There are many different ways to judge the success of a soccer coach. You could go by the the difference he made in various players’ careers, by the way he kept a small club punching above their weight, or even by the cultural legacy he leaves behind. But it’s all a bit ethereal. And so the only real way to rank the most successful managers of all time is the obvious one: How many trophies did he put in the cabinet?
So here are the 20 most successful coaches of all time, ranked by number of serious trophies won. And by serious trophies, I mean league titles, domestic cups or continental cups that take an entire season to win, or international tournaments. Any “supercups” that open seasons and can be won in just one game, or trinkets like pre-season tournaments, have been ignored.
For brevity’s sake, the list begins with managers who’ve won 12 trophies or more. Why? Because a surprising number of great numbers are stuck on 11, including Arsene Wenger and Carlo Ancelotti.
Three men very much worth a mention, but not included in this list because they were collecting medals in an era that’s impossible to compare with modern football, are Bill Struth, who won 30 trophies with Rangers in the 1920s; Willie Maley, who won 30 trophies with Celtic in the late-19th and early-20th century; and George Ramsey, who won 12 trophies with Aston Villa in the late-19th century.
Barcelona
La Liga: 2009, 2010, 2011 (3)
Copa del Rey: 2009, 2012 (2)
UEFA Champions League: 2009, 2011 (2)
FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011 (2)
Bayern Munich
Bundesliga: 2014
DFB Pokal: 2014
FIFA Club World Cup: 2013
TOTAL: 12
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Stade de Raim
Ligue 1: 1953, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1962 (5)
Coupe de France: 1958
Saint-Étienne
Ligue 1: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 (4)
Coupe de France: 1968, 1970 (2)
TOTAL: 12
PSV Eindhoven
Eredivisie: 1987, 1988, 1989, 2003, 2005, 2006 (6)
KNVB Cup: 1988, 1989, 1990, 2005 (4)
European Cup: 1988
Chelsea
FA Cup: 2009
TOTAL: 12
Ajax Amsterdam
Eredivisie: 1994, 1995, 1996 (3)
KNVB Cup: 1993
Champions League: 1995
UEFA Cup: 1992
Barcelona
La Liga: 1998, 1999 (2)
Copa del Rey: 1998
AZ
Eredivisie: 2009
Bayern Munich
Bundesliga: 2010
DFB Pokal: 2010
TOTAL: 12
Atletico Madrid
La Liga: 1950, 1951 (2)
Barcelona
La Liga: 1959, 1960 (2)
Copa del Rey: 1959, 1981 (2)
Internazionale
Serie A: 1963, 1965, 1966 (3)
European Cup: 1964, 1965 (2)
Roma
Coppa Italia: 1969
TOTAL: 12
Ajax Amsterdam
Eredivisie: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970 (4)
KNVB Cup: 1967, 1970, 1971 (3)
European Cup: 1971
Barcelona
La Liga: 1974
Copa del Rey: 1978
FC Köln
DFB Pokal: 1983
Netherlands
European Championship: 1988
TOTAL: 12
Hadjuk Split
Yugoslav First League: 1974, 1975, 1979 (3)
Yugoslav Cup: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976 (4)
Ajax Amsterdam
Eredivisie: 1977
Anderlecht
Belgian Pro League: 1981
Panathinaikos
Alpha Ethniki (Greek league): 1986
FC Porto
Portuguese Primeira Liga: 1988
Taça de Portugal: 1988
Atletico Madrid
Copa del Rey: 1991
TOTAL: 13
Juventus
Serie A: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003 (5)
Coppa Italia: 1995
UEFA Champions League: 1996
Italy
World Cup: 2006
Guangzhou Evergrande
Chinese Super League: 2012, 2013, 2014 (3)
Chinese FA Cup: 2012
AFC Champions League: 2013
TOTAL: 13
Liverpool
Football League First Division: 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983 (6)
League Cup: 1981, 1982, 1983 (3)
UEFA Cup: 1976
European Cup: 1977, 1978, 1981 (3)
TOTAL: 13
ADO Den Haag
KNVB Cup: 1968
Feyenoord
Eredivisie: 1971
