Best. Managers. EVAR.

The London Times spent the summer churning out football-related top 50 lists of every possible stripe, from biggest sporting scandals to worst footballers, and they seem set to continue their frantic, totally arbitrary ranking frenzy into the fall as well, this morning publishing their list of the Top 50 Managers of All Time. And, while it’s pretty much impossible to argue with the placement of Dutchman Rinus Michels in the top spot, there’s a lot below him to piss off everyone, no matter where your biases lie.

For example: Alex Ferguson at #4? Are you kidding me? Granted, if you were to ask him he surely should be higher, but come on. He’s certainly one of the top four or five managers working today, but of all time seems a bit of a stretch. Ferguson does have some Premiership companions on the list, though of course none of them is as hugely important as the Scot. As you’d expect both Arsene Wenger (#10) and Jose Mourinho (#16) are on the list, as well as Sven Goran Eriksson (#46) and Rafa Benitez, who probably would have been even higher than #33 if he’d just GIVE IN AND SHAVE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

Among the other active managers deemed “great” by The Times, a trio were in action last night, with nary a win among them: Russia (and South Korea, and Australia) coach Guus Hiddink is 29th, Big Phil is 18th, and Greece’s favorite German Otto Rehhagel squeaks in at #42.

As a special bonus to the rage and joy it surely creates, The Times’ list also includes one of the top 50 sporting quotes ever — I’m working on compiling the other 49 — spoken by Alex Ferguson about #17 in the rankings, World Cup winner (and all around pimp) Marcello Lippi: “Such a good-looking bastard he makes most of us look like Bela Lugosi.”

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Category: Europe, World Football

Tags: Europe, World Football

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