Football Managers play a huge role in a team's development and on-field performance. They help in building synergy between players. Certainly, clubs prefer managers with huge experience to support their profile. Here we see eight of those football managers who have the most matches under their belt.

List of football managers with most games (1000 or more)

1. Alex Ferguson (2155)

Alex Ferguson is a Scottish former football manager and player, widely known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. Ferguson is considered by many to be one of the greatest managers of all time and he has won more trophies than any other manager in the history of football. He managed 2155 games in his career which is more than anybody in football history. He also has a win percentage of 58.1.

Sir Alex Ferguson has managed the following teams in his managerial career:

• East Stirlingshire (1974)
• St Mirren (1974-1978)
• Scotland (1985-1986)
• Aberdeen (1978-1986)
• Manchester United (1986-2013)

Also Read: Most goals for Manchester United as jersey no 7

2. Neil Warnock (2002)

Neil Warnock is an English football manager and former player who is currently manager of the Championship club Middlesbrough. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to non-league. He also holds the record for the most promotions in English football, with eight. Warnock features at number 2 in the list having managed 2002 games with a win rate of 40.85%.

He has managed the following teams in his career:

• Scarborough (1986–1989)
• Notts County (1989–1993)
• Torquay United (1993)
• Huddersfield Town (1993–1995)
• Plymouth Argyle (1995–1997)
• Oldham Athletic (1997–1998)
• Bury (1998–1999)
• Sheffield United (1999–2007)
• Crystal Palace (2007–2010, 2014)
• Queens Park Rangers (2010–2012, 2015)
• Leeds United (2012–2013)
• Rotherham United (2016)
• Cardiff City (2016–2019)
• Middlesbrough (2020-2021)
• Aberdeen (2024)

3. Vanderlei Luxemburgo (1819)

4. Guy Roux (1,754)

Guy Roux is one of the most famous football managers in France due to his stint at the  AJ Auxerre club. Roux played for  AJ Auxerreduring 1954 and 1957 and became their player-manager in 1961 as a 23-year-old in the fourth division of the French League. In his 44-year stint at the club, he made their youth system so strong that players like Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc, Basile Boli, Philippe Mexès, Teemu Tainio, Alain Goma and Djibril Cissé came through  AJ Auxerre.

Roux's greatest achievement came in the 1995/96 season when he led  AJ Auxerre to their maiden Ligue1 title despite not being the favourites. Roux retired as Auxerre manager in 2005 and was awarded UEFA President's Award in 2002. The French manager managed a record 890 matches in the top flight.

In total, he managed 1,754 matches and won 817 of them. 

Teams he managed in his career: -

• Auxerre (1961-2005)
• Lens (2007)

5. Graham Turner (1718)

Graham John Turner is an English former footballer who became a manager later in his career. In overall, he managed a total of 1659 games in his career with a win percentage of 39.1. The teams he coached are as follows -

• Shrewsbury Town (1978-1984)
• Aston Villa (1984-1986)
• Wolverhampton Wanderers (1986-1994)
• Hereford United (1995-2009)
• Shrewsbury Town (2010-2014)

6. Arsene Wenger (1701)

Arsene Wenger is a former French football manager and player, who is FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. He was the manager of Arsenal from 1996 to 2018, where he was the longest-serving and most successful in the club's history. Moreover, his contribution to English football through changes to scouting, players' training, and diet regimens revitalised Arsenal and aided the globalisation of the sport in the 21st century. Wenger has managed 1701 games in his career with a win percentage of 54.

He has managed the following teams in his managerial career:

• Nancy (1984-1987)
• Monaco (1987-1994)
• Nagoya Grampus Eight (1995-1996)
• Arsenal (1996-2018)

Also Read: 5 highest spending football managers of 21st century

7. Bill Struth (1655)

Bill Struth was the second ever coach of Rangers Club and one of the most successful managers in British and Scottish football. Struth was Rangers manager for a record 34 years from 1920 to 1954. He led Rangers to a record 30 major trophies including 18 Scottish league championships, 10 Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups.

In his lifetime Bill managed 1655 matches for Rangers and won 1134 of them.

8. Luiz Felipe Scolari (1647)

Scolari, a former Brazilian footballer and manager comes at 8 on our list of football managers with most matches in their career. Scolari in his managerial career has been managing clubs for 42 years now, starting with CSA in 1982. 

Luiz Felipe Scolari has managed big teams like Brazil and Portugal Men's National teams along with clubs like Chelsea in mid-2010s. 

