Pep Guardiola Reaches 40 Trophies: Most Successful Football Managers
- Pep Guardiola has won his 40th trophy after leading Manchester City to the Carabao Cup win over Arsenal
- Youngster Nico O'Reilly scored both goals in the second half to help City win the first trophy of the season
- This extends his lead as the second most decorated manager in football history, behind Sir Alex Ferguson
Manchester City defeated Arsenal 2-0 at Wembley Stadium in the final of the Carabao Cup to lift the first major trophy of the English top-flight season.
City’s Academy graduate Nico O'Reilly came clutch with two second-half goals to help his side beat their Premier League title rivals on Sunday, March 22, 2025.
Source: Getty Images
It was the 40th trophy of Pep Guardiola’s illustrious career and his 19th in 10 years at Manchester City, making him one of the most successful managers in football history.
Legit.ng looks at the most successful football managers in history, as first called by Planet Football.
Most successful football managers
Sir Alex Ferguson
The legendary former Manchester United manager is the most decorated football manager in history, with 49 trophies during a career that spanned nearly 40 years spent in England and Scotland.
His most successful eras came during his time in charge of Aberdeen and Manchester United, where he retired after nearly 27 years at Old Trafford in 2013. He won one trophy at St Mirren, 11 at Aberdeen and 38 at Manchester United.
Pep Guardiola
Guardiola is the second most decorated manager after Sir Alex Ferguson in a career that has spanned 18 years, managing in his native Spain, Germany and England.
He has won 40 trophies, 14 at Barcelona, seven at Bayern Munich, and 19 at Manchester City. He has been at City for 10 years, and there are reports that he could bid farewell to the club at the end of the season.
Mircea Lucescu & Jock Stein
Lucescu and Stein are the joint third-most decorated football coaches with 38 trophies each. The 80-year-old Romanian coached multiple clubs, including Galatasaray, Zenit St Petersburg and Shakhtar Donetsk, and is the current head coach of the Romanian national team.
Stein was one of the iconic figures of Scottish football and spent most of his career in his native country. He won 38 trophies, including nine consecutive Scottish titles from 1966 to 1974. He was in charge of Scotland until he died in 1985.
Valeriy Lobanovsky
Lobanovsky was a legendary football personality in the old USSR. He spent the majority of his career in the USSR and briefly managed UAE and Kuwait in the Middle East, winning 36 trophies.
Carlo Ancelotti
Don Carlo is one of the most successful football managers and has managed in all top-five European leagues, winning the league title in all. He has won 30 trophies, including five UEFA Champions League titles, the most by a manager.
Jose Mourinho
The Portuguese tactician has managed in most top European leagues, except Germany and France. He has managed top clubs, including Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid and has won 26 trophies.
Source: Getty Images
As noted by ESPN, he famously claims he won 26½ after Tottenham sacked him before the 2021 Carabao Cup final. He is the only manager to have won all three European club competitions.
Ottmar Hitzfeld
Hitzfeld managed both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, among other clubs and won 26 trophies during his career, 14 of which came during his time in charge of the Bavarian giants.
Luiz Felipe Scolari
The legendary manager won 24 trophies during his illustrious career, including leading Brazil to win the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
Giovanni Trapattoni
The Italian manager won 23 trophies across managerial spells at Juventus, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Benfica, and Red Bull Salzburg.
Guardiola reacts after winning Carabao Cup
Legit.ng previously reported that Pep Guardiola reacted after winning the Carabao Cup following a 2-0 win over Arsenal at Wembley Stadium.
The Spanish manager admitted that it feels good to win the trophy for the first time in 2021 and to have won it five times since he moved to England.
Source: Legit.ng
