Ranking all 24 EFL Championship managers by their playing careers | OneFootball

Football League World ranks each second-tier manager based on their playing career

The Championship is filled with numerous talented managers and head coaches vying to be the best in the dugout throughout the campaign.

But which manager can rely on their rich playing career to help aid their managerial one the most?

A lot of coaches head into the job following the conclusion of their time on the pitch as they look to remain in the sport, whereas others immediately decide that coaching is their top priority, and hone their craft from a young age.

Football League World has looked at the playing careers of each second-tier boss heading into the 2026/27 campaign and ranked them from worst to best.

24 ? ? Vitor Matos

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Of the multiple Championship head coaches who have no professional career behind them, Swansea City's Vitor Matos is arguably the one whose time on the field lasted the shortest.

Aged just 15, Matos was inspired by Jose Mourinho's Champions League title win with Porto, and that swayed him away from playing to study coaching, with his first role coming at just 21 years of age with Valadres' Under-19s side.

23 ? ? Chris Davies

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Birmingham City boss Chris Davies' playing career was heartbreakingly short-lived.

The 41-year-old was forced to retire aged just 19 due to an arthritic condition in his foot. Before then, he captained Reading's youth sides and was capped at U17, U18 and U19 level with the Welsh National Team.

22 ? ? Tonda Eckert

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Tonda Eckert became the youngest manager in the modern Championship era when he took charge of Southampton last December aged just 32. It's safe to say that his playing career didn't take off.

The German boss played amateur football for Viktoria Arnoldsweiler in the German fifth tier, and by that point he was already working for his national team as an analyst.

21 ? ? Kim Hellberg

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By his own admission, Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg tried to become a footballer when he was younger, but quickly realised that he wasn't good enough to make it at the highest level.

The Swedish boss began his coaching career at just 23, but did play amateur football in his country before then, playing as high as the third tier.

20 ? ? Michael Skubala

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New Bristol City boss Michael Skubala has had an interesting journey through football. He never played professionally in England, playing semi-professionally while juggling coaching roles at Coventry City and Nottingham Forest.

From there, Skubala played futsal in Thailand, which led him to coach the English National futsal team. His return to football saw him coach at Leeds United, which kick-started his route to where he is now at Ashton Gate.

19 ? ? Julien Stephan

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19th in this list is where we find some managers who have some professional appearances behind them.

QPR boss Julien Stephan actually started at PSG, where he made six league appearances for their B team. From there, though, he played primarily at the regional level of French football, for the likes of RC Paris and Stade Briochin.

18 ? ? Alessio Dionisi

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New Watford boss Alessio Dionisi played his career in his native Italy, but spent the majority of it in the fourth tier. It's still professional football, but the lowest level on the Italian football ladder.

The former centre-back captained Tritium and won promotion with them to the third tier in the 2010/11 campaign.

17 ? ? Brian Barry-Murphy

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Now, we're in the realms of managers who have a good playing career in England behind them, starting with Brian Barry-Murphy, who has over 300 EFL appearances in a career which spanned 19 years.

The majority of those came in League Two during his six-year stint with Bury. The former defensive midfielder started every game for the Shakers during the 2009/10 campaign, which earned him a third-tier switch to Rochdale.

It was at the Crown Oil Arena where he began his coaching career, leading to where he is now at Cardiff City.

16 ? ? Chris Wilder

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Chris Wilder's association with Sheffield United spans even further back than the three managerial stints he's had at Bramall Lane. The boyhood Blade began his senior career with his current club after leaving Southampton's academy.

The former right-back spent six years there and won promotions before playing consistently in the third tier with Rotherham United and Notts County, before then making the jump to second-tier football with Bradford City and then back at Sheffield United.

15 ? ? Alex Neil

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Millwall boss Alex Neil enjoyed a strong 16-year career playing as a defensive midfielder for sides across the lower levels of the EFL, but mainly in Scotland.

The 45-year-old is best known for his time at Hamilton Academical, who he helped secure promotion to the Scottish Premiership back in the 2007/08 campaign.