Pep Guardiola has just completed the tenth year of his managerial career; during which he's amassed a simply outrageous 27 trophies, dominated three different leagues, overseen two unprecedented trebles, and in the process become the No.1 manager employed in the beautiful game today.
In the last year alone the Manchester City manager has successfully retained both the Premier League and League Cup. A first FA Cup has now been added to the collection to form an unprecedented English domestic treble - if you include last August’s Community Shield triumph that’s a complete clean sweep. Individually, the Spaniard scooped another three Manager of the Month awards during the 2018/19 campaign, and last week he became the fifth boss to win multiple Premier League Manager of the Season accolades.
Here’s how Guardiola's colossal haul of 27 pieces of silverware ranks alongside other trophy-drenched managerial masterminds in European competition...
1. Sir Alex Ferguson = 49 trophies
We’ll start at the managerial summit where you’ll find a certain Sir Alex Ferguson with a mind-blowing 49 trophies to his name, won over the course of five decades.
We’re talking 13 Premier League trophies, two Champions League trophies, five FA Cups, four League Cups, 10 Community Shields, a World Club Cup, Super Cup, and a Cup Winners Cup...and that was just at Man Utd.
Prior to transforming the Red Devils into a worldwide juggernaut Fergie tasted a fair share of success in his homeland. He led both St Mirren (First Division) and Aberdeen (Scottish Premier x3) to Scottish titles, and also propelled the Dons to four Scottish Cups, the League Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup, and the European Super Cup.
Simply staggering, and unlikely to be topped (anytime soon).
2. Mircea Lucescu = 32
You may not be too familiar with the name Mircea Lucescu, but you should be. The Romanian manager is a titan in his homeland, with whom he captained at the 1970 World Cup. At club level he won seven league titles and the cup at Dinamo Bucuresti.
In the managerial arena the adaptable, flexible, and passionate boss tasted success on home soil, plus Turkey, Russia, and Italy, however he’s best known for his trophy-laden 12-year tenure at Shakhtar Donetsk which wielded eight Ukranian titles, six cups, seven Super Cups, and the crowning jewel of the 2009 UEFA Cup.
His last spell was at the helm of the Turkish national team, which he said would be his last…
3. Valeriy Lobanovskyi = 29
Valeriy Lobanovskyi is both hugely influential and immensely successful. The Ukranian’s meitculous approach was very systematic and very scientific, employing innovative data analysis and new ideals for physical and dietary preparation, while he focused on collective play as over individuality.
Lobanovskyi, a football revolutionary in Eastern Europe, lifted eight Soviet League titles, six Soviet Cups, five Ukrainian titles, a couple of UEFA Cup Winners Cups plus a host of other honours during three different spells in charge of Dynamo Kyiv.
The most successful manager in the history of Soviet football also managed the Red Army, who lost to Rinus Michel’s Holland in the Euro 1998 final.
4. Ottmar Hitzfeld = 28
Germany has produced a catalogue of star managers who have dominated domestically, in europe, and at international level. The most successful, from a trophy perspective, is Ottmar Hitzfeld. In his early days der General enjoyed success in Switzerland with Grasshopper and FC Aarau. Then in the early 1990s he ventured back to Germany with Borussia Dortmund, where he won the Champions League, back-to-back Bundesliga’s, and two DFB-Supercups.
Hitzfeld was even more successful over at Bayern Munich, where he added five more titles, seven domestic cups, and the International Cup, and most memorably another Champions League - he’s one of only five managers to win the European Cup with two clubs.
5. Pep Guardiola = 27
Pep Guardiola’s 27th trophy now puts him one ahead of the legendary Jock Stein, and two above rival Jose Mourinho, who has stated his intent to return to the managerial this summer.
After a year learning the trade at Barcelona B, Guardiola was propelled into the senior side hot seat and proceeded to oversee one of the most dominant periods in managerial history (14 trophies).
European silverware frustratingly alluded Pep at Bayern (seven trophies), but he swatted all before him domestically, and now it’s six trophies and counting at Man City. Next year he has every chance of surpassing Ottmar Hitzfeld and Valeriy Lobanovskyi, although he’s currently 22 trophies adrift of Fergie’s titanic tally.
6. Jock Stein = 26
Between 1965 and 1978 the legendary Jock Stein, a former coalminer, enjoyed one of the most dominant managerial spells of all time. At Celtic Stein hit double figures for league titles, plus eight Scottish Cups, six league cups, and most memorable of all was the 1968 European Cup with a team - lisbon Lions - all born within 30minutes of Celtic Park. Stein, the first manager to lead a British team to the summit of Europe, previously lifted the Scottish Cup with Dunfermline.
How does Guardiola’s trophy haul compare to other high profile managers in the game today?
Jose Mourinho = 25 trophies
Carlo Ancelotti = 20
Max Allegri = 14
Rafa Benitez = 13
Unai Emery = 10
Ernesto Valverde = 10
Diego Simeone = 9
Zinedine Zidane = 9
Jurgen Klopp = 5
Thomas Tuchel = 3
Mauricio Pochettino = 0
Maurizio Sarri = 0