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Football · Level 4: Intermediate · Sub-level 4.50

Iconic Coaches

10 tests · 100 facts · updated 12 October 2026 · markdown

History's most influential football coaches — from Herrera's catenaccio and Michels's Total Football to Ferguson (13 PLs), Guardiola (tiki-taka), Klopp, Mourinho, Ancelotti (5 CLs record), Zidane (3-in-a-row CL), Del Bosque, Scaloni, Regragui. Plus iconic women's coaches: Sundhage, Wiegman (3 Euros), Emma Hayes (6 WSL), Jill Ellis (2 WCs), Bompastor.

Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.

Test 1Tactical revolutionariesTake a test

  1. Helenio Herrera perfected catenaccio (the 'chain' or 'lock' defense) at Inter Milan. Won 2 European Cups (1964, 1965) with Inter.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  2. Michels built Total Football at Ajax and won the 1971 European Cup with them; Stefan Kovacs took the next two. He then won Euro 1988 with the Netherlands.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  3. Arrigo Sacchi's Milan (1987-91) built its game on organised zonal pressing, developing ideas from the Dutch and Soviet schools. Won 2 European Cups. His system influenced Guardiola.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  4. Pep Guardiola's Barcelona (2008-2012) perfected tiki-taka — high possession, short passing, positional play. Roots in Cruyff and Michels.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  5. Klopp's side won the ball back straight after losing it, a style that brought Dortmund the league titles of 2011 and 2012.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  6. Rangnick's teams pressed high long before it was fashionable, and his ideas shaped coaches such as Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  7. Bill Shankly transformed Liverpool between 1959 and 1974, laying the foundations of the club's dynasty, and won three First Division titles and a UEFA Cup.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  8. Brian Clough managed Forest 1975-93. Won 2 European Cups (1979, 1980) + 1 First Division (1978). One of English football's greatest.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  9. Michels won 1971 and left for Barcelona; Stefan Kovacs took over and won 1972 and 1973 with largely the same side.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  10. Guardiola flew to Mexico to work under him early on, and made him an assistant at Manchester City years later.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

Test 2Alex Ferguson eraTake a test

  1. Sir Alex Ferguson won 13 Premier Leagues (1993-2013) — a record. Managed Man United 1986-2013 (27 years).

    Source: Premier League history · recall

  2. 1999 against Bayern Munich, and 2008 against Chelsea in Moscow, which finished 1-1 after extra time and went to penalties.

    Source: Premier League history · recall

  3. Ferguson's 1998-99 treble — PL + FA Cup + CL. First English club treble. Solskjær scored the CL winner in 93rd min. Premier League + FA Cup + Champions League.

    Source: Premier League history · recall

  4. Ferguson won 5 FA Cups with Man United (1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004). Multiple League Cups too.

    Source: Premier League history · recall

  5. Ferguson retired aged 71 in May 2013 after winning his 13th PL. Left immediately, replaced by David Moyes.

    Source: Premier League history · recall

  6. Arsène Wenger of Arsenal was Ferguson's great rival; their duel defined the Premier League from 1996 to 2011.

    Source: Premier League history · recall

  7. Ferguson won 11 PL Manager of Season awards — a record. Also multiple FA and general awards.

    Source: Premier League awards · recall

  8. Named for the blast of air a player took to the face. He used it sparingly enough that it kept its effect for twenty-seven years.

    Source: Premier League history · recall

  9. The Champions League final in Barcelona was his last match for the club, and he captained the side that night.

    Source: Premier League history · recall

  10. The 1990 FA Cup is widely said to have saved his job. The European Cup Winners' Cup followed in 1991, against Barcelona in Rotterdam.

    Source: Premier League history · recall

Test 3Modern super-coachesTake a test

  1. Guardiola: 3 CLs — 2 with Barcelona (2009 vs Man Utd, 2011 vs Man Utd), 1 with Man City (2023 vs Inter).

    Source: UEFA Champions League records · recall

  2. Three seasons and three Bundesligas from 2013, though he did not win a European Cup there.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  3. Mourinho: 2 CLs — 2004 with Porto (vs Monaco), 2010 with Inter (vs Bayern, treble). Won leagues in 4 different countries.

