What are the master-level head coaches in the world football world?

Speaking of the "grandmaster level" head coaches in the world football world, I think these characters have surpassed the number of simple champions. They have profoundly changed the face of football, created genres, shaped philosophy, and influenced countless latecomers. Here are some recognized master figures, each of whom has left an indelible mark in football history:

Herbert Chapman:

Contribution: The father of modern football formation (the perfecter and promoter of WM formation), a pioneer of professional management.

Achievements: Leading Huddersfield and Arsenal to success laid the foundation for Arsenal to become a giant. He has introduced many modern football concepts, such as number jerseys, stadium floodlights, improved tactical boards, etc.

Influence: His WM formation has dominated the football world for decades and is a milestone in the systematic development of football tactics.

Vitorio Pozzo:

Contribution: An early master of national team football, emphasizing collective discipline, tactical execution and psychological construction.

Achievement: Leading the Italian national team to win the 1934 and 1938 World Cup championships in a row, he is the only Italian coach to win the World Cup twice.

Impact: Shows the height that systematic management and tactical organization can achieve at the national team level.

Elegno Herrera:

Contribution: The master of "chain defense" and the most successful practitioner, elevating defense to an artistic level. Pay great attention to details, discipline and psychological warfare.

Achievement: Lead Inter Milan to dominate Europe (two Champions Leagues and three Serie A) in the 1960s, creating a "big international era" that has been famous in history.

Influence: Defining an era of Italian football and even world football defensive philosophy, its "cat enaccio" system has far-reaching influence.

Rinos Michels:

Contribution: Founder and founder of "All Attack and All Defense Football". It revolutionized the strict division of position, requiring all players to attack and defend well, and control the game through high-intensity pressure and smooth round conversion positions.

Achievement: Lead Ajax to the 1971 Champions League and led the Dutch national team to set off an orange storm in the 1974 World Cup (although he won the runner-up, his playing style shocked the world). In 1988, he led the Netherlands to win the European Cup.

Influence: Known as the "football general". His philosophy is the source of almost all offensive and oppressive styles of modern football, and has profoundly influenced countless famous coaches in later generations such as Cruyff and Guardiola. FIFA officially awarded him the title of "Best Coach in the Century".

John Cruyff:

Contribution: As a disciple of Michels, he sublimated the concept of "all offense and all defense" and incorporated his unique philosophy, emphasizing ball control, technology, space utilization and offensive creativity. He is the creator of the "Barcelona Dream Team" and Lamacia's youth training philosophy.

Achievement: Leading Barcelona to the 1992 Champions League and 4 consecutive La Liga titles, laying the foundation for Barcelona's modern dynasty.

Influence: Its football philosophy ("Cruyffism") is the DNA of Barcelona and Dutch football, which directly gave birth to Guardiola's "Tiki-Taka". He has a huge impact on the dissemination of football concepts and the construction of the youth training system, and is a football thinker.

Arigo Saki:

Contribution: Completely revolutionized the defensive concept of Italian football and even world football. Replaced the traditional man-to-man defense with radical high-position oppression and a rigorous parallelogram defense system. Emphasize collective coordination, ball-free running and overall formation movement.

Achievement: Lead AC Milan to the Champions League championship in 1989 and 1990, creating the legendary Milan dynasty with the three Dutch musketeers.

Influence: His concept of regional defense and high-position oppression is the cornerstone of the modern football defense system and is widely learned and applied. It proves that a rigorous tactical system can defeat personal talent.

Sir Alex Ferguson:

Contribution: Unrivaled long-term team building and management master. He is good at rebuilding the team, cultivating young players ("92 Class"), managing superstars, exerting psychological warfare, and inspiring team fighting spirit at critical moments. Tactical flexibility and adaptability.

Achievement: He has been in charge of Manchester United for 26 years, won numerous honors such as 13 Premier League titles and 2 Champions League titles, making Manchester United one of the most influential and commercially valuable clubs in the world.

Influence: Set a benchmark for the club's long-term stable success, and its management philosophy and leadership have been studied by all walks of life.

Arsena Wenger:

Contribution: A key enabler of the process of modernization and internationalization of the Premier League. A scientific scouting network of training methods, diet management, injury prevention and globalization has been revolutionized. Advocate offensive football that advocates technical flow and rapid transmission and cutting.

Achievements: Lead Arsenal to 3 Premier League titles (including the "unbeaten season" of the 2003/04 season), and 7 FA Cup championships. It has maintained Arsenal's top competitiveness in the Premier League for a long time.

Influence: It has profoundly changed the training, diet, signing and competition style of English football and is known as the "Professor".

Jose Mourinho:

Contribution: Elevate defensive counterattack to the extreme and give it a powerful art of psychological warfare and on-site command. Extremely emphasizes tactical discipline, details, game management and result orientation. A strong team that is good at creating a "underdog" mentality.

Achievements: He has achieved great success in many top clubs such as Porto (Champions League), Chelsea (breaking the Premier League monopoly), Inter Milan (triple crown), Real Madrid (fighting the peak Barcelona), and won many leagues and Champions League titles.

