The English Premier League is probably the most exciting and competitive football league in the world. With players from all over the world taking the field and battling it out to claim all three points, it’s no wonder why the EPL has such a huge following in just about every country.
Unlike other leagues in Europe like the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga, there is no one team that dominates season-after-season. Sure, every now and again Man City might win back-to-back titles, or a team might dominate for a long stretch, but in general, any team could win at any time – just look at Leicester.
The fact that the Premier League is so competitive can largely be attributed to it attracting some of the best managers in the world. From Alex Ferguson and his domination with United to Pep Guardiola with his masterful tactics, these are the three most influential managers in English Premier League history.
Sir Alex Ferguson – Manchester United
Image source: foxsportsasia.com
Having won 13 Premier League titles with Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson is probably the best manager in Premier League history.
Following an incredibly successful stint at St Mirren where he transformed the second-division side into the first division champions, Ferguson took over Man United in 1986 and won his first FA Cup in 1990. In 1992/93 he won his first Premier League title – breaking United’s 26-year wait at the same time.
In addition to the 13 Premier League titles Ferguson brought to United, he also led the team to two Champions League trophies, five FA Cups and four League Cup titles.
Sir Alex won the Premier League Manager of the Season on 11 occasions, and picked up the monthly accolade 27 times. By the time he retired, Ferguson had an all-time Premier League record of 528 wins from 810 matches.
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José Mourinho – Chelsea, Manchester United
Image source: eurosport.co.uk
José Mourinho, also known as
The Special One (even if he did give himself the name), has had three separate spells in the Premier League, two with Chelsea and one with Manchester United.
The start of his Premier League career saw him take charge of Chelsea in 2004, during his first stretch with the club, he led them to their first Premier League title in 50 years with a record haul of 95 points. The following season they retained the title.
Mourinho also won the FA Cup and League Cup twice before leaving in the 2007/08 season. But it wouldn’t be the last time the Blues would see the Portuguese manager. He returned to the club for the 2013/14 season, and although he’d have to wait a while this time, he won yet another Premier League title in 2015.
Mourinho left Chelsea in December 2015 following a rough start to the new season. Less than six months later he was back in England’s top flight, this time in charge of Manchester United. His first season in charge of the Red Devils saw his side win the Community Shield, the FA Cup and the Europa League, but that would prove to be the only silverware he would bring to the club. In December 2018 and with United sitting sixth on the table,
The Special One left the Premier League for the third time.
Pep Guardiola – Manchester City
Image source: newsweek.com
With six La Liga titles, a European Cup and an Olympic gold medal to his name, Manchester City were always going to be in a great position when they signed Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola joined City in time for the 2016/17 season and took some time to get settled. He finished the season with no trophies and City ended third on the table. The following season would see Guardiola lead City on an 18-game win streak in the Premier League. He would also go on to lift his first trophy with the club after the Cityzens beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.
City continued to dominate throughout the 2017/18 season and would go on to win the Premier League title with a record of 100 points from 32 wins.
Following an incredibly tough battle with Liverpool which saw the title race come down to the last few games, Guardiola and Manchester City would go on to retain the title handing the Spanish manager his second EPL title and second Manager of the Season award.
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