after taking the Bergamo side from relegation battlers to three consecutive Champions League participations, where he currently sits second in Serie A.

Luciano Spalletti of Napoli is 27^th after 10 consecutive victories in all competitions, followed by Jose Mourinho of Roma in 35^th.

Surprisingly, Ivan Juric of Torino is only one place behind him in 36^th, following in the footsteps of mentor Gasperini, and Inter coach Simone Inzaghi is in 40^th spot.

The top 50 is completed by Roberto De Zerbi, newly-appointed by Brighton and Hove Albion, in 41^st place, former Udinese and Verona coach Igor Tudor in 42^nd, ex-Roma man Paulo Fonseca in 45^th, current Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano at 46^th and Lazio’s Maurizio Sarri in 49^th.

The 50^th is England manager Gareth Southgate.