Top Spanish Managers 2025 | Best Spanish Coaches Ranked

Spain has been one of the footballing powerhouses over the years and certainly in modern-day football. Spain’s national side and Spanish clubs have been exceptional to watch in every competition. This incredible footballing culture has not only led to some exceptional players coming in from their ranks but also some brilliant Spanish managers dominating world football.

Filled with tactical nous, innovative ideas and just pure love for the game, loads of Spanish managers have performed exceedingly well across leagues in Europe. Many are still in action and are dominating world football. From the Spainsh maestro Pep Guardiola dominating the English Premier League to Luis Enrique, winning the UEFA Champions League, we have include some of the best Spanish managers in the world right now.

How We Ranked Spanish Managers

Trophies Won: The primary factor for ranking the best Spanish managers is looking at their number of trophies won.

Win Percentage: The second parameter considered while ranking the best Spanish football managers is their overall win percentage throughout the season.

Current Form & Impact: The third factor we’ve considered while compiling the list of the best Spanish managers is their current form, how well they’ve led their team throughout this season, and what was their overall impact.

Managerial Awards & Honors: The last parameter that was considered was the managerial awards & honors won this season by these managers.

Top 10 Best Spanish Managers

Rank	Manager	Current Club/Team	Win %	2024–25 League Position	Major Managerial Awards	Tactical Style
1	Luis Enrique	PSG	81.9	1st	None	4-3-3
2	Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	63.16	3rd	None	4-3-3
3	Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	63.79	2nd	None	4-3-3
4	Unai Emery	Aston Villa	64.91	6st	None	4-4-2/4-2-3-1
5	Luis de la Fuente	Spain	80	–	None	4-2-3-1
6	Xabi Alonso	Real Madrid	–	–	None	3-4-3
7	Ernesto Valverde	Athletic Club	61.82	4th	None	4-2-3-1
8	Míchel	Girona FC	50.88	16th	None	4-1-4-1
9	Imanol Alguacil	Real Sociedad	45.35	11th	None	4-3-3
10	Jose Bordalas	Getafe	35.42	13th	None	4-4-2

Best Spanish Coaches: Detailed Profiles

10. Michel

In the last position on our list of the best Spanish managers, we have Miguel Angel Sanchez Munoz, aka Michel. The Spanish manager is currently managing Girona FC. Even though Girona hasn’t looked as spark as you would expect from a team in a top tier, he has done his homework and is trying to build a team around young players.

This season, the Spaniard has managed the club for 48 matches, winning 13, losing 27, and drawing 8 across all competitions. With a win percentage of 35.42%, he has looked out of tactics, failing to capitalize on many occasions. His tactics on overinfusing midfielders (4-1-4-1) have failed to deliver any impact.

Current Team	Trophies Won	Win %	Major Awards
Girona FC	None	35.42	None

9. Jose Bordalas

Jose Bordalas has managed loads of clubs but is most remembered for his multiple stints at Getafe. His aggressive style of tactical setups is what he is known for. His main formation is 4-4-2, where he relies on set pieces while using ‘Anti-football’ low block as a base. This season, Getafe has struggled a lot, but thankfully, they weren’t in the relegation zone.

Although Bordalas hasn’t won any trophy in his managerial career so far but so far he is considered one of the best Spanish coaches this year. He has managed Azulones for 43 matches, winning 15, losing 19, while drawing 9, averaging 1.26 points per match this season across all competitions.

Current Team	Trophies Won	Win %	Major Awards
Getafe	None	45.35	None

8. Imanol Alguacil

Imanol Alguacil started his managerial career with Real Sociedad‘s youth team in 2011. He led the club to its first trophy in the 21st century during the 2019-20 season, when they won the Copa del Rey. And since then, he has been with the club, leading them season after season. His primary tactical formation, which he prefers, is 4-3-3, a possession-based formation. The Spanish manager has always prioritized academic talents and nurturing them.

Although he hasn’t won any European tournament as of now, he has consistently led the club into European tournaments, failing occasionally. This season, he has led Real Sociedad for 57 matches, winning 24 matches, losing 23, and drawing 10, with a win percentage of 50.88%.

Current Team	Trophies Won	Win %	Major Awards
Real Sociedad	None	50.88	None

7. Ernesto Valverde

One of the Spanish football managers, Ernesto Valverde, has done wonders in the Spanish top tier with his performances. The Spanish manager led the Blaugrana to multiple trophies during his stints at the club and also won silverware with Barcelona. This season, his team was in good form, but couldn’t finish in the top 3 unfortunately, but did qualify for the European tournament.

With a win percentage of 61.82%, he has managed the Bilbao side for 55 games, winning 28, losing 12, and drawing 15. His philosphy of providing a defensive stability and attacking width with a 4-2-3-1 formation, has done wonders for the Spanish club.

