Ranked: The top 10 out-of-work managers right now | OneFootball

The dugout can be unforgiving, and managers are always only a few bad results away from the chopping block.

This may explain why there are often more than a few elite coaches resting up while their fellow coaches slog it out on the sidelines, but now is the time for them to spring into action. Summer break is on the horizon, so some teams can decide whether to stick with their current managers or twist.

It’ll be an easy choice for some, while others may have to weigh up the pros and cons before making the call, especially as clubs also start planning for transfer moves. When managers are sacked or close to getting the chop, the biggest question is always, who is there to come in?

We’ve ranked the best ten managers without a job who could be up for grabs.

10. Andre Villas-Boas

It can be argued that Andre Villas-Boas is still trying to re-establish his reputation following those two utterly underwhelming stints at Chelsea and Tottenham, having ventured to Russia and China to evade the intense limelight of Europe’s top five leagues, before returning to Marseille in 2019.

His time as OM boss ended acrimoniously due to off-the-field differences but, on the turf, Les Phoceens were a ruthlessly well-oiled machine. The polarising Portuguese guided them to the Champions League for the first time in six years and ended the club’s nine-year wait for a Le Classique triumph against rivals PSG. He would eventually be replaced by Jorge Sampaoli, who didn’t last long in the job.

9. Joachim Löw

Joachim Löw would have ranked much higher on this list, but the majority of his success has come at international level, while’s been out of work since the end of the last European Championships in 2021. But what success he enjoyed with Germany.

Löw — now 63 — reached three major finals during his 15-year-old spell as Germany boss, of course bringing home the ultimate prize with the 2014 World Cup as well as winning the final Confederations Cup in 2017, reaching the final of Euro 2008 and the World Cup semi-finals in 2010, beating Uruguay to finish third.

That is an incredible international CV, and goes along nicely with his more modest but still very impressive achievements at club level, which include the 2001/02 Austrian Bundesliga title with Tirol Innsbruck — their last title — and the 1997 DfB-Pokal with Stuttgart.

8. Graham Potter

Graham Potter’s stock has fallen slightly after his disastrous spell at Stamford Bridge that saw him record the lowest win rate of any permanent manager in the club’s history (39%), but his spells at Östersunds FK, Swansea and Brighton should not be forgotten. Known for his innovation, methodical approach and man-management skills, Potter first came to the attention of the world after leading Swedish side Östersunds FK to the top flight for the first time in their history in 2015, before guiding them to an eighth-place finish in their first campaign.

After beating Arsenal in the Europa League with the Swedish minnows, Potter returned to the UK for a spell at Championship side Swansea before replacing Chris Hughton at the Amex. After two seasons fighting off relegation, he led them to their best-ever Premier League finish in 2021/22, ending the season in ninth, before leaving for what he thought was his big break at Stamford Bridge, but it was not to be.

7. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Solskjaer’s spell at Man Utd sure was strange. The former striker was certainly given a fair crack, staying in the job for nearly three years. And in fairness to him, he enjoyed a 54.17% win rate and reached the Europa League final in 2021. However, things just never quite took off and it always felt Solskjaer was out of his depth at one of the world’s biggest clubs (though fortunes haven’t really improved that much since he left).

What you can say for certain is it’s very surprising he hasn’t been offered another role in slightly more relaxed and modest surroundings, given his experience in the Old Trafford pressure cooker and the fact he’s still only 50 years old.

Solskjaer is currently touring around the United States taking in facilities and knowledge at MLS clubs, which caused him to be linked with Charlotte FC. However, club president Joe LaBue quickly shut that speculation down.

“To be very clear, Ole visited our facility along with many other MLS facilities last week. It’s common and best practice to host people from across the globe and we’ll continue to do so. We’re proud of what we’ve built. End of story here,” LaBue wrote on X.

For the record, Dean Smith became Charlotte FC’s new head coach.

6. Massimiliano Allegri

Juventus ended Massimiliano Allegri’s second tenure with the club by sacking him after his behaviour at the Coppa Italia final.

Just two days after leading Juventus to victory, Allegri was dismissed for ranting at match officials and waving away Juve’s sporting director during the celebrations. Following this, the Italian Football Federation’s disciplinary tribunal investigated him.

Allegri led Juventus from 2014 to 2019, during which they won the title in each of his five seasons, claimed four Italian Cups, and reached the Champions League final twice. He left by mutual consent at the end of the 2018-19 season.

