Benches marked by success: to continue our 25th anniversary celebration, we select the greatest coaches of the past quarter-century - Twenty-Five Years Of Soccer Digest

Soccer Digest, August-Sept, 2002 by Michael Lewis

COMPARING THE SUCCESS AND records of national team and club coaches is like trying to assess the attributes of apples and oranges--the criteria for each are that different.

At the international level, there is only one World Cup winner every four years (and one quadrennial European Championship victor as well). At the club level, there are continental competitions every year as well as league titles at stake in every country. Therefore, in the never-ending battle between club and country, international competition must take precedent over club.

Using that as a measuring stick, we continue our celebration of SOCCER DIGEST's silver anniversary by naming the best coaches of the past quarter century.

1. Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)

For someone who had never coached at any level, Beckenbauer acquitted himself well in his first major competition, getting the most out of his ho-hum players and directing West Germany to a second-place finish in the 1986 World Cup. Four years later, Germany avenged that loss to Argentina, making Beckenbauer the first man to captain and coach a team to World Cup glory. Beckenbauer also enjoyed success at the club level, leading Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga crown in 1994.

2. Carlos Bilardo (Argentina)

If Beckenbauer is No. 1, Bilardo must not be too far behind. The Argentine led his country to a world championship (1986) and a second-place finish (1990), coaching against Beckenbauer's West Germany. Bilardo, 64, received his training playing for the ruthless Osvaldo Zubeldia at Estudiantes de la Plata, while earning a degree as a pediatrician. Bilardo brought a pragmatic approach to a South American team with ball-hawking defenders and a marvelous wildcard in Diego Maradona.

3. Carlos Alberto Parreira (Brazil)

Although he was reviled in many quarters of the ,South American nation for not playing its usual open, offensive soccer, in 1994, Parreira led Brazil to an unprecedented fourth World Cup title. An assistant on the 1970 and 1974 Brazilian World Cup teams, Parreira has an extensive coaching resume including World Cup stints with Kuwait (1982) and Saudi Arabia (1998), and a stretch with the MetroStars (1997).

4. Enzo Bearzot (Italy)

The Italians weren't among the favorites entering the 1982 World Cup and perhaps because of that, Bearzot gambled and selected the barely fit Paolo Rossi. Of course, Rossi went on a scoring spree and Italy--behind a rock-solid defense--earned its third world Cup title. Bearzot coached Italy in three consecutive World Cups, which is unheard of these days, finishing fourth in 1978 and advancing to the second round in 1986.

5. Aime Jacquet (France)

After nearly a century of trying, FIFA and World Cup founders France finally won the coveted prize in 1998 with a fabulous team created by the 60-year-old Jacquet. He may have squabbled with the media over his coaching methods and player selections, but Jacquet had the last laugh and lap around Le Stade de France in July 1998.

6. Cesar Luis Menotti (Argentina)

A notorious chain smoker, Menotti's machinations brought Argentina its first World Cup title, in 1978. He accomplished the feat even after leaving a talented 17-year-old named Diego Maradona off of his roster and using an attacking style that was unfamiliar to most Argentine teams. Menotti also coached Independiente (Argentina), Barcelona, Valencia (both Spain), and Mexico.

7. Rinus Michels (Netherlands)

This Dutch master is best known for inventing "Total Football," which the marvelous Ajax and Holland teams of the 1970s worked to perfection. While his greatest moments came in 1971 (when Ajax won the European Cup) and 1974 (when the Netherlands finished second to West Germany in the World Cup), the 73-year-old Michels also led the Dutch to the 1988 European Championship.

8. Arrigo Sacchi (AC Milan, Italy)

Sacchi, 55, built the fabulous AC Milan powerhouse in the late 1980s and early 1990s. combining the offensive skill of Dutch players Marco Van Basten and Ruud Gullit and the defensive abilities of Italians Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini to create of the finest club sides in history. Despite spending much of the 1994 World Cup mired in controversy, the creative Sacchi also took an ailing Italian side to the final where it lost to Brazil on PKs.

9. Giovanni Trapattoni

(Juventus, Inter, Bayern Munich)

Italy's 2002 World Cup coach has done it all--except win a world championship. Trapattoni's resume is still pretty impressive thanks to six Italian titles, a European Cup, a UEFA Cup, and a Cup Winner's Cup title over the course of a decade at Juventus. Trapattoni also coached at Inter, Cagliari, and Bayern Munich (Germany), and won the 1996 Bundesliga crown.

10. Bob Paisley (Liverpool)

While not as famous as his Liverpool predecessor, Bill Shankly, Paisley's teams still took home three European Cup trophies, six English League titles, three League Cups, and a UEFA Cup. Paisley died at the age of 77 in 1996.

11. Vicent del Bosque (Real Madrid)

Del Bosque is still a work in progress, having led Real Madrid to Champions League crowns in 2000 and 2002. Those titles are no mean feat in this age of huge transfer fees and frequent player transfers. His critics point to the talent at his disposal, but many coaches fail trying to balance such egos.