All of these coaches have won at least 20 trophies.
Even a team made up of superstars is unlikely to win a major tournament without a good coach. And when it comes to a mid-level club, the role of the coach becomes even more important.
One of the most objective indicators by which football coaches can be ranked is the number of trophies they have won. We have selected ten coaches who have won the most titles in football. Although not all of them are the strongest coaches, their contribution to the development of the game is quite significant.
Like reading a Hidden Jack review, where players look at elements like the possibilities of winning, bonuses, and how the site works, rating these coaches isn’t just about the stats. It’s also about how they changed the game and the smart things they did to win.
Carlo Ancelotti — 20 titles
Won with: Juventus (Italy), Milan (Italy), Chelsea (England), PSG (France), Real Madrid (Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany)
Many coaches have won exactly 20 trophies — Louis van Gaal, Carlo Ancelotti, Marcello Lippi and Bob Paisley have all won this number of cups. But among them all, the current Napoli coach, Carlo Ancelotti, stands out.
Firstly, he shares first place in terms of the number of international cups won — Ancelotti’s teams have won seven European trophies, including three Champions Leagues (also sharing first place). Secondly, Carlo has won competitions with six different clubs: only a few can boast such a result. For example, Paisley won all his victories with Liverpool, Lippi won with Italian club Juventus, Chinese club Guangzhou and the Italian national team.
In addition, Ancelotti continues his active coaching career and is likely to win his 21st trophy with Napoli in the near future.
Walter Smith — 21 titles
Won with: Rangers (Scotland)
Walter Smith is not the only Scottish coach on the list of the most successful coaches.
It’s quite simple: in the Scottish championship, two clubs compete for the title — Celtic and Rangers. Between them, they have won 103 of the 122 Scottish championships, so it is not surprising that the coaches of each of these clubs have won numerous trophies.
Walter Smith won all his titles with Rangers, whom he coached twice: in the 1990s, his team won seven championships in a row, and in the mid-2000s, the Scottish club sensationally reached the UEFA Cup final, losing to Zenit in the 2008 final.
Giovanni Trapattoni — 22 titles
Who he won with: Juventus (Italy), Milan (Italy), Bayern Munich (Germany), Bayern Munich (Germany), Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)
The 80-year-old Italian coach ended his career in 2013, just under a year before his 50th birthday. But even without this, Giovanni remains one of the most distinguished and titled coaches in football.
Exactly 40 years passed between his first trophy (the Italian championship with Juventus) and his last (the Austrian championship with Red Bull). Most coaches do not work in the field for so long, but Giovanni did not just stay, he changed clubs and countries, while remaining a consistently successful coach. Trapattoni ended his career with a positive win percentage — his teams won 51.81% of their matches, scoring 2,184 goals.
Ottmar Hitzfeld — 25 titles
Won with: Aarau (Switzerland), Zurich (Switzerland), Grasshopper (Switzerland), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Bayern Munich (Germany)
German Ottmar Hitzfeld made a name for himself in the Swiss league, spending the first eight years of his coaching career there. During this time, Hitzfeld changed three clubs and ended his time in Switzerland with two league titles with Grasshopper.
After that, he moved to Germany, first working at Borussia Dortmund and then at Bayern Munich. Ottmar managed to win the most prestigious trophy, the Champions League, with both German clubs, which earned him a place in the history of the tournament. He caused even more of a stir on the domestic scene, winning seven German championships and ten cups. In total, he won 25 titles during his career.
José Mourinho — 25 titles
Won with: Porto (Portugal), Chelsea (England), Inter Milan (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Manchester United (England)
‘The Special One’ — that’s how José Mourinho describes himself. For some time, he was considered one of the most promising coaches in the world, and English journalists are still convinced that José revolutionised their championship during his first spell at Chelsea.
In the last years of his career, Mourinho coached Manchester United, where he was fired due to unsatisfactory results. Prior to that, he was fired from Chelsea and Real Madrid — the first three dismissals in the career of The Special One. Before that, he left on his own, winning every trophy possible. For now, José remains unemployed, waiting for a new challenge.
Pep Guardiola — 25 titles
Won with: Barcelona (Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany), Manchester City (England)
Spaniard Pep Guardiola is Mourinho’s main opponent in modern football. Their football is based on absolute opposites, but Guardiola and Mourinho are equally successful.
If José revolutionised England, then Pep changed the perception of football around the world by playing total football with Barcelona. The Catalan club was the first in his coaching career, with which he won 14 titles. After that, he had a spell in Germany, and now the Spaniard is coaching English club Manchester City. Not long ago, Pep equalled José’s number of titles, but he could soon surpass him.
Jock Stein — 26 titles
Won with: Dunfermline Athletic (Scotland), Celtic (Scotland)
Remember Walter Smith, who won 21 titles with Scottish club Rangers? Jock Stein went even further, winning 25 cups in 13 years at Celtic.
During Stein’s tenure, the Glasgow club won ten championships and fourteen local cups, but Jock’s greatest achievement remains victory in the European Cup (Champions League).
Valery Lobanovsky — 28 titles
Won with: Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine)
Valery Lobanovsky, the legendary coach of Dynamo, after whom the club’s stadium is named, made a huge contribution to the club’s history. He coached the Kyiv club twice, spending a total of over 20 years in Kyiv.
During this time, Lobanovsky led Dynamo to 13 championships — eight times in the USSR and five times in Ukraine. The legendary Dynamo team of 1999, which reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, was Lobanovsky’s creation. In early 2019, the authoritative French magazine France Football ranked the Ukrainian sixth in its list of the best coaches in history.
Mircea Lucescu — 32 titles
Won with: Dinamo Bucharest (Romania), Rapid (Romania), Galatasaray (Turkey), Besiktas (Turkey), Shakhtar (Ukraine), Zenit (Russia)
Another coach who has a direct connection to Ukraine. Romanian Mircea Lucescu managed Shakhtar Donetsk for 12 years, turning the Miners into one of the two strongest clubs in Ukraine. During those 12 years, the Donetsk club won the league title eight times, and Lucescu won a total of 22 trophies in Ukraine — six more Ukrainian Cups, seven Super Cups and a UEFA Cup victory.
It is his triumph with Shakhtar in the UEFA Cup that remains the greatest achievement in both Lucescu’s career and the history of modern Ukrainian football. Shakhtar’s success is the only European cup won since independence. Lucescu left Shakhtar in 2016, unable to revive the team once again. After that, Mircea worked at Russian club Zenit and coached the Turkish national team, but without success.
Alex Ferguson — 48 titles
Won with: Aberdeen (Scotland), Manchester United (England)
No one will be able to match Sir Alex Ferguson anytime soon. The famous Manchester United coach, who worked with the team for almost 27 years, won 16 more titles during his career than his closest rival. Ferguson began his career in Scotland, working with local clubs for 12 years before receiving an invitation to Manchester.
During his career before United, Sir Alex won 10 titles, and he won all the rest at Old Trafford. Together with the club, Ferguson won the English championship 13 times — no one else has won this trophy more than three times.