Influence: Redefining how modern football can defeat technical teams through strict organization and efficient counterattack, its "pragmatist victory" philosophy has a wide influence.

Marcelo Bielsa:

Contribution: "Madman" philosopher, extreme believer and theorist who oppresses and attacks football at high levels. Its "Belsaism" emphasizes crazy physical pressing, fast and direct attack, creation of numerical advantages and almost paranoid tactical requirements.

Achievements: The club level has limited honors, but he has led the Argentine national team (2004 Olympic gold medal) and the Chilean national team to perform well, and also played extremely ornamental and influential football at Athletic Bilbao, Leeds United and other teams.

Influence: He is the spiritual mentor and pioneer of modern high-level oppressive play, and has deeply influenced a large number of top coaches such as Pochettino, Simeone, and Guardiola (who once visited for advice). It is the totem of football idealism.

Pep Guardiola:

Contribution: The perfect successor and innovator of Cruyff philosophy in the new era. Push the "Tiki-Taka" ball control system to the extreme and continue to evolve (integrate into full-back retraction, frontless formation, etc.). The requirements for space control, passing accuracy, and player position versatility reach unprecedented heights.

Achievements: He has achieved great league success in Barcelona (an unprecedented six-champion), Bayern Munich and Manchester City, and has won the Champions League many times (Barcelona 2 times, Manchester City 1 time), famous for his dominant football style.

Influence: Defining the mainstream football style of the second decade of the 21st century, its pursuit of ultimate ball control and tactical innovation leads the trend, and is the most influential tactical master in contemporary times.

Jurgen Klopp:

Contribution: The spokesperson of "heavy metal football". Optimize the Bielsa-style high-level compression and develop a more efficient and sustainable "Gegenpressing" system. Emphasizes intensity, speed, passion and team spirit, and the offense is fast and direct, and it is extremely impactful.

Achievement: Lead Dortmund to break Bayern's monopoly and win the Bundesliga two times, and won the Premier League and Champions League championships at Liverpool, bringing Liverpool back to the top of Europe.

Impact: Proves the tremendous power of high-intensity compression and rapid conversion in modern top football, and its passionate and infectious coaching style is also iconic.

Carlo Ancelotti:

Contribution: Master of Adaptation and Management. He is famous for his pragmatism, flexibility and ability to adjust tactics and formations according to player characteristics. He is extremely good at managing locker room superstars and creating a harmonious atmosphere. He often has a masterpiece in key competitions.

Achievement: The first and only coach in history to win the Champions League four times (AC Milan 2 times, Real Madrid 2 times). Four of the five major leagues (Serie A, Premier League, Ligue 1, and La Liga) have won the league championship and are the real "champion collectors".

Influence: Shows that in top football, adaptability and interpersonal relationship management skills are equally important as tactical wisdom, and are a model of "just looking at the food and eating".

Diego Simeone:

Contribution: A defensive counterattack master who brings tenacity, discipline and team spirit to the extreme. It has created a highly recognizable "gangster" style, emphasizing physical confrontation, tactical discipline, sacrifice and efficient counterattack.

Achievement: Turn Atletico Madrid from the La Liga mid-range team into a European powerhouse that has been competing with Real Madrid and Barcelona for many years, winning the La Liga championship twice, and reaching the Champions League final twice.

Impact: It proves that with relatively limited resources, through ultimate team collaboration and tactical execution, we can challenge the super giants and set a benchmark for small and medium-sized teams to counterattack.

Other master figures worth mentioning:

Valery Lobanovsky: A legend of Ukraine, introducing science and systems theory into football training and tactics. Its "dynamic football" theory emphasizes body flow and spatial control. It is the godfather of Eastern European football and has a far-reaching influence.

Otma Heathfield: A famous German coach, who has achieved great success in both Dortmund and Bayern Munich (Champions League champions), is known for his rigorous, stable and strong psychological construction ability.

Luis Filippe Scolari: Leading Brazil to the 2002 World Cup, his pragmatic style and strong leadership have achieved brilliant achievements at the club and national team levels.

Marcello Lippi: "Silver Fox", a master of tactics, led Juventus to dominate Serie A and reached the Champions League finals many times. In 2006, he led the Italian national team to win the World Cup championship without being favored.

In summary, the common point of the master coach is that:

Establishing a school: creating or ultimately transforming a unique football philosophy, tactical system or style school.

Far-reaching influence: Their philosophy and practice have profoundly changed the way of playing and thinking of football, and have influenced generations of coaches and players.

Continuous success: Achieve major success in top events over a long period of time or in different circumstances (different clubs/national teams).

Shaping culture: Not only wins the game, but also shapes the football culture and identity of the club or national team.

Each person on this list has carved his own name in the long river of football development in his unique way, becoming the object of respect and learning from future generations. The charm of football is largely due to the continuous promotion of tactical innovation and concept collisions among these masters.