Every 2024/25 Champions League Manager Ranked Based on Their Playing Career

The 2024/25 Champions League season will see some of the greatest managers the game has to offer go head-to-head to try and lift the iconic prize. Despite being the best minds on the European scene, these men didn’t all have sparkling playing careers.

Some were as masterful on the pitch as they are from the safety of the dugout, while others have strived hard to achieve success despite underwhelming showings during their playing days. The Champions League has been re-formatted and increased from 32 teams to 36 for the upcoming campaign.

That said, below are all 36 bosses heading into this year’s tournament, ranked in order based on their playing careers. Many of them have gone on to bigger and better things since hanging up their boots.

Ranking Factors

When placing each of the 36 men into order from best to worst, the following factors were taken into consideration:

• Success (Trophies Won)
• Level Played at
• Longevity
• Technical Ability

36-31

Sparta Prague’s Lars Friis and Pepijn Lijnders of RB Salzburg are the only two men to manage in this season’s Champions League without a playing CV to their names. Therefore, the pair finish rock-bottom of the rankings.

Former Liverpool and Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers doesn’t fare much better after spending the majority of his time moving around the lower English leagues. The current Celtic manager didn’t make it as a professional footballer.

Christian Ilzer, Patrick Rahmen and Mariano Pusic feature among the other names who failed to achieve too much during their time on the pitch. The influence these men have on the touchline is far more impressive than their previous journeys in the sport.

30-21

Vicenzo Italiano has the unenviable task of taking over as the Bologna manager after Thiago Motta’s brilliant spell with the Serie A outfit. He’ll be hoping to get much closer to his predecessor as a boss than he managed as a player, having spent his career as a journeyman midfielder.

Unai Emery may be a genius in the dugout, but not so on the pitch. Being able to coach players at an elite level after failing to reach such heights himself is a testament to the hard work the Aston Villa boss has put into his coaching career. He finishes narrowly behind Paulo Fonseca, who moved between Portugal’s top two divisions but enjoyed a spell as one of Porto’s central defenders.

Atalanta’s Europa League-winning manager Gian Piero Gasperini and Stuttgart’s ever-impressive Sebastian Hoeness are among the bigger names to finish in this category of bosses who had average but unremarkable careers on-field. Roger Schmidt is the Benfica boss but he is yet another that didn’t leave a lasting impression on those who watched him play.

20-11

Both Simone Inzaghi and Ruben Amorim miss out on the top 10 despite winning multiple domestic titles and cups for Lazio and Benfica respectively. Their lack of success at European level or in any leagues abroad denies them the chance of competing with the elite names on this list.

Elsewhere, Arne Slot will be aiming to keep Liverpool’s brilliant history in the Champions League alive from the dugout. His time in the game as a hardened midfielder in the Eredivisie wasn’t too impressive, but the Dutchman’s managerial career has gone a lot better to date.

Monaco boss Adi Hutter may have only played in his native Austria, but the 54-year-old did win three league titles with Austria Salzburg, which places him as the 16th-best player among these names.

Marco Rose, Bruno Genesio and Michel are seen as impressive figures in the dugout, but they spent large parts of their playing days moving around the lower leagues in different nations. Peter Bosz and Brian Priske will be competing for the Eredivisie crown this term, but it’s the former who comes out on top in these rankings as he’s already managed to win the Dutch title as a Feyenoord player.

10-1

Among the men looking to win the Champions League as managers this season, are some who have already achieved the feat during their playing days. Xabi Alonso is viewed as the most successful player of the lot, with his time at top clubs such as Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich tipping the scales in the ex-cultured midfielder’s favour.

Vincent Kompany didn’t get his hands on a European trophy as a player, although he did captain Manchester City to a batch of silverware during his incredible time at the Etihad. The Belgian is one of the best defenders in Premier League history and narrowly beat his former manager Pep Guardiola to second place.

Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti are two men who have achieved the unbelievable accomplishment of winning the top European prize as both a player and a manager. The Man City and Real Madrid bosses are among the favourites to win the iconic competition once more this term, which would only add to their incredible legacies in the sport.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta possessed a beautiful right foot at the peak of his powers. Still, the Spaniard can’t boast the team achievements of Thiago Motta, Diego Simeone and Nuri Sahin, who all won league titles in the top five European divisions. Arteta’s Scottish Premier League triumph at Rangers pales compared to Bundesliga, La Liga and Seria A titles.