Guardiola, Mourinho, Conte, Klopp, Wenger: Super-coach era begins but something has to give

Never before have such a concentration of the world's top managers assembled in the Premier League, yet despite all their success and trophies, only one can win the title.

Photos, left to right, top to bottom: Nigel Roddis / EPA; Matt Dunham / AP Photo; Michael B Thomas / AFP; Vassil Donev / EPA

They have won the Premier League six times between them. They have won the Bundesliga on a further five occasions, plus the Primera Liga on another four. They have lifted Serie A's scudetto five times and Ligue 1 just the once. Throw in a mere four Uefa Champions League titles — and a combined total of 19 semi-final appearances — and their methods have not just worked across Europe, but in the most prestigious continental competition.

Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, Antonio Conte and Arsene Wenger may represent the greatest concentration of coaching talent in one league at the same time. They are the Premier League’s famous five, proof of its pulling power: to the game’s thinkers, if not its outstanding players.

For Guardiola, newly appointed at Manchester City, it seemed to represent the final frontier for him. "I prove myself in Barcelona and after I prove myself in Germany and I wanted to prove myself in England," he said.

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For Mourinho, who seemed happy to leave Italy in 2010, England is a dream destination. "I want to be in this club, in this country, in the Premier League," he said at his Manchester United presentation.

For Conte, the competition from his peers is part of the appeal. "It's a great challenge and I find great managers," he said in his first press conference at Chelsea. "I'm very happy to be compared with them."

The question was if this is England's era of the super-coach. The Italian did not give a direct answer but, indisputably, it is. None of the top seven in last year's Ballon d'Or voting, or the top 10 from the 2014 award, ply their trade in England; perhaps five of the top eight managers — the exceptions being Carlo Ancelotti, Luis Enrique and Diego Simeone — do. The stardust is in the technical area. These are the Galacticos of the dugouts.

They are tempted by the largesse of the Premier League clubs, but also by the competition. Seemingly invoking Bayern Munich's domination of the Bundesliga, Mourinho seemed to take aim at Guardiola in 2015 when he said: "Maybe I will go to a country where a kitman can be coach and win the title."

The Spaniard cannot be accused of taking the easy option this time. As Klopp said when appointed by Liverpool last October: "The Premier League is one of the most difficult leagues because five, six or seven clubs can be the champion and only the one can be the champion."

So only one manager can win the league. For those accustomed to success, it means something has to give. At least one, and perhaps more, will see their season deemed a failure, if only by their lofty standards.

Consider their records. Conte has won the league in each of his last three years in club management. Guardiola has done so in six of his seven. Mourinho has eight league titles in 12 full seasons of management, while never finishing lower than third. Wenger's 20 campaigns at Arsenal have all brought a top-four finish. Klopp came in the top two in four of his last five full seasons.

And, of course, none is actually the defending champion. Claudio Ranieri confounded expectations by taking Leicester City further than ever before last season when his personal history suggested he was the anti-Mourinho, the man who amassed top-four finishes, but never the major silverware. Mauricio Pochettino took Tottenham to third. They bore the look of a rising force, a fast-improving young team who could become regulars in the upper reaches of the league.

Yet the Argentine is the exception among the division’s elite managers. He has never won a trophy as a manager. Between them, Guardiola, Mourinho, Wenger, Conte and Klopp have won 74, and that is not even counting those the Spaniard and the Italian secured in their playing days.

History suggests that storied quintet will share the major prizes between them. Last season is proof the unlikely can happen and prompted Mourinho to suggest it would be damaging if he focused too much on Guardiola — or any one manager — because of the danger the others all pose. But it means something has to give, it also means any coach who sees off the challenge of the greats of his generation can pronounce it a major achievement.

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