Ranking all 32 Champions League managers by their playing careers ft Xavi, Ten Hag & Guardiola | OneFootball

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The Champions League is back for another incredible tournament as the best teams in Europe go at it for the ultimate prize. There are some incredible players in the competition this year, but there are just as many fantastic managers leading things from the sidelines. The talent pool of coaches this season is pretty impressive, but how good were they during their playing days?

Well, we've decided to have a look and rank all 32 Champions League managers based on the careers they had during their days as a player. The results are pretty wild, with some of the most decorated managers in the tournament having poor careers as players, while some of the best players haven't been quite as effective in a coaching role.

Without further ado, here are all 32 managers in the Champions League this season ranked by their playing careers.

32 Maurizio Sarri - Lazio

Despite having an impressive career as a manager, Maurizio Sarri had a pretty terrible time during his playing days. The Lazio manager never played a game at a professional level and had retired by the time he was 31.

The only club he ever played for was Figline in the depths of Italian football. Fortunately, he has fared much better in the managerial hot seat than he ever did on the pitch.

31 Brendan Rodgers - Celtic

Similarly to Sarri, Brendan Rodgers is another top-level manager who failed to make any sort of impact as a player. The Irishman had stints at a number of clubs towards the bottom of the English football pyramid but never came close to any real hint of success.

He retired from playing at just 23 years old, but has gone on to have a pretty solid career as a manager in the years since.

30 Jacob Neestrup - FC Copenhagen

As injuries hindered his playing career, Jacob Neestrup was limited to just eight appearances during his days as a footballer. Two of those games came for FC Copenhagen, though, which automatically places him above Sarri and Rodgers as a result.

Neestrup retired from playing at just 23 years old after he was ravaged by injuries and has spent the majority of his time coaching within the Copenhagen set up, finally earning a shot with the first team last year.

29 Patrick van Leeuwen - Shakhtar Donetsk

A slight step up now as Patrick van Leeuwen actually managed to get some games under his belt during his playing days. The Shakhtar Donetsk manager played 16 games in the Dutch top flight for Sparta Rotterdam before dropping down the football divisions and joining Helmond Sport.

He retired at 27, after making just 41 appearances for the club, but he did score three goals, which compared to the players who came before him in this list, is pretty decent.

28 Thomas Tuchel - Bayern Munich

Thomas Tuchel is one of the most impressive managers in the world and his track record at the top of European football is pretty impressive. With a Champions League trophy already under his belt, he's one of the most accomplished managers in the tournament this season, but his playing career was quite different.

With eight appearances for Stuttgarter Kickers and a further 69 for SSV Ulm in the second division of German football, his playing days failed to uproot any trees.

27 Edin Terzic - Borussia Dortmund

While Edin Terzic actually played a substantial amount of games during his career, he never came close to reaching the top of the sport. Instead, the German manager spent seven years plying his trade in the lower leagues of his home nation for the likes of Westfalia Herne and BV Cloppenburg before retiring at the age of 28.

Still fairly new to the coaching game, with Borussia Dortmund being his first job, he's already surpassed his status as a player and reached the Champions League, a tournament he didn't even come close to reaching on the pitch.

26 Barak Bakhar - Red Star Belgrade

With over 200 matches under his belt back in his native Israel, Barak Bakhar didn't have too bad a career as a footballer back home, but he never managed to make it out of the country. Instead, he spent nine years playing for Hapoel Petah Tivka and Ironi Kiryat Shmona before retiring in 2011.

Unfortunately for Bakhar, it seemed he retired one year too early as Shmona won the top flight of Irsaeli football for the first time ever just one year after he hung his boots up. Taking charge of Red Star Belgrade earlier this year, this marks the 43-year-old's first role in football outside of Israel.

25 Roger Schmidt - Benfica

As a midfielder, Roger Schmidt flirted with reaching the Bundesliga at times during his playing career, but the highest division he ever played in was the 2. Bundesliga with SC Paderborn 07 in 2002/03. Still, for a midfielder, he had a pretty decent goalscoring record and scored 60 goals in 259 appearances throughout his career.

What prevents him from ranking higher on this list is the level of competition he consistently played at during his time on the pitch and the fact he never played in a top division.

24 Franck Haise - RC Lens

Similarly to Schmidt, Franck Haise played a decent amount of games during his playing days and forged a nice career for himself on the pitch, but it's the level he played at that ranks him so low. For the likes of Rouen, Laval and Angers, he made a name for himself in lower tiers of French football and the highest level he played at was in Ligue 2.

He did make 317 appearances in total, though, and played football for 16 years, so it's not a bad run at all.

23 Eddie Howe - Newcastle United

Eddie Howe's playing days were largely spent with AFC Bournemouth in the lower tiers of the English football league. Aside from a brief spell at Portsmouth in the Championship that saw the former defender make just two appearances for the south coast side, he spent his entire career at the Cherries in League One.

Howe played 310 games across two different spells for Bournemouth and had a solid career as a defender in England. His time as a manager has far surpassed those days, though.