In his 1647 matches as manager, he won 817 games.

Following are the teams Scolari managed - 

9. Willie Maley (1612)

William Patrick Maley was a Scottish international football player and manager. He was the first manager of the Celtic Football Club and one of the most successful managers in Scottish football history. Moreover, he was a one-club man as he managed only Celtic in his career from 1897 to 1940. Maley has managed a total number of 1612 games in his career with an incredible win percentage of 64.5.

Also Read: Football Facts: Football managers who won the treble

10. Alec Stock (1,584)

Alec William Alfred Stock was an English footballer and also a manager. He played as an inside forward for Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers before the Second World War. Moreover, he managed a whopping number of 1618 games in his career with a win percentage of 42.

The teams he managed are as follows:

• Yeovil Town (1946-1949)
• Leyton Orient (1949–1959)
• A.S. Roma (1957-1958)
• Queens Park Rangers (1959–1968)
• Luton Town (1968–1972)
• Fulham (1972–1976)
• Bournemouth (1979–1980)

The management of Manchester United has not only been marked by great success for some managers and failure for others but overall, the team remains one of the best in the world regardless of the changes. Others have been very successful, others not so much.

Some managers have celebrated incredible victories, while others have gone through tough times. Here, we examine the six managers for the Red Devils who were the quickest to accumulate five home defeats in the Premier League.

 6. Sir Alex Ferguson – 88 Matches

It hardly seems just to use the term ‘quickest’ about Sir Alex Ferguson’s home defeats. He experienced just five Premier League home losses over an impressive span of 88 matches—a clear indication of his managerial brilliance.

Ferguson, often hailed as the club’s greatest manager, established a period of dominance that United has struggled to match since his departure in 2013.

5. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – 31 Matches

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over the temporary managerial job at Manchester United toward the end of 2018 after José Mourinho stepped down. He secured the permanent manager job through a March 2019 appointment after winning 14 matches out of 19 to start his tenure.

Under Solskjaer's leadership, United produced some of their best football games during recent years. He left the office in 2021 after his team's performance declined. He ranks fifth after losing five home league matches in 31 games.

4. Louis van Gaal – 30 Matches  

Louis van Gaal took the reigns at United in 2014, managing the team for two seasons. Although he secured an FA Cup victory, his time at the club was largely disappointing, resulting in his dismissal in 2016.

The Dutch mastermind struggled to bring United back to the elite status expected of them, recording five home league defeats in only 30 matches, which places him fourth on this list.

3. Erik ten Hag – 28 Matches 

Erik ten Hag began his tenure at Manchester United in 2022, leading the club to EFL Cup and FA Cup victories in consecutive seasons.

However, his time has been marked by inconsistency in both the Premier League and European competitions. 

2. David Moyes – 14 Matches

Given the amount of excellence Sir Alex Ferguson brought to the club and left as their hero, it was always going to be difficult to succeed him.

David Moyes took Ferguson’s position as the Manchester United manager in June 2013. However, he was fired just after ten months since the team was in seventh place in the league in April 2014 and could not make it to the European Championship.

Before Ruben Amorim broke his record, he was the quickest manager in United’s history to record five Premier League losses.

Another home game, another defeat for Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford in the Premier League 😬 pic.twitter.com/UQVzclInMm

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) February 2, 2025

1. Ruben Amorim – 7 Matches

So far, Ruben Amorim’s appointment has been seen as a disaster. The Portuguese coach keeps adding unwanted records to his name.

Their most recent league defeat to Crystal Palace saw the former Sporting head coach achieve another embarrassing record. He became the fastest United manager in PL history to record five defeats at home.

The desire for fame frequently pushes athletes to pursue new opportunities, sometimes at the expense of loyal supporters. A few former Arsenal players have gone on to win the Premier League trophy with other teams, reaching the highest level of English football. 

Their experiences serve as an example of the unpredictability of football, where ambition and loyalty frequently clash. In this feature, we look into the stories of five players who donned the red and white before leaving their names in Premier League history elsewhere. 

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Robin Van Persie: Manchester United - 2012/2013

One of the most prolific forwards of his generation, Robin van Persie was renowned for his impeccable positioning, precise finishing, and powerful volleys from every angle. After joining Arsenal in 2004 for £2.75 million, a sum well below Feyenoord's initial asking price of £5 million, he quickly made his mark. 

Manager Arsène Wenger had a vision for Van Persie, converting him from a left winger to a central striker, a transition Wenger had successfully made with Thierry Henry. When Henry left for Barcelona in 2007, Van Persie stepped up as Arsenal's primary goal-scorer.

