Journeyman managers

(Image credit: Alamy)

It’s just the nature of being a football manager that you’re never in one place for particularly long – but some coaches take that to remarkable levels.

Each of these coaches has managed a multitude of teams, with most of them holding the reins on more than one continent.

And don’t go thinking that by ‘journeyman’, we’re implying a lack of success – this list includes World Cup winners and Premier League champions alike.

Manuel Pellegrini

Manuel Pellegrini as manager of River Plate in 2003 (Image credit: Alamy)Proof that journeyman doesn’t need to be a derogatory term, Manuel Pellegrini has enjoyed great success with clubs in Europe and South America.

The Chilean started out coaching at Universidad de Chile, the only club he ever played for, before arriving at Villarreal via spells in Ecuador and Argentina.

After stints managing Real Madrid and Malaga, Pellegrini won his biggest honour of all at Manchester City: the 2013/14 Premier League title.

Vanderlei Luxemburgo

Vanderlei Luxemburgo as manager of Real Madrid in 2005 (Image credit: Alamy)After a relatively short playing career, Vanderlei Luxemburgo began his managerial journey with Rio-based Campo Grande in 1983.

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He went on to coach a host of the biggest clubs in his native Brazil – winning the league title with Bragantino, Palmeiras, Santos, Corinthians and Cruzeiro – as well as holding the reins at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad and, from 2004 to 2005, Real Madrid.

Herve Renard

Herve Renard waves to Zambia fans after victory over the Ivory Coast in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations final (Image credit: Alamy)Herve Renard’s coaching career has taken him all over the world, from his homeland of France to Saudi Arabia via England – where he managed Cambridge United – and Vietnam.

Best-known for his ventures in international management (and for his form-fitting white shirts), the former defender memorably guided underdogs Zambia to Africa Cup of Nations glory in 2012 – before winning the same competition with the Ivory Coast in 2015.

Bora Milutinovic

Bora Milutinovic as manager of Mexico in 1997 (Image credit: Alamy)Between 1986 and 2002, Serbian Bora Milutinovic made history by managing at five consecutive World Cups with five different countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, the USA, Nigeria and China.

The ex-Partizan Belgrade and Monaco midfielder added international jobs number six, seven and eight with Honduras, Jamaica and Iraq. He’s also taken charge of clubs in Europe, the Americas and Asia, winning two CONCACAF Champions Cups with Mexican outfit Pumas UNAM in the early 80s.

Neil Warnock

Neil Warnock sledging during his time as manager of Notts County, 1991 (Image credit: Alamy)After being appointed Crystal Palace boss in 2007, Neil Warnock proclaimed that the job would be his last in management.

As of 2024, the charismatic Yorkshireman has taken another eight roles – even returning to Palace in 2014.

Warnock first took to the dugout in 1980 while still playing as a winger for non-League Gainsborough Trinity. He went on to win a record eight Football League promotions, taking Sheffield United, QPR and Cardiff City to the Premier League.

Carlos Alberto Parreira

Carlos Alberto Parreira as manager of Brazil in 2003 (Image credit: Alamy)Over the course of an epic career on the touchline which began as boss of Ghana in 1967, Carlos Alberto Parreria managed 10 clubs in four countries and coached six national teams – including his native Brazil three times, guiding them to victory at the 1994 World Cup and 2004 Copa America.

At club level, Parreira – who never played professional football – won league titles in Brazil and Turkey with Fluminense and Fenerbahce respectively.

John Toshack

John Toshack as manager of Real Madrid in 1990 (Image credit: Alamy)Liverpool and Wales legend John Toshack had already been coaching for six years when he hung up his boots in 1984.

After taking Swansea from the Fourth Division to the top flight as player-manager, the big striker had spells at the helm of – to name just a few – Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid and Saint-Etienne, steering Madrid to the 1989/90 LaLiga title.

Toshack – who coached the Welsh national team twice – later tasted league glory in Morocco with Wydad Casablanca, as well as managing in Azerbaijan.

Guud Hiddink

Guud Hiddink lifts the FA Cup as interim manager of Chelsea, 2009 (Image credit: Alamy)A treble winner in his first full season in management at PSV, Guus Hiddink went on to establish himself among the most highly regarded coaches of the modern era.

The 2010s rather summed up Hiddink’s managerial journey: he took charge of Turkey, Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, his native Netherlands, Chelsea as interim boss (having led the Blues to the 2008/09 FA Cup) and China U21 before being appointed manager of the Curacao national team.

Maurizio Sarri

Maurizio Sarri as manager of Empoli in 2013 (Image credit: Alamy)Maurizio Sarri’s inspirational journey to top-level management began back in 1990, when he started coaching tiny club Stia while working as a banker.

