Generational/Era defining managers - how many are currently active and making their mark?

Fortitude

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Klopp and Pep accepted, and Mourinho, Simeone considered of the last cycle, who else is out there who are destined to be managers for the ages rather than flash in the pan jobbers?

What criteria constitutes a truly great manager for you, also?

I think it's fair to say that not only are the aforementioned for this era winning, they are revolutionaries on top, which, for most people ticks all the boxes sans longevity and shoestring budget glory (the rise to the top). Pep probably qualifies for longevity and Klopp has the shoestringiness element to a degree, so in a roundabouts way they're both pretty much at the very top percentile in terms of criteria.

Who slots in alongside them, for you?
 

Skills

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It's only really Pep and Klopp in the current cycle.

Conte with the potential to throw himself in that category. Only a Champions League is missing from his CV

Zidane also needs to one more cycle of success.
 

Needham

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Eddie Howe will never get the chance so we'll never know. Admit it to yourself, you started laughing half way through reading his name. Of course, he is not era defining but he has performed a footballing miracle as amazing as any in this generation. Would love him to get the Spurs job to see what he can do.
 

SilentWitness

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Pep and Klopp are the easiest choices when you are considering football at the highest level and their respective styles being replicated across the world.

It's early days but the two Red Bull managers are intriguing. Both play football which leads them to scoring a lot of goals/rarely don't score even if they draw or lose.
 

Dancfc

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Eddie Howe will never get the chance so we'll never know. Admit it to yourself, you started laughing half way through reading his name. Of course, he is not era defining but he has performed a footballing miracle as amazing as any in this generation. Would love him to get the Spurs job to see what he can do.
Don't get the hype with Howe to be honest. With the money he's spent at Bournemouth since promotion he has underachieved, he's had the resources to get them where Wolves are but fails by wasting money on utter shite and the fact he's unable to mould a structured defense.

Switch defense to attack and that paragraph could be used to describe Pulis after promotion at Stoke yet no one hyped him for too jobs.
 

Needham

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Don't get the hype with Howe to be honest. With the money he's spent at Bournemouth since promotion he has underachieved, he's had the resources to get them where Wolves are but fails by wasting money on utter shite and the fact he's unable to mould a structured defense.
Switch defense to attack and that paragraph could be used to describe Pulis after promotion at Stoke yet no one hyped him for too jobs.
Wolves are a special case with their Portugal connect and Pulis got plenty of recognition albeit of the begrudging variety. Howe would benefit from a top grade director of football if he stepped up to a Spurs but you have to be curious what somebody who performed a modern day Wimbledon (for want of a better example) climb through the leagues might do. Or you could just write him off and take a punt on the next well groomed Marco Silva-alike.
 

duffer

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Klopp? Nah. 1 league, 1 german cup and 1 Champions League in an 18 year managerial career is nowhere near enough.

He's still got many years left of course.
 

drdoityourself

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Bournemouth got a wealthy Russian owner back in 2011. I'm not saying Eddie Howe didn't do a wonderful job at Bournemouth but he got better financial backing, a fact that is never talked about. Signing players like Matt Ritchie from a league rival was only possible from having a bigger budget than anyone else in League 1 for example.
 

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Overall for their careers Pep, Mourinho and Ancelotti. Allegri, Klopp and Simeone on track to join them one day.
 

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What criteria constitutes a truly great manager for you, also?
Three stand out for me:
  • Over-achievement with the resources at the manager's disposal - this is distinct from the trophy cabinet and about getting more than the sum of their parts out of teams.
  • Innovation - what impact has the manager had on the different aspects of management that others have copied? What is their legacy to their club or the game as a whole?
  • Longevity - most managers succeed either with one or two teams or for 5-10 years before the game passes them by. Which managers have been able to change their methods to adapt to new trends in the game? Which managers have been able to rebuild teams or take on new challenges in different environments?
 

mwake

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Klopp? Nah. 1 league, 1 german cup and 1 Champions League in an 18 year managerial career is nowhere near enough.

He's still got many years left of course.
Klopp has two German league titles. Managed this whilst not having the most cash as top teams and with a mixture of youth and low cost bargains.
 

duffer

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Klopp has two German league titles. Managed this whilst not having the most cash as top teams and with a mixture of youth and low cost bargains.
He does indeed, fantastic to win 1 against Bayern in that league, let alone 2! my apologies.

