The Most Unfortunate Managers at the Top Level

 

A few managers have been considered unlucky during their managerial careers at the top level, as they lost more in the finals.

The 2024/25 season is finally completed with the unexpected humiliation to Inter Milan in the UCL final last weekend. Nerazzurri, who managed to edge out Barcelona in a goal galore win at the semifinal, were outclassed by PSG five goals to nil. The result was so devastating that Simone Inzaghi opted to leave Giuseppe Meazza.

Such a heavy loss marks Simone Inzaghi’s second defeat in the UCL final. The first one was only a narrow one to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the 2023 edition. Interestingly, Inzaghi’s men’s defeat in Munich last weekend was also the third defeat in the summit for the ex-Lazio boss. Does it mean that he tends to have misfortune in the finals? It is still too early to assume, but such may lead to it, should Inzaghi fail to deliver more trophies. As a gaffer, he mainly has clinched the Coppa Italia three times plus the Serie A title last year.

So, have there been any team bosses who were so unfortunate while building their careers at the top level? Surely, there have been tacticians with such misery. In the mid-2010s, Jurgen Klopp was regarded as the unluckiest one following his series of defeats in the finals, especially in his early years with the Reds.

Yet, the German boss managed to turn the table and collect more major titles after another defeat in the summit, UCL 2018. He clinched the UCL, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in 2019; the EPL in 2020; and the FA Cup and League Cup in 2022, plus another one for the latter in 2024. His team’s last defeat in the final was UCL 2022.

These gaffers below are certainly the most unfortunate ones till the end of their managerial careers. They suffered frequent defeats in the finals and only snatched one major title or none.

Avram Grant

The current Zambia boss is undoubtedly one of the unluckiest managers at the top level. Grant might have been a successful coach in Israel, as he won two Israeli leagues and five Israeli cup titles, plus led the Israeli national team to the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying round with an unbeaten campaign. Yet, when he moved to the top level, all his success meant nothing to him.

His move to English football in 2007 was mainly due to his personal connection with Chelsea owner in the past, Roman Abramovich. Grant’s initial role was the Blues’ Director of Football. Following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho in the middle of the season, Avram Grant was appointed to take charge of John Terry and Co. for the remainder of the season.

In the 2007/08 campaign, Chelsea did perform better but not good enough to reach the same height as Mourinho did. The former Maccabi Tel Aviv boss only guided them to finish second in the EPL and become a finalist in the UCL and EFL League Cup. His contract as a manager was soon terminated, although he was still being offered to return to his previous position, the sporting director. Yet, he turned it down.

In his next club, Portsmouth, he was once again hired as the director of football but then became the team manager following Paul Hart’s sacking in the middle of the 2009/10 season. He did manage to lead them once again to the final; this time it was the FA Cup. However, once again his luck ran dry in the summit as Portsmouth was beaten by his former side through a single goal from Didier Drogba.

His last attempt to revitalise his career at the top level was at the international level back in November 2014. After his horrible stint at West Ham but fairly successful one with Partizan Belgrade, Grant took charge of the Ghana national team. In his first major tournament, he was able to bring the Black Star to the 2015 AFCON final. Sadly, Andre Ayew and Co. were beaten by Ivory Coast on penalties.

Record in the finals at the top level	Results in the final matches	Runner up in the league competition
(0 win – 4 loss)	vs Tottenham 1-2 (EFL League Cup 2008) vs Manchester United 1-1 (5-6 pen) (UCL 2008) vs Chelsea 0-1 (FA Cup 2010) vs Ivory Coast 0-0 (8-9 pen) (AFCON 2015)	EPL 2007/08 (Chelsea)

Hector Cuper

The former Inter Milan boss is also known for his misfortune in the final. However, unlike Grant, Cuper still did manage to clinch silverware, the Copa CONMEBOL, with Lanus in 1996. Unfortunately, that was his last major title. During his venture in Europe, Africa and Asia, the ex-defender was unable to lift another trophy.

Hector Cuper first rose to prominence after leading the minnow Mallorca to reach the Winners Cup final in 1999 and the Copa del Rey final in the previous year. His reputation as a runner-up specialist was even more solidified after guiding Valencia to UCL finals consecutively in 2000 and 2001 only to lose against the more established sides, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, respectively.

When he made a move to Inter Milan, once again he was only able to guide Adriano and Co. to finish runner-up in Serie A 2003 plus the UCL semifinal in the same year. His bad luck appeared to follow him around anywhere the Argentine boss went. In 2010, he managed to bring Aris Thessalonika to the Greek Cup final but suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat from Panathinaikos. Then in 2017, Cuper led Mo Salah and Co to the AFCON final but once again lost. He did manage to find redemption as he guided the Pharaohs to qualify to 2018 FIFA World Cup after their 28 years of absence from the global stage. Sadly, their campaign ended in a dismal result.