The Italian, who started coaching full-time in 1999, spent more than 20 years at a string of lower-league clubs, before winning promotion to Serie A with Empoli – where he caught the eye of Napoli.

In 2018, Sarri moved to Chelsea, and in his only campaign he steered the Blues to Europa League victory – his first major honour.

Claudio Ranieri

Claudio Ranieri lifts the Premier League trophy as Leicester manager, 2016 (Image credit: Alamy)Another Italian with an expensive managerial CV, Claudio Ranieri started out with Vigor Lamezia in 1986.

Four years later, he took Cagliari back to Serie A – and six years after that, he delivered Coppa Italia success to Fiorentina.

But, after stints in charge of, among others, Valencia, Chelsea, Juventus, Monaco and the Greek national team, Ranieri achieved his most momentous triumph, writing one of the great sporting underdog stories by leading Leicester to the 2015/16 Premier League title.

Luiz Felipe Scolari

Luiz Felipe Scolari as manager of Brazil at the 2002 World Cup (Image credit: Alamy)Luiz Felipe Scolari took his first coaching job in 1982; more than four decades later, the moustachioed tactician was still barking orders from the touchline.

Winning the 2002 World Cup with his native Brazil was the pinnacle for ‘Big Phil’, who lifted the Copa Libertadores in charge of Gremio and Palmeiras during the 90s – and has tasted league success in Japan and Uzbkeistan.

Scolari also spent an ill-fated seven months in charge of Chelsea from 2008 to 2009, becoming the first World Cup-winning coach to manage in the Premier League.

Philippe Troussier

Philippe Troussier as manager of Vietnam at the 2024 AFC Asian Cup (Image credit: Alamy)A defender for a string of French clubs during the late 70s and early 80s, Philippe Troussier got his first job in management with INF Vichy in 1983 – which started a globetrotting coaching career.

In addition to managing a host of national teams from Africa and Asia – including Japan, who he guided to victory at the 2000 AFC Asian Cup – Troussier has managed club sides on three continents, among them Marseille and Johhanesburg’s Kaizer Chiefs.

Dick Advocaat

Dick Advocaat as manager of Rangers in 2000 (Image credit: Alamy)Nicknamed ‘The Little General’ in reference to his mentor Rinus Michels (‘The General’), Dick Advocaat has won league titles in multiple countries and coached national teams on multiple continents.

The ex-ADO Den Haag and Sparta Rotterdam player enjoyed great success at the helm of PSV and Rangers during the 90s and early 2000s, in between spells managing the Netherlands – who he led at the 1994 World Cup.

Since 2000, Advocaat has managed the likes of Borussia Monchengladbach, South Korea, Zenit Saint Petersburg – with whom he lifted the 2007/08 UEFA Cup – Belgium, Sunderland and Feyenoord.

Roy Hodgson

Roy Hodgson with the Premier League Manager of the Month award at Blackburn in September 1997 (Image credit: Alamy)In a managerial career which spanned almost half a century, Roy Hodgson took charge of 17 clubs in six different countries – plus four national teams: Switzerland, the UAE, Finland and, of course, England.

Kicking off his coaching journey by steering Halmstad to two Swedish titles towards the end of the 70s, Hodgson also won the league in Denmark with Copenhagen and took two clubs to the final of the UEFA Cup / Europa League: Inter in 1997 and Fulham in 2010.

England boss at Euro 2012, the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, the former PE teacher and non-League player took his biggest club job in 2010, managing Liverpool – although he lasted only 12 months at Anfield.

Bela Guttmann

Bela Guttmann pictured in 1962 (Image credit: Alamy)One of the greatest managers ever to do it, Bella Guttmann is most famous for guiding Benfica to back-to-back European Cups at the start of the 60s (before ‘cursing’ them never to win another one as he quit amid a wage dispute).

But the Portuguese giants were only one of the 20 clubs the legendary Hungarian coached across a 40-year career in the dugout.

Guttmann managed in 11 countries from Austria to Uruguay and won trophies in five of them. He also dabbled in international management, helming the Austrian national team in 1964.

Rudi Gutendorf

Rudi Gutendorf pictured with his book, ‘Ich bin ein bunter Hund’ (direct translation, ‘I Am a Colourful Dog’) (Image credit: Alamy)The chronology of Rudi Gutendorf’s managerial odyssey on his Wikipedia page barely fits on the screen.

Starting out as player-manager of Blue Stars Zurich in 1955, the German went on to take charge off 55 teams in 32 countries, claiming a Guinness World Record in doing so.

Selected sides from Gutendorf’s astonishing career in the dugout: US Monastir (Tunisia), Stuttgart, Bermuda, Sporting Cristal (Peru), Chile, Real Valladolid, Trinidad & Tobago, Australia, Nepal, Tokyo Verdy, Ghana, Samoa…

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open…