In the 21st century, clubs in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1 have been fortunate to have hired coaches who possess managerial brilliance.

These coaches have redefined tactics and established new benchmarks of greatness, leaving an everlasting impression on the beautiful game while also inspiring their teams to succeed.

A Reddit user has combed through the history of modern soccer to uncover the small group of strategists whose impressive winning rates attest to their unrivaled expertise. Let’s see which managers from this century had the highest winning percentage in the five most recent European championships.

5. Laurent Blanc

Among the managers that have the highest victory ratio in the 21st century, is former France captain Laurent Blanc. With an impressive victory record of 61.5%, the very seasoned Frenchman has triumphed in 160 of 260 encounters.

Bordeaux were Blanc’s first managerial stop in the 2007-2008 French Ligue 1 season.

Before becoming the head coach of the national team, he guided the club to league glory. He made a triumphant comeback to coaching in 2013 with Paris Saint-Germain. There, he won Ligue 1 three more times and many more titles.

Before taking over as manager of Al Rayyan in Saudi Arabia, Blanc devoted his management career to Europe, namely his home country of France. He is currently without a club after managing Lyon last season.

4. Luis Enrique

Luis Enrique gained fame throughout his time at Barcelona, both as a player and a coach. After taking over the club’s reserve squad, he managed the main team and led them to an unprecedented string of victories.

Along with arrivals Neymar and Luis Suarez, he had the likes of Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Xavi, and Lionel Messi, who had won several titles together. From 2014 to 2017, he dominated at the Camp Nou, winning nine trophies over his three years there.

Before stepping up to the plate at PSG, Enrique led Spain twice for a total of four years. The Spanish boss has won 133 out of 214 matches, for an outstanding success percentage of 62.1% in Europe’s top five leagues.

Luis Enrique is currently at PSG
Luis Enrique is currently at PSG

3. Antonio Conte

Conte has an uncanny knack for leading teams to victory. Unless, maybe, supporters of Tottenham might disagree. But few managers can boast five league championships in two different leagues.

With 210 triumphs out of 320 matches in Europe’s top five divisions, the Italian strategist has a 65.6% victory record. As he joined Juventus in 2011, Conte led the team to three consecutive Serie A titles.

Before ending the run in 2021 with Inter’s Serie A victory, he set the stage for a dominating Juventus team. The Italian boss would go on to win nine straight championships with the Bianconeri. Also, while at Chelsea, he oversaw the club’s 2016-17 Premier League triumph.

2. Zinedine Zidane

After a successful playing career, Zinedine Zidane has limited his managerial experience to Real Madrid of Spain. Yet, with a victory ratio of 67.6%, it is rather remarkable. During his two stints as manager, the team won 123 out of 182 available matches.

In 2016, when Rafael Benitez was fired, Los Blancos assigned the Frenchman the responsibility of the club’s senior squad, although he had previously been in charge of the junior team. Prior to that, in 2013, he was the club’s assistant to Carlo Ancelotti.

While he was in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, the team won the UEFA Champions League three times in a row, which was a major accomplishment. His 2017 Spanish La Liga title was the club’s 33rd ever. During his second stint with the club, Zidane guided them to the Spanish La Liga championship until he resigned in 2021.

1. Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, is generally considered to be among the all-time greats and the best of his generation. With a win percentage of 75.7%, he has guided his teams to victory in 414 out of 547 matches.

After being named coach at Barcelona in 2008, Guardiola guided the team to its first-ever treble in his first season. Prior to his transfer to Bayern Munich, he took home a plethora of more hardware.

Between his time there and his departure, the team won the Bundesliga championship three times in a row. He signed for Manchester City, where he has broken several records and won the league championship no less than five times in five years. The team achieved an unprecedented treble under his direction last season.

Photo credit: IMAGO / MAXPPP IMAGO / ZUMA Wire.