Footy Factor’s Best of the Decade: Manager

Just weeks to go until the bubbly is uncorked and the drunken masses spill into messy versions of auld lang syne. We here at Footy Factor headquarters are celebrating the decade’s end by honouring the best football teams, figures, matches and moments of the past 10 years.

First up…

Manager of the Decade

Winner: Jose Mourinho. How do we love thee? Let us count the ways. No one delivers as much charisma or controversy. No one has better mastered the media or the mind games. No one commands as much allegiance from his players. No one knows how to turn a game on its head with a single substitution. No one has moved so effortlessly between Europe’s top leagues. No one better embodies the brashness and bravado of today’s game. Any way you slice it Mourinho is truly a modern manager for our modern times. His football might not be the most beautiful, but you can’t argue with its sheer effectiveness, like a mallet crashing down on your head. Five league titles between Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan – including a Champions League trophy with unfancied Porto – prove that the Portuguese manager is this decade’s “Special One.”

Runners-Up: Guus Hiddink An extraordinary manager who has inspired ordinary teams to punch far above their weight – be it South Korea, Australia, or Russia. Although the Dutchman’s greatest achievement of the decade might have been last season’s temporary assignment at Stamford Bridge, where he restored a sense of pride and a return to form to Chelsea’s moody millionaires. Sir Alex Ferguson It’s amazing to think that at the turn of the century, Manchester United fans were beginning to prepare for the old Scotsman’s retirement. Ten years on – and five league titles and a Champions League trophy later – the Old Trafford faithful still cannot bare to imagine life post-Fergie.

5 Responses to “Footy Factor’s Best of the Decade: Manager”

1. Bayonet Balls says:

   November 13, 2009 at 3:08 pm

   Except for the fact that he’s a massive pr*ck, I wouldn’t mind having Mourinho as my manager. Guaranteed silverware.
2. Anfield4Eva says:

   November 13, 2009 at 3:35 pm

   Where’s Capello? Where’s Lippi? Where’s Wenger. Where’s Rafa? (Just kidding.) Fine, Mourinho ain’t half bad.
3. Justin the Fish says:

   November 13, 2009 at 4:06 pm

   Wot, no Phil Brown?!?
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   December 2, 2009 at 2:04 pm

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