Helenio Herrera is number eight in 90min’s Top 50 Great Managers of All Time series. Follow the rest of the series over the course of the next two weeks.
?It’s a strange idea now, but football managers rarely used to get the credit for the success of the teams they were in charge of.
Helenio Herrera changed that. The trailblazing Argentine revolutionised the art of coaching, implementing psychological techniques and professionalising his squads in an era that cared little for proper conditioning and preparation.

The powerful words of wisdom he used to ready his troops for battle are now somewhat overused and rather
Career Honours
La Liga (1950, 1951, 1959, 1960)? |
?Copa Eva Duarte (1950) |
?Copa del Rey (1959, 1981) |
?Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1958, 1960) |
?Serie A (1963, 1965, 1966) |
?European Cup (1964, 1965) |
?Coppa Italia (1969) |
?Italian Football Hall of Fame (2015) |
“He was light years ahead. He used to train our brains before our legs. When he came to Italy, nobody really knew the names of the coaches – he turned things around.”
– Former Inter midfielder
‘Il Mago’ – as he was affectionately dubbed – is often described as the original Jose Mourinho, the man that the ex-?Manchester United boss stole his act off of; his comments in the build up to the 1967 European Cup final go some way to explaining why.
Herrera boastfully said of opponents Celtic: “I doubt whether they would beat us in the final in Lisbon. After all, we only need one goal.” The Scots won 2-1. Talk about hubris.
Teams Managed
Puteaux (1944-45)? |
?Stade Francais (1945-48) |
?Real Valladolid (1948-49) |
?Atletico Madrid (1949-52) |
?Malaga (1952) |
?Deportivo de La Coruna (1953) |
?Sevilla (1953-57) |
?Belenenses (1957-58) |
?Barcelona (1958-1960) |
?Inter (1960-68) |
?Italy (1966-67) |
?Roma (1968-70) |
?Inter (1973-74) |
?Rimini (1978-79) |
?Barcelona (1979-1981) |
The next term, Marchini was merely waiting for an excuse to sack the man he had tried so desperately to bring to Rome, eventually using the side’s indifferent form during the 1969-70 season to justify Herrera’s dismissal.
“If you play for yourself, you play for your opponents; if you play for the team, you play for yourself.” — Helenio Herrera pic.twitter.com/YUEQOSS1IW
— Mohamed Moallim (@iammoallim) March 17, 2019
A short-lived, somewhat forgettable year back at Inter came off the back of his Roma exit, though a heart attack forced a four-year hiatus from the game. He would soon return to another old flame, this time travelling back to
Number 50: Marcelo Bielsa – El Loco’s Journey From Argentina to Footballing Immortality in Europe
Number 49: Vic Buckingham – How an Englishman Discovered Johan Cruyff & Pioneered Total Football
Number 48: Claudio Ranieri: A Ridiculed Tinkerman Who Masterminded One of Football’s Greatest Ever Achievements
Number 47: Bill Nicholson: Mr Tottenham Hotspur, the First Double Winning Manager of the 20th Century
Number 46: Sven-Goran Eriksson: The Scudetto Winning Shagger Who Never Solved the Lampard-Gerrard Conundrum
Number 45: Sir Alf Ramsey: The Man Behind the ‘Wingless Wonders’ & England’s Sole World Cup Triumph
Number 44: Antonio Conte: An Astute Tactician Whose Perfectionist Philosophy Reinvented the 3-5-2 Wheel
Number 43: Kenny Dalglish: The Beacon of Light in Liverpool’s Darkest Hour
Number 42: Massimiliano Allegri: The Masterful Tactician Who Won Serie A Five Times in a Row
Number 41: Sir Bobby Robson: A Footballing Colossus Whose Fighting Spirit Ensured an Immortal Legacy
Number 40: Luis Aragones: Spain’s Most Important Manager, the Atleti Rock and the Modern Father of Tiki-Taka
Number 39: Herbert Chapman: One of Football’s Great Innovators & Mastermind Behind the ‘W-M’ Formation
Number 38: Carlos Alberto Parreira: The International Specialist Who Never Shied Away From a Challenge
Number 37: Franz Beckenbauer: The German Giant Whose Playing Career Overshadowed His Managerial Genius
Number 36: Viktor Maslov: Soviet Pioneer of the 4-4-2 & the Innovator of Pressing
Number 35: Rafa Benitez: The Conquerer of La Liga Who Masterminded That Comeback in Istanbul
Number 34: Zinedine Zidane: Cataloguing the Frenchman’s Transition From Midfield Magician to Managerial Maestro
Number 33: Luiz Felipe Scolari: How the Enigmatic ‘Big Phil’ Succeeded as Much as He Failed on the Big Stage
Number 32: Jupp Heynckes: The Legendary Manager Who Masterminded ‘the Greatest Bayern Side Ever’
Number 31: Vicente del Bosque: The Unluckiest Manager in the World Who Led Spain to Immortality
Number 30: Arsene Wenger: A Pioneering Who Became Invincible at Arsenal
Number 29: Udo Lattek: The Bundesliga Icon Who Shattered European Records
Number 28: Jock Stein: The Man Who Guided Celtic to Historic Heights & Mentored Sir Alex Ferguson
Number 27: Vittorio Pozzo: Metodo, Mussolini, Meazza & the Difficult Memory of a Two-Time World Cup Winner
Number 26: Jurgen Klopp: The Early Years at Mainz 05 Where He Sealed His ‘Greatest Achievement’
Number 25:Mario Zagallo: Habitual World Cup Winner & Sculptor of Brazil’s Joga Bonito Era
Number 24: Bela Guttmann: The Dance Instructor Who Changed Football Forever (and Managed…Just Everyone)
Number 23: Valeriy Lobanovskyi: The Scientist Who Dominated Football in the Soviet Union
Number 22: Louis van Gaal: The Stubborn Master Who Won 15 Major Trophies at 4 of the World’s Greatest Clubs
Number 21: Otto Rehhagel: The ‘King’ Who Turned 150/1 Greek Outsiders into Champions of Europe
Number 20: Tele Santana: The ‘Joga Bonito’ Icon Who Helped Brazil Rediscover Their Love of Football
Number 19: Bill Shankly: The Innovative Motivator Who Rebuilt Liverpool From the Ground Up
Number 18: Ottmar Hitzfeld: The Manager Who Won Absolutely Everything at Germany’s 2 Biggest Clubs
Number 17: Miguel Muñoz: The Man Who Told Alfredo Di Stefano to F*ck Off & Led the Ye-Ye’s to European Glory
Number 16: Fabio Capello: Italy’s Cosmopolitan Disciplinarian Who Built on a Generation-Defining AC Milan
Number 15: Brian Clough: He Wasn’t the Best Manager in the Business, But He Was in the Top 1
Number 14: Nereo Rocco: ‘El Paron’, the Pioneer of Catenaccio & Forgotten Great of Italian Football
Number 13: Carlo Ancelotti: Football’s Most Loveable Eyebrow in the Words of His Players
Number 12: Sir Matt Busby: The Man Who Built the Modern Manchester United
Number 11: Marcello Lippi: Montecristo Cigars, Neapolitan Dreams, Scudetti in Turin & Gli Azzurri’s World Cup
Number 10: Bob Paisley: The Understated Tactician Who Conquered All of Europe With Liverpool
Number 9: ?Jose Mourinho: The ‘Special One’ Who Shattered Records All Over Europe
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