The IFFHS World's Best Club Coach is an association football award given annually, since 1996, to the most outstanding club coach as voted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), an autonomous football federation working without the investment or support of FIFA or UEFA. The votes in 1996 were cast by IFFHS's editorial staff, as well as experts from 89 countries spanning six continents. Since then, the votes have been now awarded by 81 experts and selected editorial offices from all of the continents. In 2020, an award for women's club coaches was introduced. The current men's recipient is Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique. The current women's recipient is Arsenal coach Renée Slegers.
Public reception The award is officially recognised by FIFA despite the IFFHS not being affiliated with them. However, as the award is usually awarded based on statistics rather than individual merits, it is not held in high regard by some football fans. Four-time winner José Mourinho once jokingly stated that the IFFHS were slow in handing over the award claiming he had not received his award from 2010 in 2012.
Men's winners The award is awarded at the end of the year. The winning coach and the runner-up in the rankings are awarded a gold and silver trophy respectively at the World Football Gala. Below is a list of the previous men's winners and runners-up since the first award in 1996.
List of winners YearRankWinning coachClub(s)Points1996 1st Marcello Lippi Juventus–2nd Ramón Díaz River Plate3rd Luis Fernandez Paris Saint-Germain1997 1st Ottmar Hitzfeld Borussia Dortmund 1462nd Alex Ferguson Manchester United1103rd Marcello Lippi Juventus871998 1st Marcello Lippi Juventus 1542nd Jupp Heynckes Real Madrid1343rd Alex Ferguson Manchester United881999 1st Alex Ferguson Manchester United 2252nd Sven-Göran Eriksson Lazio863rd Ottmar Hitzfeld Bayern Munich692000 1st Carlos Bianchi Boca Juniors 1372nd Héctor Cúper Valencia1243rd Vicente del Bosque Real Madrid1162001 1st Ottmar Hitzfeld Bayern Munich 2282nd Gérard Houllier Liverpool1253rd Carlos Bianchi Boca Juniors1202002 1st Vicente del Bosque Real Madrid 2242nd Arsène Wenger Arsenal1363rd Alex Ferguson Klaus Toppmöller Manchester United Bayer Leverkusen692003 1st Carlos Bianchi Boca Juniors 1732nd Carlo Ancelotti Milan1173rd Marcello Lippi Juventus702004 1st José Mourinho Porto 2712nd Arsène Wenger Arsenal863rd Didier Deschamps Monaco722005 1st José Mourinho Chelsea 2752nd Arsène Wenger Arsenal893rd Rafael Benítez Liverpool662006 1st Frank Rijkaard Barcelona 2362nd José Mourinho Chelsea1133rd Juande Ramos Sevilla922007 1st Carlo Ancelotti Milan 1932nd Alex Ferguson Manchester United1343rd Juande Ramos Sevilla1042008 1st Alex Ferguson Manchester United 2642nd Dick Advocaat Zenit Saint Petersburg1443rd Edgardo Bauza LDU Quito642009 1st Pep Guardiola Barcelona 3002nd Alex Ferguson Manchester United1373rd José Mourinho Inter Milan662010 1st José Mourinho Inter Milan Real Madrid 2942nd Pep Guardiola Barcelona1883rd Louis van Gaal Bayern Munich752011 1st Pep Guardiola Barcelona 2012nd José Mourinho Real Madrid1123rd Alex Ferguson Manchester United1072012 1st José Mourinho Real Madrid 1012nd Roberto Di Matteo Chelsea993rd Diego Simeone Atlético Madrid972013 1st Jupp Heynckes Bayern Munich 2162nd Jürgen Klopp Borussia Dortmund1013rd Diego Simeone Atlético Madrid612014 1st Carlo Ancelotti Real Madrid 1692nd Diego Simeone Atlético Madrid1393rd Pep Guardiola Bayern Munich762015 1st Luis Enrique Barcelona 1652nd Pep Guardiola Bayern Munich863rd Massimiliano Allegri Juventus432016 1st Diego Simeone Atlético Madrid 1132nd Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid1083rd Claudio Ranieri Leicester City862017 1st Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid 3262nd Massimiliano Allegri Juventus703rd Antonio Conte Chelsea662018 1st Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid 2962nd Jürgen Klopp Liverpool1093rd Pep Guardiola Manchester City1052019 1st Jürgen Klopp Liverpool 3692nd Pep Guardiola Manchester City1003rd Erik ten Hag Ajax822020 1st Hansi Flick Bayern Munich 2702nd Jürgen Klopp Liverpool1253rd Julian Nagelsmann RB Leipzig520211st Thomas Tuchel Chelsea2302nd Pep Guardiola Manchester City553rd Hansi Flick Bayern Munich2520221st Carlo Ancelotti Real Madrid2452nd Pep Guardiola Manchester City453rd Walid Regragui Wydad AC4020231st Pep Guardiola Manchester City2812nd Carlo Ancelotti Real Madrid563rd Luciano Spalletti Napoli5320241st Carlo Ancelotti Real Madrid2682nd Xabi Alonso Bayer Leverkusen1043rd Pep Guardiola Manchester City8820251st Luis Enrique Paris Saint-Germain2222nd Enzo Maresca Chelsea603rd Hansi Flick Barcelona57
Statistics +Winners (1996–present)CoachWinsYears José Mourinho42004, 2005, 2010, 2012 Carlo Ancelotti2007, 2014, 2022, 2024 Pep Guardiola32009, 2011, 2023 Marcello Lippi21996, 1998 Ottmar Hitzfeld1997, 2001 Carlos Bianchi2000, 2003 Alex Ferguson1999, 2008 Zinedine Zidane2017, 2018 Luis Enrique2015, 2025 Vicente del Bosque12002 Frank Rijkaard2006 Jupp Heynckes2013 Diego Simeone2016 Jürgen Klopp2019 Hansi Flick2020 Thomas Tuchel2021 +Wins by clubClubTotalCoaches Real Madrid84 Barcelona43 Bayern Munich33 Chelsea22 Boca Juniors21 Juventus21 Manchester United21 Atlético Madrid11 Borussia Dortmund11 Inter Milan11 Liverpool11 Milan11 Porto11 Manchester City11 Paris Saint-Germain11 +Wins by nationalityNationalityTotalCoaches6562634132212111
Continental winners
Bold indicates the World's Best Man Club Coach winner.
