On 17 January 2022, the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021 will be named in an online award ceremony. The category of the award is a celebration of those technically inclined men that are behind the beautiful game of football we watch now and then.
The role of coaches in the careers of players, the history of clubs and leagues, and the involvement of supporters, can not be overemphasized. Hence, they deserve special mentions just like footballers.
All followers of football know that coaches determine the formation a team plays during a game. They determine the tactics to be used to execute games and assign roles to each member of the team.
Most times, the outcome of a match is determined by the tactical effort the coach put in before and during the game. This is why a coach that always wins games and competitions is celebrated by being nominated for an award like the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021.
Since a coach is fired when his team fails, a coach must be celebrated when he does something extraordinary, this is where the Best FIFA Men’s Coach award comes in.
In this year’s edition of the award, FIFA’s expert panel has selected 7 coaches across the world, one of which will be named the winner of the award.
The coaches nominated for the award are Antonio Conte, Hansi Flick, Pep Guardiola, Roberto Mancini, Lionel Sebastián Scaloni, Diego Simeone, and Thomas Tuchel.
Meet the coaches that were nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021 and check out why they were nominated:
- Antonio Conte (Italy / FC Internazionale Milano / Tottenham Hotspur FC)
Antonio Conte is one of the most traveled coaches in European football. He has coached some of the best teams across Europe and has won some of the most important trophies in the game.
His managerial career started during the 2005-2006 season when he served as an assistant coach at an Italian side Siena.
From there, the 52-year-old Italian tactician coached a series of other Italian clubs including Arezzo, Atalanta, Juventus, and Inter Milan. He also coached Italy national team between 2014 and 2016.
The Italian coach served as the manager of Chelsea between 2016 and 2018. Less than three years after, he returned to London to coach Tottenham Hotspur.
He was nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021 award for helping Inter Milan to win the 2020-2021 Serie A title.
- Hansi Flick (Germany / FC Bayern München / German national team)
Hansi Flick is one of the most respected coaches in German football. He started his managerial career when he was named the coach of German side Victoria Bammental in 1996.
From there, he was appointed the coach of 1899 Hoffenheim in 2000. After five years at the German club, the 56-year-old German tactician was named an assistant coach of the German national team.
He was an assistant coach of the German team when the team won the prestigious FIFA World Cup in 2014 and achieve a third-place finish in 2010.
From there, he was made the assistant coach of Bayern Munich in 2019 and became the coach of the team that same year. Within two seasons at Bayern Munich, Hansi Flick helped Bayern to win two Bundesliga, one DFB-Pokal, one DFL-Supercup, one UEFA Champions League title, one UEFA Super Cup, and one FIFA Club World Cup.
He is currently the head coach of the German national team. He was nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021 award for helping Bayern Munich to win the 2020-2021 German Bundesliga.
- Pep Guardiola (Spain / Manchester City FC)
Pep Guardiola is arguably one of the most successful coaches in the world of football. He has coached some of the biggest and successful clubs across the world.
The 50-year-old Spanish tactician started his managerial career at FC Barcelona B team in 2007. After a year with the team, he was appointed the coach of the team’s senior team in 2008.
After a successful four years at the Spanish giants, Guardiola decided to leave the club for Bayern Munich in 2013.
He dominated the German Bundesliga for three years before he decided to move to Manchester City in 2016.
Since he arrived at Manchester City, he has made the club the most consistent team in the league. So far, he has helped Manchester City to win three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, four EFL Cup, and two Community Shields.
Pep Guardiola was nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021 award for helping Manchester City to win the Premier League title during the 2020-2021 season and leading them to the final of the UEFA Champions League.
- Roberto Mancini (Italy / Italian national team)
Roberto Mancini started his managerial career at Fiorentina. From there, he went on to coach Lazio between 2002 and 2004, he coached Inter Milan between 2004 and 2008.
He joined Manchester City in 2009. He spent four years at the Premier League club before he joined Galatasaray.
After just a season in Turkey, he returned to Inter Milan in 2014. He spent two seasons at the Italian club before he joined Zenit Saint Petersburg.
In 2018, Roberto Mancini was appointed the coach of the Italian national team after the team failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
He was nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021 award after helping Italy to win Euro 2020 without losing any game. The 57-year-old Italian coach helped Italy to finish third in the 2020-2021 UEFA Nations League.
- Lionel Sebastián Scaloni (Argentina / Argentinian national team)
Lionel Sebastián Scaloni is one of the youngest coaches on the list. The 43-year-old Argentine football tactician started his managerial career in 2016 when he served as an assistant coach at Sevilla.
He became the assistant coach of the Argentina national team in 2017. A year after, he was made the head coach of Argentina’s national team.
In 2019, he led the country to win Bronze in Copa America. While in 2021, Lionel Sebastián Scaloni led Argentina to win the Copa America in Brazil which is the reason he was nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021 award.
- Diego Simeone (Argentina / Atlético de Madrid)
Diego Simeone started coaching in 2006 when he became the coach of the Argentine club Racing Club. From there, he coached a series of Argentine clubs including Estudiantes, River Plate, San Lorenzo, and Catania.
Atletico Madrid appointed him in 2011. Since then, he has been the manager of the club and has helped the club to compete with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
In his 10 years at Atletico Madrid, the 51-year-old Argentine tactician has helped the Spanish side to win 8 major titles including two La Liga, one Copa del Rey, one Supercopa de España, two Europa League, and two Super Cup.
He was nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021 award for helping Atletico Madrid to win the 2020-2021 La Liga title.
7. Thomas Tuchel (Germany / Chelsea FC)
Thomas Tuchel started his managerial career at FC Augsburg II in 2007. In 2009, the 48-year-old German tactician became the coach of Mainz 05.
After five years at Mainz, the German tactician was appointed the coach of Borussia Dortmund in 2015. He became the coach of Paris Saint Germain in 2018.
After a successful two seasons at PSG, he decided to leave the club. He was appointed the coach of Chelsea in 2021.
Since he became the coach of Chelsea, he has helped the club to win one UEFA Champions League title in the 2020-2021 season which is the reason he was nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021 award.
The coach that could win the Best Coach 2021 award
All the coaches that are nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2021 award won at least a major title in the 2020-2021 season which makes the category more interesting.
However, the coach that is most likely to win the award is the coach of Italy’s national team, Roberto Mancini who led the country to win Euro 2020 on July 12.
The country won the title after winning all the seven games they played in the tournament. They beat England at Wembley Stadium via penalty shootout. He also led Italy to a third-place finish in UEFA Nations League last season. Due to his performance with Italy, Mancini was named IFFHS World’s Best National Coach in 2021.
The closest rivals to Mancini are Thomas Tuchel of Chelsea for winning the UEFA Champions League and Argentina national team coach Lionel Sebastián Scaloni for winning Copa America with Argentina.
The coaches Thomas Tuchel is up against in the Best FIFA men’s coach.
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) December 3, 2021
🇮🇹 Antonio Conte
🇩🇪 Hansi Flick
🇪🇸 Pep Guardiola
🇮🇹 Roberto Mancini
🇦🇷 Lionel Scaloni
🇦🇷 Diego Simeone
🇩🇪 Thomas Tuchel pic.twitter.com/x3Tx1Qtnyp
