The World's Highest Paid Football Managers

Big Earners - José Mourinho (left) and Josep Guardiola

1. Jose Mourinio (Real Madrid, €10m per annum)

Born: 26th January 1963 (age 49).
Place of birth: Setúbal, Portugal.
Previous clubs managed: Benfica, União de Leiria, Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale.
Major club honours won as a manager:
Porto - Primeira Liga (2): 2002–03, 2003–04, UEFA Champions League (1): 2003–04, UEFA Cup (1): 2002–03.

Chelsea - Premier League (2): 2004–05, 2005–06, FA Cup (1): 2006–07, Football League Cup (2): 2004–05, 2006–07.

Internazionale: Serie A (2): 2008–09, 2009–10, Coppa Italia (1): 2009–10, UEFA Champions League (1): 2009–10

Real Madrid - Copa del Rey (1): 2010–11

2= Josep "Pep" Guardiola (Barcelona, €7.5m per annum)

Born: 18th January 1971 (age 41).
Place of birth: Santpedor, Spain.
Previous clubs managed: Barcelona 'B', Barcelona.
Major club honours won as a manager:
Barcelona 'B' - Segunda División B (1): 1990-91

Barcelona - La Liga (6): 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, Copa del Rey (2): 1996–97, 1997–98, European Cup (1): 1991–92, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1996–97, UEFA Super Cup (2): 1992, 1997

2= Guus Hiddink (Anzhi Makhachkala, €7.5m per annum)

Born: 8th November 1946 (age 65).
Place of birth: Varsseveld, Netherlands.
Previous clubs managed: De Graafschap, PSV Eindhoven (twice), Fenerbahçe, Valencia, Netherlands, Real Madrid, Real Betis, South Korea, Australia, Russia, Chelsea (caretaker), Turkey.
Major club honours won as a manager:
PSV Eindhoven - Eredivisie (6): 1987, 1988, 1989, 2003, 2005, 2006, KNVB Cup (4): 1988, 1989, 1990, 2005, Dutch Supercup (1): 1993, UEFA European Cup (1): 1988

Real Madrid - Intercontinental Cup (1): 1998

Chelsea - FA Cup (1): 2009

International honours:
Netherlands - UEFA Euro 1996: Quarter Finals
South Korea - 2002 FIFA World Cup: Fourth Place
Russia - UEFA Euro 2008: Semi-final

4. Roberto Mancini (Manchester City, €6.0m per annum)

Born: 27th November 1964 (age 47).
Place of birth: Jesi, Ancona, Italy.
Previous clubs managed: Fiorentina, Lazio, Internazionale.
Major club honours won as a manager:
Fiorentina - Coppa Italia: 2000–01

Lazio - Coppa Italia: 2003–04

Internazionale - Serie A: (3) 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, Coppa Italia: (2) 2004–05, 2005–06

Manchester City - FA Cup (1) 2010–11

5. Carlo Ancelotti (Paris St-Germain, €5.9m per annum)

Born: 10th June 1959 (age 52).
Place of birth: Reggiolo, Italy).
Previous clubs managed: Reggiana, Parma, Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea.
AC Milan - Serie A (1): 2003-04, Coppa Italia (1): 2002-03, UEFA Champions League (2): 2002-03, 2006-07, UEFA Super Cup (2): 2003, 2007, FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2007

Chelsea - Premier League (1): 2009-10, FA Cup (1): 2009-10

6. Josef "Jupp" Heynckes (FC Bayern Munich, €5.0m per annum)

Born: 9th May 1945 (age 66).
Place of birth: Mönchengladbach, Germany.
Previous clubs managed: Borussia Mönchengladbach (twice), Bayern Munich (3 times), Athletic Bilbao (twice), Eintracht Frankfurt, Tenerife, Real Madrid, Benfica, Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen.
Major club honours won as a manager:
Bayern Munich - Fußball-Bundesliga: 1988–89, 1989–90, DFL-Supercup: 1987

Real Madrid - UEFA Champions League: 1997–98, Supercopa de España: 1997

Schalke 04 - UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2003, 2004

7= Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United, €4.8m per annum)