By the start of the 2011–12 season, Van Persie had taken over as captain following Cesc Fàbregas's move to Barcelona. That season, he finished as the Premier League's top scorer with 30 goals, and in the process, became Arsenal’s eighth all-time leading scorer with 132 goals.

In August 2012, Van Persie made a high-profile move to Manchester United, with the clubs agreeing on a £22.5 million deal, potentially rising by £1.5 million depending on United’s success in the Premier League or Champions League.

Just a few months later, in April 2013, Van Persie sealed his place in United's history, scoring a stunning first-half hat-trick against Aston Villa that clinched their 20th league title with four matches to spare—his first and only Premier League championship. He would go on to leave the club in 2015 after three successful seasons.

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Cesc Fabregas: Chelsea- 2014/2015

Another player with strong roots in the club he made the move from Barcelona in September 2003 after noticing that he was going to find it difficult to break into the Barcelona first team.

He made his debut for the team not long after, on 28 October 2003, in a League Cup tie at home to Rotherman United. In doing so, he became Arsenal's then-youngest-ever first-team player, aged 16 years and 177 days.

Following the club's move to the Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2006, Cesc Fàbregas was handed the iconic number 4 shirt, which Patrick Vieira left vacant after his transfer to Juventus the year before. Fàbregas became a regular in the heart of the midfield, often partnering with Gilberto Silva. 

On 24 November 2008, after 14 league matches in the 2008–09 season, Cesc Fàbregas succeeded William Gallas as captain. 

On 15 August 2011, Barcelona secured his signature for an initial €29 million, with an additional €5 million in potential add-ons. Over the five years leading up to his departure from Arsenal, Fàbregas created 466 goal-scoring opportunities, registered 86 assists, and netted 48 goals.

On 3 May 2015, he won his first Premier League title at the ninth attempt, following a 1–0 home win over Crystal Palace.

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Ashley Cole: Chelsea- 2009/2010

Ashley Cole is widely remembered for his drawn-out contract dispute during which he sought to leave Arsenal. A key member of the iconic Invincible Squad, he won numerous trophies with the North London club.

His transfer to Chelsea caused significant disappointment among loyal fans, but ultimately, it proved to be a wise move. At Chelsea, he secured the Premier League title under Carlo Ancelotti in the 2009/10 season and lifted the Champions League trophy in 2012. 

Notably, he played in all 38 league matches during the 2010/11 season and earned the Chelsea F.C. Player's Player of the Year award for the second time. Cole is widely regarded as one of the Premier League's greatest fullbacks.

Gael Clichy: Manchester City- 2011/2012

Gaël Clichy joined the club in 2003 from Cannes as a young and promising left-back. Initially a backup to Ashley Cole, Clichy seized the opportunity to cement his place in the starting XI following Cole’s move to Chelsea in 2006. Known for his pace, work ethic, and defensive reliability, he became a mainstay in Arsenal’s backline.

In 2011, Clichy moved to Manchester City in search of new challenges and greater opportunities for silverware. His arrival coincided with City’s rise to prominence under Roberto Mancini. At City, Clichy continued to impress with his defensive prowess and tactical awareness.

Clichy’s time at Manchester City proved successful, as he contributed to the club’s first Premier League title in 2011/12, He added another Premier League title in the 2013/14 season, along with two League Cup victories in 2014 and 2016. Over six seasons, Clichy made over 200 appearances for City.

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Samir Nasri: Manchester City- 2011/2012

The Frenchman brought flair and inventiveness to Arsène Wenger's midfield when he made a move from Marseille in 2008. Nasri immediately made a name for himself as a vital player in the team thanks to his technical proficiency, close control, and versatility in attacking roles.

He scored 15 goals in all competitions during his stellar 2010–11 season, including several incredible solo efforts. It was one of his best seasons to date. Because of his impact on the squad, he was nominated for both the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards that season.

Despite his achievements, Nasri's time in London was characterized by the team's inability to win any trophies. When Arsenal was going through a transition in 2011, Nasri decided to depart in search of better opportunities elsewhere. He made a high-profile move to Manchester City.

Nasri was instrumental in helping City win their first Premier League championship in forty-four years during his debut season (2011–12). He cemented his position in the club's history by providing a vital assist for Sergio Agüero's historic last-minute victory against QPR. In the 2013–14 season, Nasri was instrumental in helping City win the League Cup and another Premier League championship.