YearConfederationWinnerClub(s)2021UEFA Thomas Tuchel ChelseaCONMEBOL Renato Gaúcho FlamengoCONCACAF Javier Aguirre MonterreyCAF Pitso Mosimane Al AhlyAFC Leonardo Jardim Al-HilalOFC José Figueira Auckland City
All-time World's Best Man Coach ranking (1996–2020)
+Top 10 coachesRankCoachNationalityPoints1Alex Ferguson2452José Mourinho2263Pep Guardiola2114Joachim Löw2005Arsene Wenger1856Vicente del Bosque1757Carlo Ancelotti1698Marcello Lippi1569Diego Simeone15210Luiz Felipe Scolari151
The World's Best Man Coach of the Decade (2001–2010)
In 2011, the IFFHS awarded an additional award to coaches by combining the points awarded in the annual World's Best Club Coach awards, to the coach who had gained the most points collectively over the previous ten years to determine the best coach of the previous decade. This World Coach of the Decade award was awarded to Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, despite the fact he had never won the annual World's Best Club Coach award. +Top 10 coachesRankCoachNationalityPoints1Arsène Wenger1562Alex Ferguson1483José Mourinho1354Fabio Capello1205Guus Hiddink1126Carlo Ancelotti1087Luiz Felipe Scolari1018Marcelo Bielsa1019Rafael Benítez9710Marcello Lippi88
The World's Best Man Club Coach of the Decade (2011–2020)
In 2021, Atlético Madrid's manager Diego Simeone won the World's Best Man Club Coach of the Decade 2011–2020. +Top 10 coachesRankCoachNationalityPoints1Diego Simeone1522Pep Guardiola1443Jürgen Klopp1054José Mourinho915Massimiliano Allegri776Unai Emery707Zinedine Zidane598Carlo Ancelotti579Mauricio Pochettino5610Marcelo Gallardo56
Women's winners
The award is awarded at the end of the year. Below is a list of the previous women's winners and runners-up since the first award in 2020.
List of winners YearRankCoachClub(s)Points20201st Jean-Luc Vasseur Lyon2502nd Emma Hayes Chelsea503rd Lluís Cortés Barcelona2020211st Lluís Cortés Barcelona1852nd Sonia Bompastor Lyon553rd Emma Hayes Chelsea3520221st Sonia Bompastor Lyon1452nd Jonatan Giráldez Barcelona553rd Hoffmann Túlio Palmeiras2520231st Jonatan Giráldez Barcelona1802nd Sonia Bompastor Lyon673rd Tommy Stroot Wolfsburg6120241st Jonatan Giráldez Barcelona Washington Spirit1702nd Sonia Bompastor Lyon Chelsea1203rd Emma Hayes Chelsea8220251st Renée Slegers Arsenal1452nd Pere Romeu Barcelona1203rd Sonia Bompastor Chelsea97
Statistics +Winners (2020–present)CoachWinsYears Jonatan Giráldez 22023, 2024 Jean-Luc Vasseur12020 Lluís Cortés2021 Sonia Bompastor2022 Renée Slegers2025 +Wins by clubClubTotalCoaches Barcelona32 Lyon22 Washington Spirit11 Arsenal11 +Wins by nationalityNationalityTotalCoaches322211
Continental winners
Bold indicates the World's Best Woman Club Coach winner.
YearConfederationWinnerClub(s)2021UEFA Lluís Cortés BarcelonaCONMEBOL Arthur Elias CorinthiansCONCACAF Roberto Medina Tigres UANLCAF Yusif Basigi HasaacasAFC Ante Juric Sydney FCOFC Juan José Chang Coastal Spirit
See also International Federation of Football History & Statistics IFFHS World's Best Club IFFHS World's Best Player IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer IFFHS World Team IFFHS World's Best National Coach
References
External links IFFHS's page on the World's Best Club Coach award