10 Best Assistant Managers in Football Manager 2024 (Ranked)

Football Manager 2024 (FM24) is one of the most popular football simulation games available. It was released in November 2023, and – due to the cancellation of FM25 — it is now available until the autumn of 2025. It’s been competing with EA Sports and FIFA – now EA Sports FC – for years. They’ve always been two drastically different games; one required obscene amounts of luck and money spent to acquire a spectacular team, whilst the other tests your brain and challenges you to become the new Pep Guardiola.

However, this year, the gulf between the games and the separation of the fanbases is growing, with fans of Football Manager realising what they have is one of the most polished sports games of all time. That stretches from the improved graphics, set-piece overhaul and the continuous detail it showcases.

The detail shown with assistant managers is at the heart of the game’s success. Assistant managers play a key role in your tactical setup every week. In Football Manager 2024, they can organise everything from squad training, individual training and setting up the team. It’s up to you, allowing your assistant to give as little or as much control as you want. Due to this, we have decided to rank the 10 best assistant managers in FM24 via the ranking factors below.

Ranking Factors

• Judging player ability – it is the assistant manager’s job to provide an accurate assessment of a player’s current ability, or you let him select the team for the upcoming fixture.
• Judging Player Potential – it’s an assistant manager’s job to judge players’ potential ability and plan out the squad.
• People management – valuable to maintaining players’ happiness on a great level, especially if he’s in charge of setting up training sessions.
• Well-rounded coaching stats – it is the coach’s job to provide you with accurate in-match feedback about tactics and tactical instructions.

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10

Albert Stuivenberg – Arsenal

Albert Stuivenberg is famous within North London for his work as assistant manager alongside Mikel Arteta. On the Emirates touchline, he has his AirPods in, consistently providing feedback and analysis to the Spaniard. He joined in 2019 alongside the former player — and he has been a success ever since.

Previous brief spells at Genk and Manchester United helped mould the Dutchman, making him one of the best assistants in the world. In FM24, he has ’15 Judging Player Ability’ and ’18 Working with Youngsters’. It allows him to be the perfect assistant if you’re starting a rebuild, just like Arsenal were, knowing he can provide experience and expertise to young players, showcased by his ’15 Judging Player Potential’. With ’14 Tactical Knowledge,’ he is one of the best options in the world.

9

Brian Kidd – Unemployed

A legend of coaching, Brian Kidd has had a long, storied and highly successful career since he took his first coaching gig for Barrow all the way back in 1984, and has worked with great managers, including two of the greatest of all time in Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, with both Manchester clubs. Now 74, Kidd has been out of work since he left City in 2021 – but he remains one of the best assistant managers in the game.

With ’14 People Management’, ’15 Determination’ and ’14 People Management’, he is a solid number 2, but it is his ’18 Judging Player Potential’ that makes Kidd one of the standout staff members on the game, as he will be able to give you a strong reading of the standard of the wonderkids you’re looking for. His age means he will likely retire soon into your save, but if you’re looking for a top assistant in your first season, you can’t do much better than Brian Kidd, and you won’t have to pay any fees to secure his services from another club.

8

Davide Ancelotti – Real Madrid

Davide Ancelotti might not be the most famous Ancelotti at Real Madrid, but he has all the skills to succeed in football. As the son of legendary Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti, he is now working with his father, providing a relationship that is rare across the world. At 34, he has already coached at Real Madrid, Everton, Bayern Munich, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain.

In FM24, he is one of the most well-rounded assistant managers around. Although he only has ’14 Judging Player Ability’ and ’13 Judging Player Potential’ – less than Arsenal’s assistant – he makes up for it with ’16 Fitness’ and ’14 Tactical’. It allows him to provide world-class analysis for you in the game. However, due to his relationship with Ancelotti, it might be hard to lure him away from the Spanish capital.

7

Pablo Villa – Aston Villa

Unai Emery’s trusted assistant, Spaniard Pablo Villa, has followed his compatriot across his various clubs ever since 2014, at Sevilla, PSG, Arsenal, Villarreal and now his current club, Aston Villa, where he has been part of the coaching staff that has helped the Villans back into the Champions League.

Villa is a solid assistant manager, with 15 ratings in multiple different attributes, which puts him on the verge of being one of the elite number twos in FM24. Most notably, this includes 15s in ‘Judging Player Ability’, ‘Judging Player Potential’ and ‘People Management’, which means he should be an adept pair of hands should you wish to pass off player interactions to him, and he should not make your players unhappy with that attribute. Due to his loyalty to Emery, though, you may find it difficult to prize Villa away from his long-time manager and friend.