Current Team	Trophies Won	Win %	Major Awards
Athletic Club	None	61.82	None

Also Read: Ranking the 10 Best Managers With Most Trophies

6. Xabi Alonso

Surprised? Xabi Alonso is a relatively new manager, having started as a first-team manager in late 2022. However, he does make the list because of what he has achieved in such a short time already. Alonso became Bayer Leverkusen’s manager mid-season in 2022. In his first full season (2023-24), he helped them win the Bundesliga title for the first time in history, along with the DFB-Pokal.

They did so by remaining unbeaten throughout. They lost just one game in the entire season – the UEFA Europa League final against Atalanta. It will be interesting to see where Alonso goes from here. Even during the 2024/25 season, he continued to impress everyone with his unique set of tactics. Now, he is all set to lead Real Madrid. What a journey it has been, from a player to a manager; he has come a long way.

Current Team	Trophies Won	Win %	Major Awards
Real Madrid	–	–	–

5. Luis de la Fuente

Luis de la Fuente might not have the big honours some of the other names on the list might have, but his influence on Spanish football cannot be understated. He recently led Spain to the UEFA Euro 2024 win and also won the UEFA Nations League in the 2022-23 season with them. However, de la Fuente’s real influence lies in his work with Spain’s youth sides. He won the U19 Euros and the U21 Euros and has helped develop many big stars in the country.

Recently, the Spain national team reached the UEFA Nations League final, but ultimately lost to the Portugal side in a penalty shootout. He has managed the side for 10 games this year, winning seven, losing only once, and drawing twice.

Current Team	Trophies Won	Win %	Major Awards
Spain	None	80	None

4. Unai Emery

Unai Emery had an underwhelming spell at Arsenal but apart from that, he’s been one of the best Spanish managers in recent times. He won three UEFA Europa League trophies with Sevilla and one with Villarreal as well. He also won multiple trophies with PSG. Emery also brought Aston Villa from a position of fighting the relegation battle to qualifying for the UEFA Champions League in the 2023-24 season.

The Spanish manager has been brilliant at almost every club he’s been at. Even at Aston Villa, he has been doing a marvelous job, finishing in the 6th position in the EPL table and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.

Current Team	Trophies Won	Win %	Major Awards
Aston Villa	None	64.91	None

Also Read: Ranking the 10 Best English Managers in the World | 2025

3. Mikel Arteta

Under the leadership of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have regained their status as contenders in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League in the last few seasons. Arsenal is the only team, alongside Liverpool, to give a tough challenge to the dominant Manchester City in the Premier League. This season, he averaged 1.93 points per game with a win percentage of 63.79%.

The Spanish manager used to be a part of Pep Guardiola’s assistant team at one time, has learned a lot and look at him now. As of the 2024-2025 season, the Gunners secured the second position in the English Premier League and things didn’t turn out well for them in the UEFA Champions League as they got knocked out by PSG in the knockout rounds.

Current Team	Trophies Won	Win %	Major Awards
Arsenal	None	63.79	None

2. Pep Guardiola

Not that it was a surprise, but Pep Guardiola tops the list of the best Spanish managers of all time. He has had major achievements in his career with every club, but also, his influence on modern football cannot be quantified. He built what was arguably the best Barcelona team of all time, winning a sextuple among numerous other trophies with the club. He then took over Bayern Munich and again saw great success before building the best Manchester City team of all time. He has led them to six Premier League titles, their maiden UEFA Champions League trophy, and numerous other honours.

Guardiola’s tiki-taka or possession-based style of play became synonymous with success, so much so that many managers tried to copy it. Hence, it’s clear that Pep Guardiola is the best Spanish manager of all time and is in the argument for being the best manager in the beautiful game’s history as well. This season, he did suffer a bit due to his key players being out injured, but still managed to finish third, which speaks about his experience and tactical brilliance.

Current Team	Trophies Won	Win %	Major Awards
Manchester City	None	63.16	None

1. Luis Enrique

Luis Enrique has been another one of the most influential Spanish managers in modern football. He has managed clubs like AS Roma, Barcelona, and PSG, and tasted great success with some of them. He won the coveted treble with Barcelona in 2015, among numerous other trophies. Enrique also had a stint with Spain’s national team, which wasn’t the most successful. However, he returned to club management with PSG and helped them achieve domestic success as well.

But this season he has gone beyond just winning domestic titles and trophies, he has won PSG’s first ever European trophy (the UEFA Champions League), that too, in style, finishing 5-0 against Inter Milan in the final is not an easy task.

Current Team	Trophies Won	Win %	Major Awards
PSG	Ligue 1, UCL, Coupe de France	81.9	None

Also Read: 10 Greatest English Managers of All-Time

FAQs