22 Gerhard Struber - Red Bull Salzburg

Starting his career at Red Bull Salzburg, Gerhard Struber played 50 games for the club in the top division of Austrian football. He moved around a number of clubs after, failing to really find a stable home. He played 30 games for LASK in Austrian's top flight and then continued to move around before returning to Salzburg to retire at 31 years old.

He might not have the most games under his belt, but his experience in the top-flight ranks him above some of the other managers on this list.

21 Rudi Garcia - Napoli

While Rudi Garcia's managerial run has seen him coach teams all over the world, with stints at Roma, Lyon and Al Nassr just a few of the jobs he's held, his playing career was a lot more straight forward. The former midfielder spent his entire career playing in France, his homeland.

Turning out for the likes of Lille and Caen, he played for 13 years, but hung his boots up at the age of 32. With 134 appearances, he wasn't the most experienced ex-player in this list, but his time in Ligue 1 with Lille is a greater height than anyone ranked below him ever reached.

20 Marco Rose - RB Leipzig

Marco Rose has established himself as one of the most promising managers in football over the last few years. Spells at Borussia Monchengadbach, Dortmund and now RB Leipzig have seen him impress, and his career on the pitch was pretty decent too.

The 47-year-old played over 250 games in his career and spent a large portion of his days in the Bundesliga with Hannover 96 and Mainz 05. Rose played as a defender and was an established player at the top of German football. While his legacy as a manager has already surpassed his days on the pitch, they were still pretty decent.

19 Erik ten Hag - Manchester United

Erik ten Hag's time at Ajax saw him become a world-class manager, but his time as a footballer wasn't too bad either. The Dutchman played 336 games in his home nation of the Netherlands for the likes of FC Twente, De Graafschap and Utrecht.

He was consistently playing in the Eredivisie and was a solid enough centre-back during his playing days. He's already far surpassed his playing career as a manager, though, moving beyond his homeland and taking control of Manchester United last summer.

18 Stefano Pioli - AC Milan

Stefano Pioli had a solid playing career back in the day. The AC Milan boss played for some pretty impressive clubs, such as Juventus, Parma, Hellas Verona and Fiorentina over the years and even made over 150 appearances for the latter.

He may have tumbled down the divisions towards the end of his time on the pitch, but for a while there, he was a pretty impressive defender in Serie A and can say he played for one of his country's greatest-ever clubs. There aren't many on this list that can say that.

17 Artur Jorge - Braga

Pretty much a one-team kind of guy, it's fitting that Artur Jorge is currently the Braga boss as he spent pretty much his entire career as a footballer with the club. Aside from one appearance for Penafiel shortly before his retirement, he played for no one but Braga and made 240 appearances for the Portuguese side.

Such a lengthy run at the top of Portuguese football is really impressive and shows just how impactful he was for the team for 12 long years. As a centre-back, he was regularly relied upon for over a decade and following his appointment as Braga manager last year, he'll be hoping to be half as impactful as a manager for the side as he was a player.

16 Imanol Alguacil - Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad have had an incredible few years and Imanol Alguacil has played a huge role in their positive fortunes. He's spent five years in charge at the club, but also spent 10 years with the team as a player back in the day. The former right-back made 113 appearances for Sociedad before he moved on and joined fellow La Liga side Villarreal.

He soon dropped down the divisions, but having spent a decade plying his trade in the top flight of Spanish football, his career has to be looked at as a success. Still, his time as a manager with his beloved Sociedad has already gone far beyond what he achieved as a player.

15 Jose Luis Mendilibar - Sevilla

Sevilla might have gotten off to a poor start in the league this year, but the success they've seen under Jose Luis Mendilibar can't be ignored. Despite only being hired in March, the Spaniard guided his team to a Europa League triumph last season ensuring he's already been a success for the club.

Spells at the likes of Athletic Bilbao, Eibar and Valladolid have established him as a solid manager in Spain and it's safe to say he's quite experienced now. His career on the pitch was fairly similar, with the former midfielder playing for a variety of teams in his home nation, including Athletic Bilbao. He played just under 500 games during his career, ensuring his spot as one of the most experienced players in this entire list. The sheer volume of games played was enough to rank him higher than a couple of the lesser experienced players below him.

14 Urs Fischer - Union Berlin

Urs Fischer may not have the most glamorous of football careers at first glance, never playing outside of Switzerland during his days on the pitch, but the fact he played 545 games in his country's top flight can't be ignored. The former centre-back consistently turned out for both St. Gallen and Zurich during his career.

Not only that, but he managed to make four appearances for his national, Switzerland. An internationally capped player, there aren't many other managers in this list that can boast that achievement, so he has certainly earned his ranking just inside the top half of the list.

13 Arne Slot - Feyenoord

While he only ever played in the Netherlands, Arne Slot's success as a midfielder and the sheer impact he had for his teams is what's earned him such a high spot in this list. The 45-year-old played 462 games during his career, but what's most impressive is the fact he managed to score 100 goals in that time.

That's incredible for a midfielder and considering he spent a large portion of his career in the Eredivisie, it's even more impressive. Feyenoord is just Slot's second-ever managerial role, but he's thriving in the role.