    Source: UEFA Champions League records · recall

  4. Portugal with Porto, England with Chelsea, Italy with Inter and Spain with Real Madrid.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  5. Zidane won 3 CLs in a row with Real Madrid (2016, 2017, 2018) — an unprecedented feat in the CL era. All with Real Madrid, 2016-18.

    Source: UEFA Champions League records · recall

  6. Twice with Barcelona, in 2009 and 2011, and once with City in 2023. He won three Bundesligas at Bayern but no European Cup.

    Source: UEFA Champions League records · recall

  7. Ancelotti: 5 CLs — a record. 2 with AC Milan, 3 with Real Madrid. Also won Serie A + La Liga + PL + Ligue 1 + Bundesliga. 2003, 2007 with Milan; 2014, 2022, 2024 with Real Madrid.

    Source: UEFA Champions League records · recall

  8. Klopp won 1 CL with Liverpool (2019 vs Tottenham 2-0). Lost 2018 and 2022 finals to Real Madrid. Also 1 PL (2020).

    Source: UEFA Champions League records · recall

  9. Luis Enrique: 3 CLs — 2015 with Barcelona (treble), 2025 with PSG (5-0 vs Inter), 2026 with PSG (4-3 pens vs Arsenal).

    Source: UEFA Champions League records · recall

  10. Ancelotti has won league titles in Italy (Milan), England (Chelsea), France (PSG), Germany (Bayern), Spain (Real Madrid) — 5.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

Test 4World Cup winnersTake a test

  1. Scaloni was forty-four, and had never managed a club side. He has since added the 2024 Copa America to the 2021 one and the World Cup.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  2. Joachim Löw managed Germany 2006-2021 — winning 2014 WC (1-0 vs Argentina, Götze goal). His only major.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  3. Andres Iniesta scored in the 116th minute against the Netherlands, in a final that produced fourteen yellow cards.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  4. Marcello Lippi won Italy the 2006 WC (5-3 pens vs France, after 1-1 aet). Also multiple Serie A with Juventus.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  5. Big Phil Scolari won the 2002 World Cup, beating Germany 2-0 in the final. He later took Portugal to the Euro 2004 final and the 2006 World Cup semi-finals.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  6. Aimé Jacquet coached France to their first WC in 1998 (3-0 vs Brazil at Stade de France).

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  7. Carlos Bilardo coached Argentina at the 1986 WC (Maradona era, 3-2 vs Germany). Also 1990 final loss.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  8. César Luis Menotti coached Argentina to their first WC in 1978 (3-1 aet vs Netherlands at Estadio Monumental).

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  9. Sir Alf Ramsey coached England to 1966 WC (4-2 aet vs West Germany at Wembley). Only English coach to win.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  10. He replaced Vahid Halilhodzic in August 2022 and by December had beaten Belgium, Spain and Portugal.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

Test 5Women's coachesTake a test

  1. The Netherlands in 2017, then England in 2022 and 2025. Tina Theune also won three, all with Germany.

    Source: UEFA Women's Euro history · recall

  2. Jill Ellis coached USA to 2015 (5-2 vs Japan) and 2019 (2-0 vs Netherlands) WCs. Retired after 2019.

    Source: US Women's Soccer history · recall

  3. Pia Sundhage, a Swede, coached the USA to Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012 before taking charge of Sweden and then Brazil, an iconic figure in women's football.

    Source: Women's football history · recall

  4. 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, the last of them in her final season before taking the United States job.

    Source: WSL history · recall

  5. Emma Hayes joined USWNT in 2024. Won Paris 2024 Olympic gold in her first tournament.

    Source: US Women's Soccer history · recall

  6. Giraldez won the club's second and third titles, then left for Washington Spirit. Lluis Cortes had won the first, in 2021.

