The modern era has some stunning managers in the football world right now. The success of a club depends on the players but a lot of it comes down to the manager's tactics.
Some of the finest managers in the game have earned fame with their playing style, irrespective of the stature of the players. Ideally, a blend of experience and youth in the squad helps immensely for a manager.
The football world loves attacking-minded managers
Over time, managers have tended to develop and improvise on their tactics but not every one of them always works. Some managers in this era prefer going totally defensive and solely rely on counter-attacks.
5. Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Contrary to most Italian managers, Gian Piero Gasperini is a more attack-minded in terms of playing style. The Atalanta head coach normally likes to play with three defenders at the back. He either prefers the 3-4-2-1 or the 3-5-2 formation.
He joined the Atalanta in 2016 and after initially surviving a difficult period, the former Inter manager has done very well. His ideology of adopting an attacking style of gameplay has worked fine for the Serie A club.
Atalanta have been set up such that their link-up play is a delight to watch, creating chances on a frequent basis.
Gasperini's performance has been so good that he ended up winning Serie A Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2020. Under his management, Atalanta have so far scored 390 goals in 195 matches, averaging two goals per match.
The Serie A club under the 63-year old was the surprise package last season, finishing third in the league and reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
4. Julian Nagelsmann (Bayern Munich)
At a very young age, Julian Nagelsmann has earned a lot of plaudits for his managerial performances. Football needs more attacking-minded managers and the German is surely one of them.
Nagelsmann too favors playing three at the back but with a lot of pressing involved in his game. The 34-year old was once an assistant to Thomas Tuchel. The young German manager has been touted as the mini-Mourinho in football.
He has the same aggression and tactical intellect Jose Mourinho had at Porto. Nagelsmann's teams are known to be a collective unit, defending intensely and building play from the back. When on song, his team are one of the most difficult teams to beat.
His spell at RB Leipzig was the foundation of his managerial career in football. The former Hoffenheim manager was responsible for taking the Red Bulls to their best finish in the UEFA Champions League. Leipzig reached the semi-finals of the European tournament in the 2019-20 season, making history for the club.
Nagelsmann's impressive performance earned him the chance to become Bayern Munich's manager, replacing Hansi Flick this summer.
3. Hansi Flick (Germany)
The German national team football coach is a well-known name in the history of Bayern Munich. Hansi Flick won the Bundesliga four times as a player with the Bavarian club. He spent more than eight years serving as the German national team's assistant coach from 2006 to 2014.
The former Hoffenheim manager was named as the assistant coach of Bayern Munich under the management of Niko Kovac in July 2019. When the Croatian manager left Bayern in November 2019, Flick was named as the interim manager.
In that very season, the German manager led Bayern to a continental treble, winning the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and the UEFA Champions League. In his reign at Bayern, the club lost only seven games and won seven trophies.
Flick likes to play in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation, with a tendency to involve seven players in attack. He even prefers to have ball-playing defenders to serve his cause of an attacking play. With his attacking approach, the German national team will benefit under his tutelage and can become a dangerous team at the 2022 World Cup.
2. Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
German managers have quite the attacking approach to the game and Jurgen Klopp is the inspiration for many. Klopp made a name for himself whilst being head coach at Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.
He won the Bundesliga twice and ended up as the runner-up in the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League despite Dortmund not having the strongest of squads. In 2015, the German joined Liverpool with the Merseyside club hoping to get back to winning silverware.
Like many German managers, Klopp too believes in pressing with intensity. He likes his players to be hard-working, sharp and relentless with their approach. On the attacking side, the former Dortmund manager prefers a direct style of play, creating spaces using one-touch football frequently.
It is due to his smart tactics and consistent preference to attach that he has been a great success at Liverpool. He led the club to their first ever Premier League title in the 2019-20 season and was also responsible for them winning the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League.
- Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
Pep Guardiola has to be arguably the best managers ever in the game of football. His smart intellect, detailed game planning and consistency has made him a great manager over the years.
The Spaniard has brought success to whichever club he has managed to date. The former Barcelona manager won the continental treble in the 2008-09 season with the Catalan club. Post his reign with the Spanish giants, Pep joined as Bayern Munich's manager in the 2013-14 season.
He won seven trophies during his tenure with the Bavarian club, which included three Bundesliga titles. Guardiola became Manchester City's manager in the 2016-17 season. Ever since then, City have been a dominant force in the Premier League.
Courtesy of Guardiola's attacking style, City have reaped a lot of success in the last five seasons. The English club have won the Premier League thrice and ended up winning the FA Cup once under the Spaniard's reign to date.
source: Sportskeeda
