UEFA Champions League Football Coaches

LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM - AUGUST 19: Liverpool Manager Rafael Benitez shakes hands with Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho at the end No matter how many world class players a UEFA Champions League football club has at its disposal, no team can win the UEFA Champions League final without a world class coach to steer a team to greatness. Taking up the role of coach of a UEFA Champions League football team is arguably one of the toughest jobs in sport.

In our UEFA Champions League football coaches pages we profile some of the men who have shown the mental toughness and tactical expertise to take their teams to the summit of the highest peak in football. Names include former winners such as controversial former Porto and Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, and legendary Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson.

UEFA Champions League Spanish Supremos

A number of the coaches profiled in our UEFA Champions League coaches pages cut their teeth in one of Europe's most demanding and competitive leagues. Both Rafael Benitez and Vincente del Bosque are products of the Real Madrid youth academy – arguably one of the finest football youth academies in the world.

Vincente del Bosque is credited with sparking the renaissance at Real Madrid that saw the club recapture the scintillating form of the 1960s and 1950s. Rafael Benitez had a similar effect at Liverpool, infusing the side with fresh talent and passion before extending their FA Cup record and presiding over one of the most famous cup finals in the history of the sport.

UEFA Champions League Football Style and Discipline

UEFA Champions League coach Carlo Ancelotti epitomises the qualities and characteristics need to win the UEFA Champions League final. The AC Milan coach, a former Italian international himself, is only the fifth player in UEFA Champions League history to win the tournament as both a player and a coach.

Carlo Ancelotti represents a tendency amongst many UEFA Champions League coaches to embrace innovation and daring decisions. In part, the success of these great coaches is based on their willingness to fearlessly reposition great players and back young unproven footballers to ensure that their teams evolve and retain the power to surprise opponents.