The transfer window is one of the most important aspects of football. Before the start of the season and the battles on the pitch, various clubs tussle in the transfer market to sign multiple players.

Essentially, the blueprint for desired success starts from the transfer window, which involves numerous complex negotiations, agreements, and pre-agreements.

A lot of transfers occur regularly in the transfer market, but some remarkable stories are simultaneously amusing, shocking, and surprising. Here is an attempt to tell you some of those unique stories!

5. Didier Drogba to Chelsea

In 2004, Jose Mourinho took the hot seat of the Chelsea coach. The Champions League-winning Coach for Porto, Mourinho was looking for a good striker for his new team. He spotted Didier Drogba who was a striker for French team Olympique de Marseille and was named 2003–04 French Ligue 1 player of the season. In an interview with Bein Sports, he revealed the story behind one of Chelsea's greatest signings.

The then-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and Jose Mourinho arranged a meeting in a restaurant concerning the team's speculations in the next summer transfer window. When Mourinho mentioned Drogba, Roman did not quite recognize him. Naturally, he wanted to know for whom he was going to pay the transfer fee.

Roman asked, "Who? Who do you want as a striker?... Who is he? Where is he playing?" and Mourinho answered, "Mr. Abramovich, pay. Pay and don't speak"

Drogba signed for Chelsea for 24 million pounds and Mourinho was not proved wrong. Playing until 2012, he scored 157 goals and etched his name as one of Chelsea's greatest strikers in the club's history. Drogba won the Premier League in his first season and won three more Premier Leagues, four League Cups, and one Champions League with Chelsea. 

4. Malcom to Barcelona

In 2018, the Brazilian hot prospect Malcom from the French club Bordeaux completed all the necessary agreements for his transfer to the Italian club AS Roma. Bordeaux agreed to the transfer and even booked a flight to Italy for Malcom. Also, the Roma fans were eagerly waiting to greet their new signing at the airport in Rome. 

But, the situation quickly changed when FC Barcelona entered the transfer negotiations with Bordeaux during the final hours of the transfer market, which is famously known as the 'Eleventh Hour'. They offered a higher fee than Roma, and with Malcolm's insistence, Bordeaux agreed to the transfer to the Spanish club. Malcolm signed for Barcelona on a five-year deal for 41 million euros. 

This was one of the craziest Transfer Hijacks that happened in the last minutes before the transfer window was closed. However, this transfer did not go as expected for Barcelona.

Malcom played just one season flaunting the Blaugrana shirt and he only scored 4 goals and provided 2 assists in 24 appearances. After that season, Barcelona sold Malcom to Zenit Saint Petersburg for 40 million euros.

Read Also | Ten best Free Football transfers of all time

3. Emmanuel Petit to Arsenal 

The then-captain of AS Monaco, Emmanuel Petit was one of the most highly demanded players in the 1997 summer transfer window. Tottenham Hotspur, the North London club was the frontrunner in the race to sign this talented midfielder. 

Petit arrived at a preliminary meeting with Alan Sugar who was the chairman of Tottenham Hotspur back then. Alan also showed him around the club's stadium. Spurs officials thought that the signing was just a matter of time. 

While leaving the club, Petit also asked the club officials to book a taxi. The bosses arranged a taxi for him thinking that he might be going back to the airport. It is rumoured that they also paid the taxi fare of £20. 

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But Petit ended up at Highbury Stadium which was the then-home ground of Arsenal, the arch-rivals of Tottenham. Petit came to meet Arsenal chairman David Dean and coach Arsene Wenger. Wenger, who already knew Petit from his Monaco days, managed to convince him to sign for Arsenal and he signed for Arsenal that very afternoon. 

Petit later joked about the Tottenham officials calling a taxi for him and said, “If they want to send me the bill I am happy to pay it.”

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2. David De Gea and Keylor Navas 

In 2015, Real Madrid and Manchester United penned down a swap deal agreement to swap their first-team goalkeepers. Real Madrid's goalkeeper Keylor Navas and Manchester United's keeper David de Gea were involved in the transfer as they were about to sign for United and Madrid respectively. 

Every piece of the puzzle was in the right place except a fax machine. This is one of the most popular conspiracy theories in football that Navas' documentation did not reach the club in Manchester in time on the deadline day of the transfer window and only a faulty fax machine was responsible for that! 

As none of the documents could be submitted before the specified time, the registration of both players was also not completed. In England, transfer registration could be completed up to a certain time after the transfer window is closed but Spain had no such facility. That is why Real Madrid could not go further with the documentation and the transfer was called off.

