Managers with the most trophies won in football history | OneFootball

Trophies are the greatest measure of managerial success. In yesteryear, Sir Alex Ferguson was at the peak of his powers at Manchester United and won every trophy under the sun and can be considered one of the most influential men to ever grace football during its storied history.

Pep Guardiola has seemingly taken over the torch, exuding a plethora of trophies while at the helm of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and, most recently, Manchester City. Silverware is the simplest measure of managerial success – and in Guardiola and Ferguson’s case, they have their cabinets, laced head to toe in silverware, to attest to their brilliance, tactical acumen and innate man-management abilities.

As a player, the current City boss hung up his boots in 2006 and, a year later, he was appointed as the manager of Barcelona B, though a successful season with the B team saw Guardiola become senior Barcelona custodian in 2008 – but no one knew what was around the corner. The Spaniard has enjoyed unprecedented success ever since. In the past 15 years of managerial services, he has won everything there is to win - and that got us thinking. How does his trophy haul compare to the most successful managers in football history?

Back in January, GOAL named the 10 most successful football managers ever by trophies won. View their findings below - don't fret, we've updated all the way up until the present day.

1 Alex Ferguson

49 trophies won

The greatest manager ever – this man needs no introduction, does he? A man with a sea of trophies behind him, Ferguson's best spell came at Old Trafford, where he led the Red Devils to an eye-watering 38 trophies across a 27-year spell, most notably their iconic treble-winning campaign in 1998/99.

The lovable Scotsman got the job on the back of his European success at Aberdeen, and it’s safe to say that he lived up to expectations if you skim past his inaugural struggles. His importance to the club - not only in a trophy sense - is best illustrated by their gradual decline since his departure. There may come a day when Guardiola eventually eclipses his trophy haul, but it'll certainly be a while until that happens – if it does.

2 Pep Guardiola

37 trophies won

Guardiola, despite being just 52 years of age, has already won an incredible 37 trophies and will be vying Ferguson’s position at the top with ample years left in the tank.

One of the longest-serving European managers of the modern era, Guardiola dominated Barcelona and Bayern before jumping ship to overrule Jürgen Klopp in the Premier League and has won five English titles since the 2017/18 campaign. Currently 12 trophies adrift of Ferguson, there will not be many managers that will end their careers as successfully as the Spanish boss.

3 Mircea Lucescu

35 trophies won

Mircea Lucescu, somewhat of a managerial journeyman, has enjoyed success across all corners of Europe with the likes of Galatasaray, Dynamo Kiev, Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk. The Romanian’s longest stint in the hotseat came for the latter as he managed 573 games over a 12-year period. In that time frame, he led them to an excellent eight domestic titles, six Ukrainian cups and seven Ukrainian super cup trophies.

A bona fide icon of Ukrainian football, he was still managing the latter at the ripe old age of 78 years old until November as he officially announced his retirement from management. Coined as an underrated manager by GIVEMESPORT back in February 2023, Lucescu won a whopping 35 trophies for an array of sides.

4 Valeriy Lobanovskyi

30 trophies won

Five trophies off the podium spots, Valeriy Lobanovskyi can just count himself unlucky to have managed at the same time as some of sport’s greatest coaches. Interestingly, all 30 of Lobanovskyi's trophies came during his three spells at Dynamo Kyiv, where he won the UEFA Super Cup once, the Ukrainian top division five times, became Soviet Champion eight times and many more.

He also guided the Soviet Union to a runner-up finish at the European Championship in 1988 – and thus, was so close to closing the gap on Lucescu. Lobanovskyi also endured the trials and tribulations of international management across his 32-year career with Ukraine, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and the USSR.

5 Ottmar Hitzfeld

28 trophies won

Ottmar Hitzfeld won the Champions League twice as a manager: in 1997 with Borussia Dortmund and with Bayern Munich in 2001 and was, therefore, ranked tenth in the European top tier competition’s greatest ever managers back in 2020. A true icon in Bavaria, Hitzfeld won 14 trophies with them, including five Bundesliga titles.

Now 74, the Lorrach-born boss last enjoyed a stint with the Switzerland national team, though was unable to add to his respectable trophy cabinet – one which is laced with two Swiss titles with Grasshopper Club Zurich and an array of trophies from his time spent with Bayern’s arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund.

6 Luis Felipe Scolari

26 trophies won

Affectionally monikered ‘Big Phil’ in Brazil, Luis Felipe Scolari's greatest success as a manager came in 2002 when he guided Brazil to the World Cup title, while he also won a Confederations Cup with his native country back in 2012/13. While nothing can top become internationally known world champions, the now 75-year-old has enjoyed a myriad of success at club level, too.

Having spent time around the globe at clubs such as Gremio, Bunyokdor Tashkent and Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao, Scolari became somewhat of a journeyman and is now spending his twilight years at the former. Looking past his gut-wrenching 7-1 defeat to Germany, the seasoned boss is considered a legend in the Brazilian football echo chamber.

7 Jock Stein

26 trophies won

Level on trophies with Scolari is Celtic legend, Jock Stein. Winning the European Cup in 1967, for which his side was voted the greatest club side of the 20th century, Stein also won 10 league titles with the Scottish giants, which included seven on the bounce between 1965/66 and 1971/72.

During that period of dominance, the Glaswegian behemoths were also imperious in the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup winning them eight and six times, respectively. The driving force behind it all was Stein. He also won a Scottish Cup with Dunfermline Athletic in 1960/61, meaning all but one of his successes came while at Celtic.

8 José Mourinho

26 trophies won

The thing with José Mourinho is that fans either love him or hate him. Self-proclaimed as 'The Special One', he won his 26th trophy as a manager when Roma won the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022. The Portuguese has enjoyed profound success in the 21st century, including three Champions League titles with Porto and Inter Milan.

Mourinho broke - and still holds - the record of the least games taken to hit 50 wins in the Premier League with Chelsea, highlighting the impact he had during his west London stint. Taking them to three domestic titles, the aura and personality of Mourinho endeared him to the Stamford Bridge faithful. Now in his 60s, Mourinho is still going strong in the Italian capital and will be looking to increase his tally before calling it a day.

9 Carlo Ancelotti

24 trophies won

A calm and collected figure in the dugout, Carlo Ancelotti has enjoyed success with some of Europe’s elite sides: AC Milan, PSG, Bayern Munich and now Real Madrid. With managing Los Blancos comes trophies, but the veteran coach also managed to earn copious amounts of silverware at AC Milan, including two Champions Leagues and two UEFA Super Cups.

His flailing Everton stint aside, it would be remiss to disregard Ancelotti, who has the third-highest transfer spend in football history, as one of the greatest managers to grace the game. At Madrid, it’s only inevitable that he will add to his tally in the coming years with them almost always a leading candidate to win the Champions League.

10 Giovanni Trapattoni

23 trophies won

After mustering a successful playing career, most notably with AC Milan, with two European Cups (1963 and 1969) under his belt, Giovanni Trapattoni turned his hand to operating on the other side of the white line.

Still one of the few people to win the Champions League as a player and a manager, the Italian’s best spell in the dugout came at Juventus, where he won six Serie A titles and the European Cup in 1985. He also managed AC Milan, Inter Milan and Benfica. He also took charge of German titans Bayern Munich and led them to become domestic champions in the 1996/97 season.