Record in the finals at the top level	Results in the final matches	Runner up/third place in the league competition
(1 W – 6 L)	vs Independiente Santa Fe 2-0 ; 0-1 (Copa CONMEBOL 1996) vs Barcelona 1-1 (4-5 pen) (Copa del Rey 1998) vs Lazio 1-2 (Winners Cup 1999) vs Real Madrid 0-3 (UCL 2000) vs Bayern Munich 1-1 (4-5 pen) (UCL 2001) vs Panathinaikos 0-1 (Greek Cup 2010) vs Cameroon 1-2 (AFCON 2017)	-Argentina Primera Division 1994 – Clausura (Huracan) - Arg Primera Division 1996 <3rd place> (Lanus) - La Liga 1999 <3rd place> (Mallorca) - La Liga 2000 <3rd place> (Valencia) -Italian Serie A 2003 (Inter Milan)

Jair Picerni

In Brazilian football, he is probably well-known as a dark horse specialist due to his tendency to lead the non-elite side to thrive in the major competition, albeit not winning it. Picerni has done it with several teams. Yet, this also garnered him the status of one of the most unfortunate managers in history.

Picerni came to the spotlight in 1981 as he led the unlikely Ponte Preta to advance to the final of the regional competition, Campeonato Paulista. His magic did not stop there. When he was at the helm of the Brazil U23 team for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, he managed to guide them to the final. The young Selecao lost to France U23 in the summit. In the same year, he also brought Corinthians to be the finalist in the Campeonato Paulista. He repeated the same success with Portuguesa in the same tournament in 1985.

The Sao Paulo-born gaffer finally lifted his first and only major trophy, the Brasilian Serie A, in 1987 with Sport Recife, although it had to be officially settled 30 years later due to the dispute with Flamengo over the competition format. That happens to be the club’s first major title and the last league title to date!

Picerni then carried on switching sides to Botafogo, Portuguesa, Santo Andre, Uniao Sao Joao, Uniao Barbarense and Gama with two spells in Portugal’s Nacional Madeira in between before making his big breakthrough with Sao Caetano in 2000. In the beginning of the new millennium, his magic touch did not fade, although he did not actually deliver the silverware. He was able to bring his team to be the runner-up in the Brazilian Serie A in 2000 and 2001, the Joao Havelange Cup 2000 and the Copa Libertadores 2002. One of his key men was Marcos Senna, who then eventually switched allegiance to Spain and helped Spain win EURO 2008.

The former right back continued to move on to a number of clubs, with Bahia and Fortaleza, plus Palmeiras and Red Bull Bragantino, as the most notable ones. Picerni was in charge of the first two sides when they reached the final in the regional championship in 2005 and 2006 consecutively, whereas in his last two teams, the former Al Ain boss guided them to gain promotion to the top flight in 2003 and 2009.

Record in the finals at the top level	Results in the final matches	Runner up or 3rd place in the league competition
(0W – 8L)	vs Sao Paulo 1-3 (aggregate) (Campeonato Paulista 1981) vs Santos 0-1 (Campeonato Paulista 1984) vs France 0-2 (1984 LA Olympic games) vs Sao Paulo 2-5 (agg) (Campeonato Paulista 1985) vs Vasco da Gama 2-4 (agg) (Joao Havelange Cup 2000) vs Olimpia (1-0; 1-2) (2-4 pen) (Copa Libertadores 2002) vs Vitoria (Campeonato Baiano 2005) vs Ceara (Campeonato Cearese 2006)	Brazilian Serie A 1981 <3rd place> (Ponte Preta) Brazilian Serie A 2000, 2001 (Sao Caetano)

Myron Markeyvich

From the east of Europe, one gaffer cannot be ruled out due to his miserable record at the top level. Myron Markeyvich spent most of his managerial career with the local sides, but none of his clubs were widely known. His career is quite identical to Karpaty Lviv, where he had five spells with the non-elite Ukrainian side. He also had stints with Metalist Kharkiv and Dnipro, plus Russia’s Anzhi Makachkala before it lost its professional status. The former Torpedo Lustk man was also once in charge of the Ukraine national team for four matches in 2010.

Markeyvich has been infamous for being a finalist specialist without a single trophy in hand. He led Karpaty Lviv to the Ukrainian Cup final in 1993 and 1999. His most notable progress was probably in the Europa League 2015 when his team, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, reached the final and only suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to Unai Emery’s Sevilla, the reigning champion. Such makes him the only Ukrainian boss in the modern era who succeeded in leading his team to the continental final.

Record in the finals at the top level	Results in the final matches	Runner up or 3rd place in the league competition
(0W – 3L)	vs Dynamo Kiev 1-2 (Ukrainian Cup 1993) vs Dynamo Kiev 0-3 (Ukrainian Cup 1999) vs Sevilla 2-3 (Europa League 2015)	-Ukrainian League 1998 <3rd place> (Karpaty Lviv) - Ukrainian League 2013 (Metalist Kharkiv) -Ukrainian League 2007-2012 <3rd place> (Metalist Kharkiv) -Ukrainian League 2015 <3rd place> (Dnipro) -Ukrainian First League 2024 (Karpaty Lviv)