Both clubs blamed and issued conflicting statements against each other following this mishap. Navas was very disappointed about the failed transfer and later said, "I cried when the transfer window was closed, near my wife... I’m human and everything exploded. I was waiting in the airport even without suitcases. I was not on the plane, but I was near." 

1. Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain

The Brazilian phenomenon Neymar was displaying his best performances during his Barcelona tenure since he signed for them in 2013. He played a key role in winning two La Liga titles and a Champions League for the Blaugranas. Many of Barca fans started dreaming about Neymar to be Lionel Messi's successor at Barcelona. 

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Since the start of the 2017 transfer window, Paris Saint-Germain made significant efforts to build a strong team. No one could believe that Neymar was indeed leaving Barcelona and signing for PSG until a rumor that first surfaced on July 18, 2017, came true. The Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona used to dominate the transfer market but this time, there was a drastic change that shook the entire footballing world. 

Despite having signed a contract renewal with Barcelona in November 2016, Neymar's entourage informed PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi via a phone call that Neymar was prepared to leave Barcelona in the 2017 summer transfer window. The PSG officials also reached a personal terms agreement with Neymar through some secret meetings. 

After three weeks of prolonged negotiations with Barcelona officials, PSG paid Barcelona a transfer fee of 222 million euros to sign Neymar which holds the record of the most expensive transfer of all time to this date. 

This signing was considered one of the most shocking signings that completely changed the concept of 'cash splash' in the transfer market. The transfer initiated a trend of paying excessive sums for players that altered the business in the transfer market forever.

Football, the biggest and most watched sport in the world has given us an enormous amount of iconic moments to live for. From the era of Pele and Maradona to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and now Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, football stars have been able to create moments on and off the field which will stay with the fans for their lifetime. In our special football facts article, we look into some of those iconic football moments till now. 

Maradona's "Hand of God" 

If you talk about iconic football moments, this has to be one of the most iconic and controversial moments in football history. The Argentine maestro Diego Maradona used his hand to score a goal in the all-important quarter-final match against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup at Estadio Azteca in Mexico. 

In the sixth minute of the game, a long ball by English midfielder Steve Hodge came towards the English goal and Maradona, the lone Argentine player inside the box jumped in the air to get the ball. While jumping in the air, Maradona had his left arm outstretched and the fist close to his head. English goalkeeper Peter Shilton also jumped in the air to get the ball. 

But the ball hit Maradona's fist and went straight into the goal to give Argentina the 1-0 and eventually won the match by 2-1. Scoring a goal with the hand is illegal but the referee did not have a clear view and after a discussion with the linesman, gave the goal to Argentina. 

Post the goal, when Maradona was asked if the goal was illegal, he said, "A little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God" and the goal was named "Hand of God" after that. However, later the late great footballer acknowledged the fact the goal was illegal. 

Argentina went on to win the FIFA World Cup that year and Mexican photographer Alejandro Ojeda Carbajal clicked the iconic moment for generation next to have a look at that iconic and controversial moment.

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The Miracle of Istanbul

The Miracle of Istanbul is one of the most iconic incidents in Liverpool FC's history and perhaps in modern football's history. In the 2005 UEFA Champions League final at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Liverpool FC and AC Milan faced each other as Liverpool looked for their fifth European title and AC Milan looked for their seventh title.

Liverpool were appearing in a Champions League final first time since 1985 and Milan were playing their second final in three years. Obviously, Milan was touted to be the favourites and they proved everyone right with captain Paolo Maldini scoring within the first minute of the match. Hernan Crespo then scored in the 39th and 44th minute to give Milan a huge 3-0 in the first half.

Down and out Liverpool needed to do something 'miraculous' to make a comeback in the match and they did so. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard first scored for them in the 54th minute with a cracking header. Vladimir Smicer scored two minutes later with a long-range shot from outside the box. In the 60th minute, Xabi Alonso scored after his penalty was partially saved by goalkeeper Dida.

With the game being 3-3 after the full and extra time, the game went to penalties. Serginho missed the first penalty for Milan. Hamann scored for Liverpool to give them the lead. Andrea Pirlo then missed the second penalty for Milan and Djibril Cissé gave Liverpool a 2-0 lead. 

Tomasson then scored his penalty for Milan but John Arne Riise missed his one for Liverpool and Milan came back with Kaka scoring in the next shot. Vladimir Smicer then scored his penalty and Jerzy Dudek saved Andriy Shevchenko's penalty to hand Liverpool their fifth Champions League title. 

