With the clock ticking down on the first decade of the 21st century it seems an apt moment to cast our eyes over an amazing ten years of European football and pay homage to the characters who have defined the tactics, style and success of the beautiful game on the continent.
Domestically there are some very obvious candidates for the accolade; Sir Alex Ferguson has once again enjoyed immeasurable success securing five Premier League titles, an FA Cup medal and Champions League triumph with Manchester United; Arsene Wenger has redefined life at Arsenal securing two title successes (including the unbeaten season of 2003-04), three FA Cup victories as well as engineering the building of a new stadium; Jose Mourinho came, saw and conquered England with Chelsea, while also winning Europe’s top title with homeland side Porto and two consecutive Serie A trophies with Inter Milan; nobody will forget Rafael Benitez’s 2005 Champions League success with Liverpool and the dramatic FA Cup Final win against West Ham United, but not many on these shores remember his two La Liga titles and UEFA Cup glory with Valencia.
David Moyes has won the LMA’s Manager of the Year award on three occasions in the past decade for his work at Everton; much-maligned Steve McLaren took Middlesbrough to an UEFA Cup final, endured two years at the helm of the Three Lions and has enjoyed a rebirth in Holland with FC Twente, while Aston Villa’s current coach Martin O’Neill worked wonders at Celtic with three SPL Championships and three Scottish FA Cups.
There are several other managers who have tasted British football but also worked their magic abroad; Dick Advocaat has helped put Russian football on the map with a UEFA Cup win at Zenit St Petersburg while compatriot Guus Hiddink has won three Eredivisie titles with PSV Eindhoven, an FA Cup win with Chelsea and led South Korea, Australia and Russia to relative success at major finals. Carlo Ancelotti, Hiddink’s successor at Stamford Bridge, was a hero at AC Milan after his Serie A, Copa Italia and two Champions League coups, Marcello Lippi achieved hero status having led the Azzurri, against all odds, to success at the 2006 World Cup, Roberto Mancini turned Inter Milan into a dominant domestic force, while Fabio Capello’s esteemed reputation has led him to England following Serie A success with Juventus and Roma and a Spanish league title with Real Madrid.
In Spain, Barcelona duo Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola have earned the Catalans their second and third Champions League wins, Vicente del Bosque achieved remarkably consistent form with Real Madrid before taking the reigns of Luis Aragones’ reigning European national side. And we can’t forget Germany, where the current manager of the Swiss national side Ottmar Hitzfeld was named Bayern Munich’s greatest ever coach having helped them to four Bundesliga titles, three German Cups and the Champions League in two spells stretching over eight years.