Born: 31st December 1941 (age 70).
Place of birth: Glasgow, Scotland).
Previous clubs managed: East Stirlingshire, St. Mirren, Aberdeen, Scotland.
Major club honours won as a manager:
St. Mirren - Scottish First Division (1): 1976–77

Aberdeen - Scottish Premier Division (3): 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85, Scottish Cup (4): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, Scottish League Cup (1): 1985–86, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1982–83, UEFA Super Cup (1): 1983

Manchester United - Premier League (12): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, FA Cup (5): 1989–90, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04, League Cup (4): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, UEFA Champions League (2): 1998–99, 2007–08, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1990–91, UEFA Super Cup (1): 1991, Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999, FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

7= Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool, €4.8m per annum)

Born: 4th March 1951 (age 61).
Place of birth: Glasgow, Scotland.
Previous clubs managed: Liverpool (twice), Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United, Celtic.
Major club honours won as a manager:
Liverpool - Football League First Division (3): 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90, FA Cup (2): 1985–86, 1988–89, Football League Cup (1): 2011–12

Blackburn Rovers - FA Premier League (1): 1994–95, Football League Second Division Play Off Winners (1): 1991–92

Celtic - Scottish League Cup (1): 1999–2000

9= Arsene Wenger (Arsenal, €4.7m per annum)

Born: 22nd October 1949 (age 62.)
Place of birth: Strasbourg, France.
Previous clubs managed: Nancy-Lorraine, Monaco, Nagoya Grampus Eight.
Major club honours won as a manager:
Monaco - French Ligue 1 (1): 1987–88, Coupe de France (1): 1990–91

Nagoya Grampus Eight - Emperor's Cup (1): 1995, J-League Super Cup (1): 1996

Arsenal - FA Premier League (3): 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04, FA Cup (4): 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05

9= Harry Redknapp (Tottenham, €4.7m per annum)

Born: 2nd March 1947 (age 65).
Place of birth: Poplar, London, England.
Previous clubs managed: Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth (twice), Southampton.
Major club honours won as a manager:
Bournemouth - Football League Division Three: 1986–87, Football League Trophy: 1983–84

West Ham United - UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999

Portsmouth - Football League Division One: 2002–03, FA Cup: 2007-08

The next 20 highest paid managers are as follows:

11= Luiz Felipe Scolari (Palmeiras, €3.6m p.a)
11= David Moyes (Everton, €3.6m p.a)
11= Mark Hughes (QPR, €3.6m p.a)
11= Martin O’Neill (Sunderland, €3.6m pa)
15= Diego Maradona (Al-Wasl, €3.5m p.a)
15= Manuel Pellegrini (Malaga, €3.5m p.a)
17. Luciano Spalletti (Zenit St Petersburg, €3.0m p.a)
18= Muricy Ramalho (Santos, €2.6m p.a)
18= Ottmar Hitzfeld (Switzerland, €2.6m p.a)
20= Alex McLeish (Aston Villa, €2.4m p.a)
20= Joachim Low (Germany, €2.4m p.a)
22= Vicente del Bosque (Spain, €2.1m p.a)
22= Abel Braga (Fluminese, €2.1m p.a)
22= Massimiliano Allegri (AC Milan, €2.1m p.a)
22= Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund, €2.1m p.a)
26= Dorival Junior (Internacional, €1.9m p.a)
26= Tite (Corinthians, €1.9m pa)
28. Claudio Ranieri (Inter, €1.8m p.a)
29. Mano Menezes (Brazil, €1.7m p.a)
30. Antonio Conte (Juventus, €1.6m p.a)

(Source: Futebol Finance - all salaries quoted are in Euros)

Battle of the Strikers on the Cards at Anfield - Betting News with Betfred

V.

It is a clash of two teams aiming high and somewhat underachieving when Liverpool take on Manchester City on Monday night at Anfield.

Roberto Mancini's side had Premier League title aspirations, but are looking off the pace although they still look set for a respectable top four finish. They also have a Manchester derby to look forward to on the 16th April - the prize, a place in this seasons FA Cup final.

Both are something Liverpool fans would sell their souls to the devil for this season, but another season of Thursday night Channel Five action in the Europa League seems the best they can hope for.