    Source: UEFA Women's Champions League history · recall

  7. She won the Women's Champions League with Lyon in 2011 and 2012 as a player, then again from the touchline in 2022.

    Source: Women's football history · recall

  8. Sarina Wiegman coached Netherlands to 2019 WC final (lost 2-0 to USA). Then took over England in 2021.

    Source: FIFA Women's WC history · recall

  9. Silvia Neid coached Germany to 2007 WC + 2 Euros + 2016 Olympics — most successful women's football coach of her era.

    Source: Germany Women's football · recall

  10. Jorge Vilda coached Spain to 2023 WC. Later replaced amid Rubiales scandal fallout by Montse Tomé.

    Source: FIFA Women's WC history · recall

Test 6Managerial stylesTake a test

  1. Klopp described his Dortmund/Liverpool style as 'Heavy Metal Football' — high-intensity pressing + fast transitions. Gegenpressing + high intensity.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  2. After his own nickname, El Cholo. Two La Liga titles and two Champions League finals came from a compact block and fast breaks out of it.

    Source: Football coaching history · applied

  3. Sacchismo — Arrigo Sacchi's zonal pressing 4-4-2 system at Milan. Won 2 European Cups. Revolutionary in Serie A.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  4. Every outfield player picks up an opponent and the side presses the length of the pitch, which is why his teams tire late in a season.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  5. Guardiola flew to Argentina to spend eleven hours talking to Bielsa before taking his first job, and has repeated the description since.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  6. A compact shape and fast transitions out of it, which took league titles in four countries and two Champions Leagues.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  7. Leeds won the 2019-20 Championship, ending sixteen years outside the top flight.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  8. Wing-backs Frimpong and Grimaldo gave the width, with Wirtz and Hofmann behind the striker.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  9. At his Chelsea unveiling in June 2004, days after winning the Champions League with Porto.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  10. Marcelo Bielsa is nicknamed 'El Loco' (The Crazy One) for his eccentric behavior and obsessive analysis. Argentine 'The Crazy One'.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

Test 7Player-turned-manager legendsTake a test

  1. They reached the quarter-final and lost 4-0 to Germany, and he left the job weeks later.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  2. Low had been Klinsmann's assistant at the 2006 World Cup, took over afterwards, and won the title in Brazil eight years later.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  3. Zidane won 3 CLs as Real Madrid coach (2016-18) — his first 3 seasons.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  4. He set his philosophy against Bilardo's results-first school, and the two defined an argument Argentine football still has.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  5. In 2016-17, his first season in England, with a back three he introduced in the autumn. He later managed Tottenham without a trophy.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  6. He won the 1995 final against AC Milan with a very young side, then lost the 1996 final to Juventus on penalties.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  7. In 2009 and 2011. Cruyff and Luis Enrique each won it once as Barcelona coach.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  8. He won the award in 1988, 1989 and 1992, coached the Netherlands from 2004 to 2008 and then Ajax.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  9. Diego Maradona was appointed in 2008 and took Argentina to the 2010 quarter-finals, where they lost 4-0 to Germany.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  10. Benitez lasted from the summer of 2015 until January 2016. Zidane then won three Champions Leagues in a row.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

Test 8Awards and legacyTake a test

  1. Claudio Ranieri won the 2016 FIFA Best Men's Coach award for his 5000-1 Leicester City PL title.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  2. Her third such award, after two with the Netherlands. She has won the European Championship with two different countries.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  3. Twice: as World Coach of the Year in 2011 and as the Best FIFA Men's Coach in 2023. The 2012 award went to Vicente del Bosque.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  4. Guardiola called Marcelo Bielsa 'the best coach in the world' — the highest compliment.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  5. After a season in which Real Madrid won La Liga and a fifteenth European Cup. It was the first time he had taken the award.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  6. Sir Alex Ferguson won 38 trophies at Man United — 13 PLs + 5 FA Cups + 4 League Cups + 2 CLs + 10 Community Shields + others.

    Source: Premier League history · recall

  7. The Champions League, the Super Cup and the Club World Cup in 2019, the league in 2020, the FA Cup and League Cup in 2022, and the League Cup again in 2024.

