The European Cup was an association football competition contested from 1956 to 1992. Spanish manager José Villalonga led Real Madrid to success in the inaugural final in 1956 and repeated the feat the following season. Italian managers have been the most successful, winning thirteen of the tournaments since 1956.

The competition became the UEFA Champions League in 1992,[1] with Belgian Raymond Goethals leading French club Marseille to success that season. Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola have won the tournament three times. Ancelotti won five titles and reached six finals with Milan and Real Madrid, Paisley led Liverpool to three titles in five seasons, and Zidane won three consecutive titles with Real Madrid. Sixteen other managers have won the competition twice. Only seven managers have won the title with two clubs: Ancelotti with Milan in 2003 and 2007 and Real Madrid in 2014, 2022, and 2024; Ernst Happel with Feyenoord in 1970 and Hamburg in 1983; Ottmar Hitzfeld with Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Bayern Munich in 2001; José Mourinho with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010; Jupp Heynckes with Real Madrid in 1998 and Bayern Munich in 2013; Guardiola with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 and Manchester City in 2023; and Luis Enrique with Barcelona in 2015 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2025. Seven men have won the tournament both as a player and as a manager: Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard, Ancelotti, Guardiola and Zidane.[2][3]

List

By year

European Cup and UEFA Champions League winning managers[4][5]
Final Nationality Winning manager Nation Club Ref.
1956  Spain José Villalonga  Spain Real Madrid [6]
1957  Spain José Villalonga  Spain Real Madrid [6]
1958  Argentina Luis Carniglia  Spain Real Madrid [6]
1959  Argentina Luis Carniglia  Spain Real Madrid [6]
1960  Spain Miguel Muñoz  Spain Real Madrid [6]
1961  Hungary Béla Guttmann  Portugal Benfica [6]
1962  Hungary Béla Guttmann  Portugal Benfica [6]
1963  Italy Nereo Rocco  Italy Milan [6]
1964  Argentina Helenio Herrera  Italy Inter Milan [6]
1965  Argentina Helenio Herrera  Italy Inter Milan [6]
1966  Spain Miguel Muñoz  Spain Real Madrid [6]
1967  Scotland Jock Stein  Scotland Celtic [7]
1968  Scotland Matt Busby  England Manchester United [8]
1969  Italy Nereo Rocco  Italy Milan [6]
1970  Austria Ernst Happel  Netherlands Feyenoord [9]
1971  Netherlands Rinus Michels  Netherlands Ajax [10]
1972  Romania Ștefan Kovács  Netherlands Ajax [6]
1973  Romania Ștefan Kovács  Netherlands Ajax [6]
1974  West Germany Udo Lattek  West Germany Bayern Munich [11]
1975  West Germany Dettmar Cramer  West Germany Bayern Munich [6]
1976  West Germany Dettmar Cramer  West Germany Bayern Munich [6]
1977  England Bob Paisley  England Liverpool [6]
1978  England Bob Paisley  England Liverpool [6]
1979  England Brian Clough  England Nottingham Forest [6]
1980  England Brian Clough  England Nottingham Forest [6]
1981  England Bob Paisley  England Liverpool [6]
1982  England Tony Barton  England Aston Villa [12]
1983  Austria Ernst Happel  West Germany Hamburger SV [13]
1984  England Joe Fagan  England Liverpool [14]
1985  Italy Giovanni Trapattoni  Italy Juventus [15]
1986  Romania Emerich Jenei  Romania Steaua București [16]
1987  Portugal Artur Jorge  Portugal Porto [17]
1988  Netherlands Guus Hiddink  Netherlands PSV Eindhoven [18]
1989  Italy Arrigo Sacchi  Italy Milan [6]
1990  Italy Arrigo Sacchi  Italy Milan [6]
1991  Yugoslavia Ljupko Petrović  Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade [19]
1992  Netherlands Johan Cruyff  Spain Barcelona [20]
1993  Belgium Raymond Goethals  France Marseille [21]
1994  Italy Fabio Capello  Italy Milan [22]
1995  Netherlands Louis van Gaal  Netherlands Ajax [23]
1996  Italy Marcello Lippi  Italy Juventus [24]
1997  Germany Ottmar Hitzfeld  Germany Borussia Dortmund [6]
1998  Germany Jupp Heynckes  Spain Real Madrid [25]
1999  Scotland Alex Ferguson  England Manchester United [26]
2000  Spain Vicente del Bosque  Spain Real Madrid [6]
2001  Germany Ottmar Hitzfeld  Germany Bayern Munich [6]
2002  Spain Vicente del Bosque  Spain Real Madrid [6]
2003  Italy Carlo Ancelotti  Italy Milan [27]
2004  Portugal José Mourinho  Portugal Porto [28]
2005  Spain Rafael Benítez  England Liverpool [29]
2006  Netherlands Frank Rijkaard  Spain Barcelona [30]
2007  Italy Carlo Ancelotti  Italy Milan [31]
2008  Scotland Alex Ferguson  England Manchester United [32]
2009  Spain Pep Guardiola  Spain Barcelona [33]
2010  Portugal José Mourinho  Italy Inter Milan [34]
2011  Spain Pep Guardiola  Spain Barcelona [35]
2012  Italy Roberto Di Matteo  England Chelsea [36]
2013  Germany Jupp Heynckes  Germany Bayern Munich [37]
2014  Italy Carlo Ancelotti  Spain Real Madrid [38]
2015  Spain Luis Enrique  Spain Barcelona [39]
2016  France Zinedine Zidane  Spain Real Madrid [40]
2017  France Zinedine Zidane  Spain Real Madrid [41]
2018  France Zinedine Zidane  Spain Real Madrid [42]
2019  Germany Jürgen Klopp  England Liverpool [43]
2020  Germany Hansi Flick  Germany Bayern Munich [44]
2021  Germany Thomas Tuchel  England Chelsea [45]
2022  Italy Carlo Ancelotti  Spain Real Madrid [46]
2023  Spain Pep Guardiola  England Manchester City [47]
2024  Italy Carlo Ancelotti  Spain Real Madrid [48]
2025  Spain Luis Enrique  France Paris Saint-Germain [49]