Kenny Dalglish has been dealt a triple blow this week after defenders Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson were injured at The Hawthorns last weekend.

Centre-back Agger picked up a knee problem that has ended his season, while Johnson injured his hamstring, sidelining the right-back out for at least a month.

To add to Dalglish's woes it has been confirmed that captain Steven Gerrard has been ruled out for the rest of the season after failing to fully recover following a groin operation.

The absence of that trio comes at the worst possible time for 'The Reds' in their chase for a Europa League spot, as they take on the multi-million pound attacking talent City (15/8 to win the game, 11/5 the draw) have at their disposal.

Liverpool (6/4 to win the game with Betfred) have only lost twice at Anfield this season and need to bounce back from that 2-1 defeat at West Brom last weekend.

Their home form has been the backbone of their campaign and will remain key if they are to make up the five-point gap they have to fifth-placed Tottenham and the weekend Premier League betting suggests this will be a massive game.

Last time out in their 5-0 thrashing of Sunderland, Roberto Mancini named Adam Johnson, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez (11/2 to be first goal scorer) in his attacking line-up, and even had the luxury of Edin Dzeko and Shaun Wright-Philips on the bench.

The side now look solid Premier League tips for a top four finish, and if results go their way they could even end up the season as Premier League runners-up.

With Liverpool's new strike force of Andy Carroll (11/2 to score the first goal) and Luis Suarez, along with City's forward prowess, it has all the makings of goalscoring bonanza!

My Tip of the Week:

This should be an action-packed game between two attacking sides, so the 11/10 with Betfred for there to be over 2.5 goals in the game looks like a good option, while the 11/8 for Luis Suarez to score at anytime is also appealing.

Monday 11th April: Liverpool v Manchester City, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports 1.

By Drew Swainston
(Guest writer from Betfred on behalf of Beer Footy and Birds!)

The Worst Sporting Champions of All Time ! - Part One

The World Cup is over, Spain were victorious and they are the World Champions. At the end of the day whilst watching it from my humble abode here in the UK it is in my opinion that Spain were indeed worthy winners, although it was generally a disappointing tournament all-round in terms of the quality of the football played, and the embarrassment and humiliation the England players and management team bestowed upon our nation!

This article is part one of several to come celebrating those undeserved 'Sporting Champions' - those teams and/or individuals that were actually top of their field, yet were still pretty rubbish.

For this reason I shall call them 'Sport's Greatest Ever Pretenders,' starting with:
Blackburn Rovers - Premiership Champions 1995.

How did a team based around the workmanlike talents of Tim Sherwood and Jeff Kenna become champions of England?

Stick nine men behind the ball, hoof it up to Alan Shearer and hope he's not too busy flapping his pointy elbows into some poor old defender's eye socket, and in the interim point in time he whacks the ball into the back of the onion bag. That is how!

Ole, ole ole!.............free-flowing, aesthetically pleasing, champagne football!

That season Manchester United had been handicapped by the loss of the mercurial Eric 'the karate kid' Cantona, following a now well documented altercation with a Crystal Palace fan at Selhurst Park one January evening in 1995. Without the suspended Frenchman it immediately became advantage Rovers, but they still failed to claim their prize with any assumed authority.

They stumbled over the finishing line, losing three of their final five games, the last of which gave Manchester United the chance to snatch the title with the very last kick of the season, if they could win at West Ham. Luckily for Rovers, that final kick fell to United's Achilles heel, Andy Cole's club foot - and Kenny Dalglish's men topped the table by a single point.

They danced and they sang without a hint of ignominy, as this small Lancashire club lifted the Premier League trophy, just four years after the arrival and the aid of the late Jack Walker's dynasty and his millions.

Such end-of-season shamelessness would never be seen again............that was until Chelsea insisted that it 'wasn't all about Roman's f***ing money,' when in June 2003 Ken Bates sold Chelski to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million, completing what was then the biggest-ever sale of an English football club.

He subsequently spent over £100 million on new players, as they went onto become the fifth English team to win (buy) back-to-back league championships since the Second World War in 2004/05 and 2005/06.