6 managers with the most Champions League trophies

Zinedine Zidane is only one of the two managers to have lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy thrice.
Zinedine Zidane is only one of the two managers to have lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy thrice.

T1. Carlo Ancelotti - Three | 2003, 2007 (AC Milan) and 2014 (Real Madrid)

Carlo Ancelotti is the first manager to win the Champions League thrice.
Carlo Ancelotti is the first manager to win the Champions League thrice.

When talking about successful managers in the Champions League, it is difficult to leave out current Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti who has won the competition thrice in his career.

The Italian has a remarkable managerial resume, having coached some of the world's greatest clubs and subsequently some of the best players during his illustrious career. He has won league titles in four of five countries he has managed clubs in, only missed out on the top honour in Spain with Real Madrid.

But with the La Liga giants, Ancelotti won his third Champions League trophy, leading Real Madrid to a victory over bitter rivals Atletico Madrid to lift the coveted La Decima in 2014. In the process, he matched Bob Paisley's record of three triumphs in the European Cup/Champions League and became the first manager to lift three Champions League trophies.

Ancelotti has made it to four finals in the competition, which is more than that of any other manager, and has been victorious in three of them. He first tasted success in the Champions League with AC Milan in 2003 and repeated the feat in 2007 when Milan avenged their 2005 defeat against Liverpool.

Like Mourinho, Ancelotti has not been very successful in recent times as he strives to secure his first silverware since 2017 with Everton.


T1. Zinedine Zidane | 2016, 2017, 2018 (Real Madrid)

With Cristiano Ronaldo as his side's trump card, Zidane won three back-to-back Champions League trophies.
With Cristiano Ronaldo as his side's trump card, Zidane won three back-to-back Champions League trophies.

Zinedine Zidane is widely considered as one of the greatest and most successful midfielders of all time. And with the kind of managerial career he's had so far across two stints at Real Madrid, he might as well be on his way to establishing himself as one of the greatest managers of all time as well.

The Frenchman's managerial career started in 2013-14 when he was appointed the Real Madrid assistant coach under Carlo Ancelotti. Within six months, he became the acting head coach of Real Madrid's B team, and in January 2016, he was appointed the first team's head coach.

The series of events that have followed his appointment at the helm of affairs at Santiago Bernabeu are now a part of history. In just two and a half years as Madrid's head coach, between January 2016 and May 2018, Zidane led his side to an unprecedented three back-to-back triumphs in the Champions League.

Though he may not be married to any particular style of play or tactic, he gets the results, and in the end, that's what people remember him for.

He won his second La Liga trophy as a manager this season, one more than he managed as a player, though his side crashed out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 to Pep Guardiola's excellent Manchester City.


Also Read: 5 football managers who were sacked after winning trophies.

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Edited by Bhargav
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