After a two-year break, he returned as Juventus manager at the start of the 2021/22 season, but his second tenure did not match the success of his first. The team only won the Italian Cup, finishing fourth and seventh in his two full seasons before his recent departure, leaving the team in fourth place.

5. Hansi Flick

Everything seemed right for Hansi Flick and Germany on paper. Here we had the assistant coach of Die Mannschaft’s 2014 World Cup success and someone coming off back-to-back Bundesliga titles and a Champions League success with Bayern Munich, where he incredibly lost just seven of 86 games.

However, after a relatively solid start, things capitulated quickly, with Flick’s Germany crashing out of the 2022 World Cup in the group stage — the second time in a row they were dumped out at that stage — while his reign ended with three straight defeats, the last a 4-1 humiliation to Japan.

That said, Flick has already proven what he can do in club football and is still only 59, so as long as the appetite is still there, he should have no shortage of offers.

4. Mauricio Pochettino

Who could have seen Mauricio Pochettino back in the free-agent market so soon after Chelsea finally got their man last summer? Life at Stamford Bridge started poorly for the Blues, with the team producing relegation form numbers at one point. However, the Argentine tactician changed the narrative, and Chelsea finished the season strongly.

Despite this, elusive silverware in English football eluded him, with heavy criticism directed at him after losing extra time against a weakened Liverpool team in the EFL Cup final.

Behind the scenes, it wasn’t a happy marriage. Pochettino had the foresight to leave before things eventually boiled over next season. His reputation, though, hasn’t been tarnished. Unless he opts for a sabbatical, Pochettino should be back on his feet quickly, with several European super clubs seeking managerial services this summer.

3. Antonio Conte

Well, that didn’t last long, did it? After being appointed only 16 months prior, Antonio Conte parted ways from Tottenham almost as dramatically as he joined. He is now a managerial free agent. Having been identified by Daniel Levy as the man to finally deliver silverware success to Spurs, a notion reinforced by the Italian’s track record and bulging trophy cabinet — having won titles for Chelsea, Juventus, Inter and even Bari (if you count Serie B) — he was ultimately unable to bring something tangible to the table in north London.

He joined to so much fanfare in November 2021 and looked to have been a power-shifting appointment, a potentially club-defining move from Levy. Signs were promising as he thwarted Arsenal’s threats in 2021/22 to secure Champions League football, while he also brought in what initially looked like a bunch of game-changers over the summer. However, the wheels fell off at an alarming rate in 2022/23, and his frustration reached a zenith after he went off on a 20-minute rant criticising the club following Spurs’ 3-3 draw with Southampton.

“Tottenham’s story is this – 20 years there is this owner and they never won something,” Conte vented. “We are 11 players that go into the pitch. I see selfish players, I see players that don’t want to help each other and don’t put their heart [in].”

He was never going to survive the Levy chopping block after that, was he?

2. Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho finds himself without a club.

You don’t need us to tell you just how much of a legend the Portuguese is in the managerial world, but in case you’d forgotten, here’s a brief overview of his major honours in England, Spain, Italy and Portugal: 8x league titles, 8x domestic cups, 2x Champions Leagues, 2x Europa Leagues, 1x Europa Conference League.

The latter was won with Roma less than two years ago, making Mourinho the first-ever manager to lift all three major UEFA competitions.

Now, there is a little baggage with the ‘Special One’, who has had his fair share of run-ins with club ownership and officials over the years. But his achievements in the game overshadow all that, as does his ability to forge a siege mentality to get the very best out of a group of players.

1. Zinedine Zidane

We’re so used to watching Zinedine Zidane lift trophies as a manager, it’s easy to forget he’s only actually been one at first-team level for five years. But during that time, he’s won two La Liga titles and three consecutive Champions Leagues with Real Madrid, alongside a wealth of Super Cups and Club World Cups. It is a trophy haul many could only dream of across an entire career.

After failing to deliver any silverware in 2020/21, the Frenchman left the Bernabeu claiming Madrid didn’t show enough faith in him. However, Zizou isn’t done with coaching just yet.

“I will be back soon. Wait, wait a little bit. Soon, soon. I’m not far from coaching again,” Zidane told RMC Sport.

It’s only a matter of time till the managerial merry-go-round starts turning in Europe yet again, and there is no manager out there who can boast a CV as decorated as Zinedine Zidane. He will be the sought-after name whenever big vacancies come up, but he is smart enough to pick the right job that will allow him to best flex his man-management muscles.