Ranking the best European trophy-winning managers

Breaking news from the world of sport: Ranking the best European trophy-winning managersByAlex BysouthBBC Sport Senior JournalistPublished21 minutes agoThere is nothing Unai Emery loves more than a Europa League final. The Basque coach already holds the record for winning the competition more than any other manager, notching three on the bounce with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016, before adding another with Villarreal in 2021. On Wednesday, the 54-year-old has the chance to extend that record to five, when Aston Villa face Freiburg in the final in Istanbul (20:00 BST).

But how does he stack up against the best European trophy-winning bosses of all time? I've attempted to rank the top 10 below - you can have your say, too. Emery denies Euro king talk but Villa boss could be crowned again Published2 hours agoAdriano, Samba, R.

Match Details

Larcos - ranking the most iconic video game footballers Published5 MayA quick nod to some of those who do not make the list. Udo Lattek won all three European trophies with different clubs - a European Cup at Bayern Munich, Uefa Cup with Borussia Monchengladbach and Cup Winners' Cup with Barcelona. Sven-Goran Eriksson led Gothenburg to a Uefa Cup, won a Cup Winners' Cup with Lazio and lost European and Uefa Cup finals with Benfica.

Raymond Goethals lifted the Champions League with Marseille in 1993, having lost the final two years earlier, and led Anderlecht to Cup Winners' Cup success in 1978 a year after finishing runners-up to Hamburg. He also lost a final with Standard Liege. Then there's Jurgen Klopp, Champions League winner in 2019 and three-time runner-up.

And, of course, heavy-hitting omissions in Brian Clough, who clinched successive European Cups with Nottingham Forest, and Celtic great Jock Stein, the first British manager to win the continent's top trophy and beaten finalist in 1970. But on to those who made it... Unai EmeryOf course, European Cup and Champions League titles carry more weight here than second-tier European competitions, but that is not to diminish those achievements.

Reactions and Expectations

Emery thrives in the Europa League environment. The only other trophies of his managerial career have come at Paris St-Germain where, despite domestic dominance, the iconic moment of his tenure was a dramatic collapse at Barcelona in the Champions League last 16. Wednesday will be his sixth final, losing the 2019 edition as Arsenal boss, and that is enough to sneak him in at number 10.

Johan CruyffIt is hard to quantify Johan Cruyff's achievements as a manager through trophies - his real legacy is in the foundations laid at Ajax and Barcelona and the crop of managers who have followed the Dutchman's innovative ideas and philosophies. But in his fairly short managerial career, Cruyff pioneered success. He guided a young and exciting Ajax side to Cup Winners' Cup glory in 1987, Marco van Basten scoring the winner against Lokomotive Leipzig in Athens, and then turned a turbulent Barcelona era into another Cup Winners' Cup crown.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.