6

Òscar Hernández – Barcelona

Up next, Òscar Hernández was at the heart of Barcelona’s success under Xavi. The Catalan Giants had major financial issues, but they still won La Liga in the 2022/2023 season – partially due to their success when nurturing youngsters. He joined in 2021 alongside Xavi – previously one of the greatest midfielders of all time – after working with him at Al-Sadd.

In FM24, he has ’15 Judging Player Ability’ – the most important stat for an assistant manager. Combined with his ability to spot potential – at 15 – he is well-rounded in that area. However, he stands out due to his coaching stats. With ’16 Defending’ and ’15 Tactical’ he will be able to help you fix any defensive woes you have with ease.

5

Matteo Paro – Torino

Matteo Paro is at the smallest club on this list – Torino. However, he has consistently moved around Italy since starting his coaching career in 2017. Starting at Genoa as a technical coach, he moved to Hellas Verona as an assistant manager in 2019, before eventually moving to Torino in 2021.

Now, he is considered one of the best assistant managers in the world, according to Sports Interactive. He has ’16 Judging Player Ability’ and ’17 People Management’; the best of the coaches so far. It allows him to take control of situations in the game with ease, knowing the players will trust him to fix issues. He isn’t the best assistant manager for pure coaching, but – as a second-hand man – he is one of the best around, even if he has just ’13 Judging Player Potential’ – making him less likely to spot wonderkids.

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4

Nelson Vivas – Atlético Madrid

Nelson Vivas has been Atlético Madrid’s assistant manager since 2018, playing a crucial part in the club’s success alongside Diego Simeone. The Argentine had an undulating career, even playing for Arsenal and Inter Milan at the start of the 2000s, but his best work has been on the touchlines.

In FM24, he is one of the best options for you. With ’17 People Management’ and ’16 Judging Player Ability’, he can take control of players. He can identify wonderkids with ’15 Judging Player Potential’. Meanwhile, his mental and knowledge stats are impressive and – although he doesn’t have world-class coaching stats, showcased by ’11 Defending’ – he is still one of the best options available.

3

Giovanni Martusciello – Lazio

Next up is Italian assistant manager Giovanni Martusciello, who has spent his entire career both as a player and staff in his home nation, with various different clubs. Between 2019 and 2024, he served as assistant manager to Maurizio Sarri at both Juventus and Lazio, winning the former’s most recent Scudetto to date in the 2019/20 season.

He had previously also worked with Sarri at Empoli, where he spent ten years between 2006 and 2016, working his way up the ranks from under-20s assistant manager to first-team manager. In real life, he has now taken up the role as manager at Serie B outfit Salernitana, but in FM24, he is one of the best assistant managers in the game, with ’16 Judging Player Ability’ and ’16 Judging Player Potential’, as well as ’17 Tactical Knowledge’, giving him a very good grasp of your current squad – as well as the standard of your next generation of stars.

2

Juanma Lillo – Man City

Juanma Lillo has had two spells as Man City’s assistant manager. He was Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager between June 2020 and June 2022 before becoming Al-Sadd’s manager for a year. However, after a year in Qatar, he returned, highlighting his love for the club. In FM24, he is one of the best options in the world.

With ’16 Judging Player Ability’, ’16 Motivating’ and ’17 Tactical Knowledge’, he can help any team fix any issues. He doesn’t have the strongest coaching stats, showcased by ’11 Technical’, but he will still be one of the best second-hand men around, particularly if you like to take a hands-on approach during day-to-day training. With his ’16 Judging Player Potential’, he will be able to help rebuild the club for years.

1

Peter Krawietz – Liverpool

Last, but not least, Peter Krawietz followed Jürgen Klopp to Liverpool FC in October 2015 to take up the role of assistant manager for the men’s team. The pair first met at Mainz 05, where Krawietz served as chief scout, and they have worked closely together ever since. He has played a key role in Liverpool’s success, including winning the Premier League in 2020 and the Champions League in 2019.

In FM24, he has ’16 Judging Player Ability’ and ’15 Judging Player Potential’, coupled with world-class stats across the board. With ’17 Adaptability’, ’17 Tactical’ and ’16 Tactical Knowledge’, the German is one of the best options in the world, capable of improving any team you manage. Krawietz has been ranked as the best assistant manager in FM24, but – due to his strong relationship with Klopp – it might be challenging to lure him away from Anfield.

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