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Managing a football team is arguably one of the toughest jobs in the world. The clubs, in particular, are relentless in their pursuit of glory and rarely tend to give their managers a second chance.
Today, we will take a look at a few capable managers who were either let go or resigned after failing to meet expectations.
Here are five eligible managers who are not managing a club right now.
#5 Quique Setien
Having made quite a name for himself during his time with Las Palmas, Quique Setien joined fellow Spanish outfit Real Betis in May 2017.
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Under Setien’s keen eyes, Betis started playing a miniaturized brand of Johan Cruyff’s "Total Football", and it was a sight to behold. Due to their lack of firepower, Betis didn’t always get the results, but their style of play rarely failed to entertain.
Impressed with his work at Betis, Barcelona decided to hire the manager in January 2020, right after the dismissal of Ernesto Valverde.
Unfortunately, Setien was well out of his depth at the Camp Nou and failed to make the impact everyone expected him to. Setien was unable to win the Blaugrana players’ respect, which translated into poor performances on the pitch.
The most infamous night of his career came on August 14 when Bayern Munich beat the Catalan giants 8-2 in the Champions League quarter-finals. Three days later, he was let go by the disgruntled Barcelona board.
The defeat will not be easy to forget, but that night alone should not determine the fate of such a fine manager.
If he finds himself at a midtable club with an appetite for success, Setien could very well turn his fortunes around.
#4 Niko Kovac
Former Croatian national team coach Niko Kovac possesses one of the sharpest minds in football. Unfortunately, he has not been able to justify his worth over the last couple of stints.
Kovac properly announced himself to the world during his time with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt. He first saved them from relegation in 2016 before taking the club to the DFB Pokal final in 2017, and eventually won the German cup competition in 2018. The win over Bayern Munich in the final ensured Frankfurt’s first silverware since 1988.
Bayern acquired his services ahead of the 2018-19 season, and Kovac helped the club retain the Bundesliga title at the end of the campaign. The next season, the Bavarians saw a stark dip in their performance and eventually endured a 5-1 defeat to Frankfurt in November. The former Hertha BSC player was let go after the shocking outcome.
Kovac’s last stint was at Ligue 1 side Monaco. There, too, he failed to win the club’s confidence and was eventually sacked in January 2022.
#3 Lucien Favre
Keeping up with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga is almost an impossible task. The Bavarians tend to snap up the most promising names in both German and world football and rarely put a step wrong in their pursuit of glory.
Borussia Dortmund have tried their best to give Bayern a tough time in the German top-flight, but have come up short more often than not.
Lucien Favre is one of many coaches who tried and failed to bring an end to Bayern’s monopoly. Following impressive stints at Borussia Monchengladbach and OGC Nice, Favre joined Dortmund in May 2018.
He had a rather impressive, young squad to play around with, but he couldn’t mount respectable title challenges over the next couple of years.
He won the German Super Cup with Dortmund, but that’s pretty much the only thing he has to show for his spell with BVB.
#2 Ernesto Valverde
Throughout their history, Barcelona have taken pride in playing an engaging and effective brand of football.
Under Ernesto Valverde, they failed to entertain their highly-demanding supporters, but managed to put respectable results on the board.
Valverde was appointed ahead of the 2017-18 season and was given the responsibility of winning back the La Liga crown from Real Madrid. The tactician got to work right away to give Barcelona unmatched solidity at the back.
Banking on solid defensive work and individual attacking brilliance, the Blaugrana cruised to the La Liga title at the end of the campaign.
The coach repeated the feat once again next season, winning both the domestic cup and league. Barcelona dismissed Valverde in January 2020 due to his conservative approach, failure in Europe and a poor run of form.
#1 Zinedine Zidane
Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is the most desirable manager in Europe right now, and rightfully so. The Frenchman is the only manager on this list who was never sacked.
He is also the only manager in history to have won three consecutive Champions League titles in the tournament’s current format.
With zero top-division managerial experience, Zidane became Real Madrid’s first-team coach in January 2016. He helped the team turn their fortunes around in La Liga and took them to the Champions League title at the end of the campaign.
Next season, Zidane did the La Liga-Champions League double, and became the first manager to defend the premier European trophy. In 2017-18, Los Blancos struggled in La Liga, but won the Champions League for the third successive season.
Just after winning his third Champions League, Zidane decided to take a little sabbatical from management. As fate would have it, Real Madrid’s poor run in the 2018-19 season saw Zidane return to the hotseat.
He won La Liga in the 2019-20 campaign and brought Madrid agonizingly close to the title once again the following season.
He resigned at the end of the 2020-21 campaign and was eventually succeeded by his former mentor Carlo Ancelotti.
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United are believed to be in the running for his services. Zidane, however, has kept them at bay for now, and is reportedly waiting for the opportunity to manage the French national team.