Managers with multiple titles

Managers in bold are still active.

Rank Nationality Manager Number of wins Years won Club(s)
1  Italy Carlo Ancelotti 5 2003, 2007, 2014, 2022, 2024 Milan (2), Real Madrid (3)
2  England Bob Paisley 3 1977, 1978, 1981 Liverpool
 France Zinedine Zidane 3 2016, 2017, 2018 Real Madrid
 Spain Pep Guardiola 3 2009, 2011, 2023 Barcelona (2), Manchester City
5  Spain José Villalonga 2 1956, 1957 Real Madrid
 Argentina Luis Carniglia 2 1958, 1959 Real Madrid
 Hungary Béla Guttmann 2 1961, 1962 Benfica
 Argentina Helenio Herrera 2 1964, 1965 Inter Milan
 Spain Miguel Muñoz 2 1960, 1966 Real Madrid
 Italy Nereo Rocco 2 1963, 1969 Milan
 Romania Ștefan Kovács 2 1972, 1973 Ajax
 Germany Dettmar Cramer 2 1975, 1976 Bayern Munich
 England Brian Clough 2 1979, 1980 Nottingham Forest
 Austria Ernst Happel 2 1970, 1983 Feyenoord, Hamburger SV
 Italy Arrigo Sacchi 2 1989, 1990 Milan
 Germany Ottmar Hitzfeld 2 1997, 2001 Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich
 Spain Vicente del Bosque 2 2000, 2002 Real Madrid
 Scotland Alex Ferguson 2 1999, 2008 Manchester United
 Portugal José Mourinho 2 2004, 2010 Porto, Inter Milan
 Germany Jupp Heynckes 2 1998, 2013 Real Madrid, Bayern Munich
 Spain Luis Enrique 2 2015, 2025 Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain

By nationality

This table lists the total number of titles won by managers of each country. Accurate as of the 2024 final.

European Cup and UEFA Champions League winning managers by nationality
Nationality Number of
wins
 Italy 13
 Spain 12
 Germany[a] 10
 England 7
 Netherlands 5
 Argentina[b] 4
 Scotland 4
 France 3
 Portugal 3
 Romania 3
 Austria 2
 Hungary 2
 Belgium 1
 Yugoslavia 1
  1. Includes West Germany.
  2. Includes the titles won by Helenio Herrera, who also had French citizenship.

See also

References

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