AI ranks the top 10 best foreign managers in EFL Championship history | OneFootball

AI has listed off some of the most successful foreign imports in the dugout in the second tier

The Championship has seen several high-profile names grace its stage in recent times, with many of those coming from overseas.

Despite boasting a previously strong core of homegrown talents who have since gone on to represent the England national team on several occasions, it cannot be understated how important it is for all 24 clubs across the second tier to unearth gems from the continent or worldwide in order to achieve success.

That was seen last season as Leeds United and Sunderland both achieved promotion under the guidance of Daniel Farke and Regis Le Bris, whilst Dutch-Brazilian playmaker, Gustavo Hamer, won the division's Player of the Season after playing a starring role for Sheffield United.

There have been plenty of successful and iconic foreign managers or head coaches who have graced the second tier at varying points in their individual careers, and with that being said, Football League World asked AI tool ChatGPT to name the 10 best on this front, and here are the results.

Kickstarting this list is Portuguese boss Carlos Carvalhal, who enjoyed a relatively successful two-and-a-half year spell with Sheffield Wednesday between 2015 and 2017.

After spending three years out of management, Carvalhal was appointed at Hillsborough ahead of Dejphon Chansiri's first full season as owner, transforming a side which finished 13th in 2014/15 into genuine promotion contenders.

As well as defeating Arsenal on their way to the EFL Cup quarter-finals, his first season in S6 saw Wednesday come close to ending a 15-year hiatus from the Premier League before being defeated by Hull City at Wembley Stadium.

The Owls were once again in the promotion conversation the following campaign before losing to Huddersfield Town in the play-off semi-finals, before departing the club on Christmas Eve 2017, ending his tenure with a 43% win record.

9 Vincent Kompany

Vincent Kompany may have only overseen one year of Championship football. However, the dominance which his Burnley side displayed is enough to see the Belgian into this list.

The ex-Manchester City defender took over the Lancashire side following relegation for the first time in seven years, making several shrewd additions across all departments which culminated in a title-winning season during which 101 points were accrued.

Despite his second season ending in relegation, the current Bayern Munich boss will forever be remembered as the man who won the Clarets the league title with a 1-0 victory at Ewood Park against bitter rivals, Blackburn Rovers.

8 Valerien Ismael

Speaking of Blackburn, their current boss, Valerien Ismael, is the only man overseeing a current Championship job on this list.

The Frenchman has become a household name in the division within the past five years, initially transforming Barnsley's fortunes in the 2020/21 season, with a run of 25 wins in 45 games, enough to see the Tykes make the play-offs before losing out to Swansea City in the semi-finals.

Since then, Ismael has endured contrasting fortunes in charge of West Bromwich Albion and Watford, before taking over his current role at Ewood Park back in February 2025, where he narrowly missed out on another top-six finish on the final day of the season.

Slavisa Jokanovic came into the Championship as a relative unknown when appointed at Watford on a short-term contract in October 2014.

Fast-forward seven months, the Serbian had returned the Hornets to the Premier League for the first time since 2007 with a dynamic side that included the likes of Odion Ighalo and Matej Vydra before leaving the club just weeks after promotion was secured.

Jokanovic then transformed the fortunes of Fulham, staving off relegation during his first half-season in charge before seeing the Cottagers reach the play-offs in two successive seasons, with the latter of those ending in success courtesy of Tom Cairney's goal against Aston Villa.

However, his third spell in the Championship proved disastrous, winning just eight of 22 encounters in charge of Sheffield United following their relegation back into the EFL in 2021.

6 Roberto Di Matteo

Another manager who has endured mixed fortunes throughout his career is Roberto Di Matteo.

The Italian's first Championship job came at West Brom in the summer of 2009 after a strong season in charge of MK Dons, and it was an appointment that brought instant success at The Hawthorns, with the Baggies finishing runners-up behind Newcastle United before consolidating back in the Premier League.

Some four years after masterminding Chelsea's UEFA Champions League success in 2012, Di Matteo was named as Tony Xia's first appointment as Aston Villa owner following their relegation in 2016. However, he couldn't replicate such form in B6 despite a mammoth spending spree, as he was dismissed with a dire record of one win in 12 games across all competitions.

Halfway up this ranking is ex-French midfield icon, Jean Tigana.

After previously winning Ligue 1 with Monaco in 1997 and reaching the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 1998, he was appointed Fulham boss in April 2000.

Much like the aforementioned Kompany, Tigana's impact was immediate at Craven Cottage, with the West London side winning the title with 101 points whilst having several high-profile stars at their disposal, including Maik Taylor, Steve Finnan, Louis Boa Morte and Louis Saha.

4 Aitor Karanka

Aitor Karanka had previously been assistant to José Mourinho at Real Madrid by the time he took his first full-time managerial role with Middlesbrough in October 2013.

During his first full season at the Riverside Stadium, an exciting Boro side came close to achieving automatic promotion before eventually losing the play-off final against Norwich City, before going one better the following season as they pipped Brighton and Hove Albion to the top two after drawing 1-1 against the Seagulls on the final day of the 2015/16 campaign.

The Spaniard was unable to maintain the Reds' upward trajectory in the Premier League, but later returned to the Championship in mixed spells with Nottingham Forest and Birmingham City.

3 Marcelo Bielsa

'El Loco' takes the 'bronze medal' in this ranking, with Marcelo Bielsa's two years of Championship management with Leeds United providing some unbelievable storylines.

The Uruguayan moved to Elland Road in the summer of 2018 after the Whites finished 13th, immediately making the West Yorkshire side a force to be reckoned with.

During his first season, United were involved in several classic encounters, with three of them coming against Derby County after 'Spygate' and in the dramatic play-off semi-finals, as well as Bielsa's decision to allow Aston Villa to equalise in a crucial encounter in the final home game of the regular season after Mateusz Klich initially opened the scoring amid an injury to Jonathan Kodjia.

However, the vastly-experienced figure would be the man to end a then-16-year hiatus from the Premier League in July 2020 after Leeds ended the season with the Championship title, before enduring a mixed stint in the top-flight ahead of his dismissal in March 2022.

Rafa Benitez is next up, with a Championship-winning season at Newcastle United among several successes throughout his career.

The ex-Liverpool and Chelsea boss was appointed at St James' Park in March 2016, just weeks before relegation back to the Championship was confirmed.

However, the Spaniard was able to recruit several high-profile names such as Jonjo Shelvey, Mo Diame, Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle as he transformed the club's fortunes imminently.

Indeed, the Magpies secured a second Championship title in seven years on the final day of the 2016/17 with a 3-0 win against Barnsley, before reconsolidating back in the Premier League prior to their current standpoint as European regulars.

1 Daniel Farke

However, the best foreign manager in Championship history, according to AI, is Daniel Farke, who has won the title on three occasions.

After being appointed as an unknown at Norwich City in 2017, the German's first success came in a remarkable 2018/19 campaign, in which the likes of Teemu Pukki, Emi Buendia, Max Aarons and Tim Krul were instrumental in a 94-point haul, before remedying an immediate Premier League relegation with another title win at Carrow Road in the 2020/21 season.

Farke was appointed as Leeds United boss in 2023 after the club's relegation from the Premier League, with Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter and Joel Piroe lighting up the Elland Road stage despite the club missing out on automatic promotion and suffering more play-off heartbreak at the hands of Southampton at Wembley Stadium.

However, the 48-year-old was able to bounce back from said disappointment and the loss of star players by winning the division in 2024/25 after breaking the 100-point barrier with a final-day success at Plymouth Argyle.