European Cup: 1970
Club Brugge
Pro League: 1976, 1977, 1978 (3)
Belgian Cup: 1977
Standard Liege
Belgian Cup: 1981
Hamburger SV
Bundesliga: 1982, 1983 (2)
DFB Pokal: 1987
European Cup: 1983
FC Swarovski Tirol
Austrian Bundesliga: 1989, 1990 (2)
Austrian Cup: 1989
TOTAL: 14
Real Madrid
La Liga: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972 (9)
Copa del Rey: 1962, 1970, 1974 (3)
European Cup: 1960, 1966 (2)
TOTAL: 14
Bayern Munich
Bundesliga: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1985, 1986, 1987 (6)
DFB Pokal: 1971, 1984, 1986 (3)
European Cup: 1974
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Bundesliga: 1967, 1977 (2)
UEFA Cup: 1979
Barcelona
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1982
Copa de la Liga: 1983
TOTAL: 15
FC Aarau
Swiss Cup: 1985
Grasshopper
Swiss Super League: 1990, 1991 (2)
Swiss Cup: 1989, 1990 (2)
Borussia Dortmund
Bundesliga: 1995, 1996 (2)
UEFA Champions League: 1997
Bayern Munich
Bundesliga: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2008 (5)
DFB Pokal: 2000, 2003, 2008 (3)
UEF Champions League 2001
TOTAL: 17
FC Porto
Primeira Liga: 2003, 2004 (2)
Taça de Portugal: 2003
UEFA Cup: 2003
UEFA Champions League: 2004
Chelsea
Premier League: 2005, 2006 (2)
FA Cup 2007
Football League Cup: 2005, 2007, 2015 (3)
Internazionale
Serie A: 2009, 2010 (2)
Coppa Italia: 2010
UEFA Champions League: 2010
Real Madrid
La Liga: 2012
Copa del Rey: 2011
TOTAL: 17
Juventus
Serie A: 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986 (6)
Coppa Italia: 1979, 1983 (2)
European Cup: 1985
UEFA Cup: 1977, 1993 (2)
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1984
Internazionale
Serie A: 1989
UEFA Cup: 1991
Bayern Munich
Bundesliga: 1997
DFB Pokal: 1998
Benfica
Primeira Liga: 2005
Red Bull Salzburg
Austrian Bundesliga: 2007
TOTAL: 18
Rangers
Scottish Premier League: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2009, 2010, 2011 (10)
Scottish Cup: 1992, 1993, 1996, 2008, 2009 (5)
Scottish League Cup: 1993, 1994, 1997, 2008, 2010, 2011 (6)
TOTAL: 21
Dinamo Bucure?ti
Liga I: 1990
Cupa României: 1986, 1990 (2)
Rapid Bucure?ti
Liga I: 1999
Cupa României: 1998
Galatasaray
Süper Lig: 2002
Be?ikta?
Süper Lig: 2003
Shakhtar Donetsk
Ukrainian Premier League: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 (8)
Ukrainian Cup: 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 (5)
UEFA Cup: 2009
TOTAL: 21
Dynamo Kyiv
Soviet Top League: 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990 (8)
Ukrainian Premier League: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 (5)
Soviet Cup: 1974, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1990 (6)
Ukrainian Cup: 1998, 1999, 2000 (3)
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1975, 1986 (2)
TOTAL: 24
Celtic
Scottish First Division: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977 (10)
Scottish Cup: 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977 (8)
Scottish League Cup: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1975 (6)
European Cup: 1967
TOTAL: 25
Aberdeen
Scottish Premier Division: 1980, 1984, 1985 (3)
Scottish Cup: 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 (4)
Scottish League Cup: 1986
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1983
Manchester United
Premier League: 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013 (13)
FA Cup: 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004 (5)
Football League Cup: 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010 (4)
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1991
UEFA Champions League: 1999, 2008 (2)
FIFA Club World Cup: 2008
TOTAL: 35