The world of soccer is wrought with drama and conflict. The high stakes of winner-take-all make people do questionable things. Like calling a reporter an ostrich. The English Premier League is perhaps the best example of this. This is because the EPL has a reputation for being the most competitive league, filled with upsets. There are at least five clubs gunning for the title any given year. This creates a unique atmosphere where the British media is always hounding for the next sacking, for the next person to get sacked for failing to live up to insane expectations that are unrealistic at best. Add this up, and perhaps it is not that much of a surprise that the broadcasting rights for 2016-2019 went for over $10 Billion. With all that money comes new esteemed managers. But they all can't win. Here's a rundown of the most important managers and what they have accomplished before. Only League titles, European titles, and FIFA titles included.
Jose Mourinho- Manchester United
Previous clubs: Inter Milan, F.C. Porto, Real Madrid, Chelsea
Honors: League Titles (8), UEFA Champions League (2), UEFA Cup (1)
He finally has it. The job he has wanted for so long. At the head of Manchester United, and across the city from Pep., Mourinho is the guy who has a few choice words to say about everyone. Calling Wenger a "specialist in failure" during his time at Chelsea is but one example. He is known for his "mind games," using the media to get under the opposition's skin, to mould his players by openly criticizing them in front of the world. His trebles with underdog teams like FC Porto and Inter Milan have given him acclaim and have earned him the reputation of someone to hire if you want to win today, not tomorrow. The one reason he is hated most is that he values results over everything else. He has made the most interesting fixtures into terribly boring matches by being extremely pragmatic. While his style and philosophy worked at Chelsea, for a while anyways, Manchester United fans prefer attacking football instead of defending. One match to watch would be when Chelsea hosts Manchester United. How will the fans welcome him? With boos that he defected to a title rival, or with applause for all he has done for Chelsea?
Pep Guardiola- Manchester City
Previous clubs: Barcelona, Bayern Munich
Honors: League Titles (6), UEFA Champions League (2), UEFA Cup (3), FIFA Club World Cup (3)
While Pep does have the most honors in this list, it should be noted that he won it with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, two very good clubs. His League titles with Bayern Munich, for example, are not even considered an achievement. Such is Bayern's domination of the Bundesliga. However, his achievements at Barcelona are nothing to frown upon. He is also the only manager in this list to have won the FIFA Club World Cup. His rivalry with Mourinho back when they were both in La Liga is going to make Manchester a deeply divided city, even more so than they were. The Manchester Derby should be entertaining to say the least.
Mauricio Pochettino- Tottenham Hotspurs
Previous clubs: Southampton
Honors: N/A
Despite being the youngest manager on this list and not having any major titles to his name, Pochettino has won praise for how he handled the title challenge. They only got knocked out when they failed to beat a resurgent Chelsea. However, with one of the youngest teams, expecting more from the Spurs is not folly. They do have the Champions League to deal with this season, though, and with this being their first year in it, time will tell if they are cut out for European glory.
Jurgen Klopp- Liverpool
Previous clubs: Borussia Dortmund
Honors: League Titles (2)
Known widely for his work with Borussia Dortmund, he carved his name into the coaching elite by breaking Bayern Munich's domination. He was given plenty of time, and he brought back results with that trust. Having spent only six months with Liverpool, he has already guided them to two cup finals. Maybe next time, they will come out on top. A key match would be with Manchester City, as Pep and Klopp have a rivalry to re-ignite from Germany.
Claudio Ranieri- Leicester City
Previous clubs: Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Valencia, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Roma, Juventus, and many, many more
Honors: League Titles (1), UEFA Cup (1)
He is perhaps the one man on the list who moves along more often than Jose Mourinho, which is really saying something. He has already written history by winning the Premier League with Leicester City, a team that only last year escaped relegation by a hair. But the fact that they won the League by ten points shows that it was not a fluke; he knows what he's doing. Mounting a significant title in defense, along with playing Champions League for the first time could prove too much for a team which has already seen one of it's biggest stars leave, with more players seemingly on the way out. Winning the League, as hard as that is, is not the real challenge. It is retaining it that is the real challenge, as only Chelsea and Manchester United have ever done that.
Arese Wenger- Arsenal
Previous clubs: Monaco
Honors: League Titles (4)
At their height, Wenger's Arsenal was unbeatable. The team went an entire calendar year without losing a match, earning themselves the nickname "The Invincibles." But that was over ten years ago, and the last League title he ever brought to Arsenal. The reputation of being good, just not good enough, has stuck, as Arsenal has consistently finished in the Top 4—just not the top. This remarkable achievement has earned Wenger the nickname the "specialist in failure" from Mourinho. The ten year run in which they did not win a single trophy certainly did not do any favors. However, the owners at Arsenal refuse to fire him, and he will celebrate his 20th year at Arsenal this October. A game to watch will be when Arsenal and Manchester United meet. But of course, a London derby with Chelsea should be entertaining too, given that Chelsea has a habit of getting under Arsenal's skin.
Antonio Conte- Chelsea
Previous clubs: Juventus
Honors: League Titles (3)
Welcome to Chelsea's rotating managerial door, Conte. Hope you last a few more turns than the last one. Chelsea has had sixteen managers since 2000, four of them on an interim basis. That is about one a year. Those sixteen managers have brought twenty pieces of silverware for Abramovich's showcases. However, that is never enough. Working for Chelsea comes with a very short patience. If you don't get results, you get kicked out. While Conte only has three titles, it should be noted he won them in a row and then went on to coach the national side. If he had stayed on the club level, he probably would have had more. While his time at Juventus certainly won him praise, it is what he did at Euro 2016 that makes us Chelsea fans very excited.
This year probably marks the first time people are talking more about managers than the players themselves. With the history between this particular group of managers, it makes for a more enticing story. Who will win it all? Who will get sacked? Who will create the biggest scandal? Get ready for the best League season ever, where the only thing we know for sure is that someone's getting sacked.