Still not enough to place him on a "generational defining managers" list though.
 

Sky1981

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Klopp will join the liverpool legend.

Mourinho pep is on worldwide legend.

Howe... you're having a laugh, only british fans are enamoured with doing it on tuesday cold britannia stadium. Nobody remember shearer outside england because he's with newcastle. Right or wrong that is.
 

Zehner

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For me, it's not so much about titles but how they impacted football. In this generation, Klopp and Guardiola are the only managers that changedbthe game sustainably with their respective brands of football. The only two managers who were really revolutionary. The rest that achieved great things like Mourinho, Ancelotti, Zidane, Simeone, Allegri, Conte, del Bosque, Heynckes, etc. weren't really about innovation but application. The same goes for SAF in my opinion, by the way. Very successful but not recolutinary.

However, I think two managers that altered the game for good are not bad for a single generation since managers like this rarely occur at all. Michels, Happel, Sacchi and Cruyff are more or less the only names that come to mind immediately.
 

giorno

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Klopp is a curious case, because he's no real revolutionary, more like the guy who made certain concepts popular, rather than coming up with something new

He did have a huge impact on german football, tactically, but then again german football was at a low point back then

Conte for example brought the back-3 back in fashion, but he's no revolutionary for it

Still very much an era-defining manager at this point, though(klopp, not conte)
 

anant

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A manager should have been successful at the same club for atleast 7-8 years to be classified as era-defining.

Why 7-8 years? Because it's not the toughest job to build a great side especially with the money the clubs have, it's knowing when these players are on decline and replacing them with equally great players. And this is what most managers struggle with.

And success should be defined relative to size of club and their spend.
 

Mogget

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Bielsa? I'd say he's more era defining and revolutionary than Klopp
 

devilish

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Eddie Howe will never get the chance so we'll never know. Admit it to yourself, you started laughing half way through reading his name. Of course, he is not era defining but he has performed a footballing miracle as amazing as any in this generation. Would love him to get the Spurs job to see what he can do.
Id say give him the United job
 

Classical Mechanic

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Don't get the hype with Howe to be honest. With the money he's spent at Bournemouth since promotion he has underachieved, he's had the resources to get them where Wolves are but fails by wasting money on utter shite and the fact he's unable to mould a structured defense.

Switch defense to attack and that paragraph could be used to describe Pulis after promotion at Stoke yet no one hyped him for too jobs.
Wolves net spend the past two years is only £15m less than Bournemouth’s over the last 5 and they have the most powerful agent in football pulling the strings for them.

Hodgson and Dyche would have been better examples for your second point as they’ve done brilliantly on very little money at all. Both teams net spend over the last 5 is less than Wolves this year alone.
 

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Depends how exclusive you are being @Fortitude - which managers from previous generations would be era-defining?
 

Fortitude

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Depends how exclusive you are being @Fortitude - which managers from previous generations would be era-defining?
Now you're asking! Those who leave an indelible mark on the game and a template or marker for others to aspire to.

Innovation and or setting new precedent is also an aspect which has merit in its own right.

A lot happened in the 90's, so that list would be excessive in contrast to the 00's or 10's: the usual suspects at the helm of the dynasty clubs or those who got to the very top whilst turning the heads of the football world (Van Gaal immediately comes to mind her) in doing so. Of the 00's it may well be only Pep and Mourinho, not sure Hitzfeld qualifies.
 

Tostao_80

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Now you're asking! Those who leave an indelible mark on the game and a template or marker for others to aspire to.

Innovation and or setting new precedent is also an aspect which has merit in its own right.

A lot happened in the 90's, so that list would be excessive in contrast to the 00's or 10's: the usual suspects at the helm of the dynasty clubs or those who got to the very top whilst turning the heads of the football world (Van Gaal immediately comes to mind her) in doing so. Of the 00's it may well be only Pep and Mourinho, not sure Hitzfeld qualifies.
Are you saying that Michels at Ajax wasnt era defining? He was only there 6 years.
Pep at Barca, only 4 years.
 

Luke1995

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Carlo Ancelotti obviously. Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Madrid, Bayern, Napoli. Pretty solid managerial career