Carlo Ancelotti was confirmed as the Everton manager on Saturday, taking over from caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson. The former AC Milan, Real Madrid and PSG boss is a marquee signing in the dugout who matches Everton’s ambitions on the pitch. The Italian said as much himself during his first press conference since returning to England – having formerly managed Chelsea – stating his ambition was to target qualifying for the Champions League with Everton and to win trophies.
The arrival of the three-time Champions League winner signifies a golden era in management for the Premier League, never before has there been a time where so many distinguished managers have been at the helm of English clubs. Of the seven Champions League winning managers still active today, four of them currently occupy a Premier League job, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are the others.
It means in total 57 per cent of the winners of the competition who are still active managers in the English top-flight, only Rafael Benitez, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Enrique ply their trade elsewhere. That number could have been even higher had Benitez remained at Newcastle United this season.
Furthermore, with Ancelotti’s return, there is now a total of four managers who have previously won the Premier League at the helm of a top-flight English club, which could rise to five if Liverpool win their first Premier League title this season. Mourinho heads that list having won three, all with Chelsea, over two stints, while Guardiola is not far behind having won the last two Premier League titles consecutively. Then tied on one win each is Ancelotti and Manuel Pellegrini with Chelsea and Manchester City respectively. Again, that would have been even higher has Claudio Ranieri managed to keep Fulham afloat last season, having made the impossible a reality with Leicester City.
Despite the lifespan of a manager decreasing, never before has England appeared such an attractive proposition for the most illustrious managers in the world. Everton, West Ham and Newcastle United all appointing bosses who have wither won the Premier League, Champions League, or both, signifies the strength of the division. This era could go down in history as the greatest ever for Premier League bosses.