    Source: Premier League history · applied

  8. He left Real Madrid at the end of 2024-25 and took charge of Brazil for the last rounds of World Cup qualifying.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  9. After Barcelona's treble in 2015 and PSG's first European Cup in 2025, level with Guardiola and Klopp on two.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  10. Deschamps had just won the World Cup with France. Zidane's third straight Champions League came in the same year and did not take the award.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

Test 9Modern era detailTake a test

  1. The 2015 treble with Barcelona, ten years before PSG's first European Cup, which came in his second season in Paris.

    Source: UEFA Champions League history · recall

  2. He won the competition with Liverpool in 2005 and Real Madrid in 2014, and spent three seasons at Bayern without adding a third.

    Source: Bundesliga history · recall

  3. Emerse Fae took over as caretaker after Jean-Louis Gasset was dismissed during the group stage, and won Ivory Coast's third AFCON title on home soil.

    Source: CAF Africa Cup of Nations history · recall

  4. Ronald Koeman returned after Louis van Gaal left following the 2022 World Cup, and took the side to the Euro 2024 semi-finals.

    Source: Netherlands football · recall

  5. Didier Deschamps coached France to 2018 WC (4-2 vs Croatia). Also player-captain in 1998 WC win. First to win as player + coach since Beckenbauer.

    Source: FIFA WC history · recall

  6. Gareth Southgate managed England to Euro 2020 final (lost on pens to Italy) and Euro 2024 final (lost to Spain).

    Source: UEFA Euro history · recall

  7. Fernando Santos coached Portugal to Euro 2016 win (1-0 aet vs France). Also 2019 Nations League. Historic Portugal coach.

    Source: UEFA Euro history · recall

  8. Roberto Mancini coached Italy to Euro 2020 title (won on pens vs England at Wembley). Resigned in August 2023 and took the Saudi Arabia job two weeks later.

    Source: UEFA Euro history · recall

  9. He left in May 2025 after four seasons and took charge of Brazil the following day.

    Source: Football coaching history · recall

  10. Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard in Jan 2021 and won CL vs Man City in Porto (1-0, Havertz). Also 2021 UEFA Super Cup + Club WC.

    Source: UEFA Champions League history · recall

Test 10The coaching tradeTake a test

  1. Sir Alex Ferguson's twenty-seven years at Manchester United is the outlier that proves the rule; most are gone before a third pre-season.

    Source: Football history and competition records · recall

  2. Sacchi, Cruyff and Bielsa each produced a generation of coaches who carried the ideas outward, which is how a style outlives the man who built it.

    Source: Football history and competition records · recall

  3. The highest of the coaching badges, taken after the B and A licences, and a club can be sanctioned for fielding a manager without one.

    Source: Football history and competition records · recall

  4. Mourinho played in the Portuguese lower divisions and moved into coaching through translating for Bobby Robson at Sporting and Barcelona.

    Source: Football history and competition records · recall

  5. Sacchi had been a shoe salesman and never played professionally, then won consecutive European Cups with AC Milan.

    Source: Football history and competition records · recall

  6. A season with Barcelona B in the fourth tier, which he won, and the board appointed him over more experienced candidates the following summer.

    Source: Football history and competition records · recall

  7. He broke the Old Firm's grip on Scottish football at Aberdeen and won the Cup Winners' Cup against Real Madrid in 1983.

    Source: Football history and competition records · recall

  8. A coaching staff is normally hired and dismissed as a unit, which is why a manager's arrival changes a dozen jobs rather than one.

    Source: Football history and competition records · recall

  9. Maresca had worked on Guardiola's staff before managing Leicester and Chelsea, and took over at City on 29 June 2026.

    Source: Football history and competition records · recall

  10. With managers lasting a season or two, recruitment and style are placed with someone who stays, so each dismissal costs less of the club's direction.

    Source: Football history and competition records · recall

Sources

FIFA / UEFA / CONMEBOL / CAF / national FA official records

  • Football coaching history39
  • FIFA WC history14
  • Premier League history11
  • Football history and competition records10
  • UEFA Champions League records7
  • UEFA Euro history3
  • US Women's Soccer history2
  • Women's football history2
  • FIFA Women's WC history2
  • UEFA Champions League history2
  • Premier League awards1
  • UEFA Women's Euro history1
  • WSL history1
  • UEFA Women's Champions League history1
  • Germany Women's football1
  • Bundesliga history1
  • CAF Africa Cup of Nations history1
  • Netherlands football1