Zinedine Zidane's Headbutt

Another iconic moment in modern football history took place during the 2006 FIFA World Cup when France captain Zinedine Zidane headbutted Italian defender Marco Materazzi. The Les Blues captain received the red card which then became the last footballing action from the French legend. 

So what happened that day? The World Cup final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin went into extra time after Zidane himself gave France the lead in the seventh minute and Marco Materazzi equalising for Italy in the 19th minute of the game. Throughout the game, both Zidane and Marco Materazzi came close to each other. 

In the 110th minute of the match, after Materazzi touched Zidane during a ball play and Gennaro Gattuso cleared the ball, both players shared words between themselves. Everything looked part of the game but what came seconds later shocked the entire world.

The 1998 World Cup winner planted his golden boots firmly on the ground and lowered his head to headbutt the Italian defender, who was sent tumbling across the turf. With most of the players and the match referee Horacio Elizondo not witnessing the incident, the referee had to discuss everything with the assisting referee before showing a red card to the French captain.

Zidane without even a word to argue with the referee, left the field head bowed. Italy went on to win the match by 5-3 in the penalties. 

Later in 2020 in the Spanish publication AS, Materazzi revealed what he had said to Zidane which resulted in the headbutt. He said, “There had been a bit of contact between us in the area. He had scored France's goal in the first half and our coach (Marcello Lippi) told me to mark him. After that first brush between us, I apologised but he reacted badly.

“After the third clash, I frowned and he retorted: 'I'll give you my shirt later'. I replied that I'd rather have his sister than his shirt.

“My words were stupid but did not deserve that reaction. In any neighbourhood of Rome, Naples, Turin, Milan Paris, I hear much more serious things.

“I talked about his sister not his mother, like I have read in some newspapers. My mother died while I was a teenager, I would never insult his.”

Zidane never spilt a word about the incident until 2022 when he said Telefoot, “I’m not at all proud of what I did but it’s part of my past.”

Pele’s 1000th Goal

From the recent incidents of football let me now take you to a glorious past when a certain player named Pele scored the 1000th goal of his professional career and became the first and still the only footballer to achieve the feat.

Pele, the once-in-a-lifetime player from Brazil popularised football all over the world during and after his playing days. The three-time World Cup winner with Brazil holds an enormous number of records while playing for Santos and his national team.

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Due to the hazardous nature of the football schedule during his time, there was never an exact count of how many goals the Brazilian no. 10 scored. However, on November 19, 1969, during a game between Santos and Vasco da Gama fans of both teams gave him a standing ovation after he scored in the game. That goal was considered the 1000th goal of his professional career. 

At that time, Pele was not even 30, which proved at what rate the great man scored. Although there will be always a question mark on how many goals he actually scored since there is no official record to support that, Pele in 2015 claimed that he scored 1283 goals in his career. 

The Undefeated Invincibles

Now from a goal or moment, we will talk about a whole football season that has been etched in Premier League and football history for eternity. Arsene Wenger's Arsenal FC went unbeaten in the 2003/04 season to create history. In the 38 games in the league, they won 26, drawn 12 and lost none.

Read Also | The Invincibles: 8 times a football team won their league undefeated

After winning a domestic double in the 2002/03 season. manager Arsene Wenger told his team that they were capable of going unbeaten in the season. And, the players made that happen. However, that was not a smooth ride for the team as they came back from setbacks to win or draw games.

Theirry Henry was their strongest force at the front with the French striker scoring 30 goals in the season, while Robert Pires netted 14 times. However, it was players like captain Patrick Viera, Dennis Bergkamp, Gilberto Silva, Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure who carried the team on their backs. 

Arsenal 2003-04 Invincible squad

Leicester City’s Premier League Triumph

From the Invincible's story, we move to one of the greatest underdog stories in football history. Leicester City winning the Premier League title in the 2015-16 season is football's most inspiring story you will hear and tell in your life.

Before winning the Premier League, they were nearly relegated in season before and two seasons ago, they were playing in the Championship. Who on earth would have given the bets for the Foxes to win the league that season? Well, it was, the fearlessness and beliefs of Claudio Ranieri's boys that turned the grass into golds and underdogs into champions.

Ranieri created a solid 4-4-2 formation at the start of the season to form a team that can beat anyone in the counterattack and then defend with solid shape and discipline. They are still the team to win the Premier League with the lowest average possession figure of 42.43%. 

Jamie Verdy with 24 goals and 6 assists was the star for the Foxes alongside Riyad Mahrez, who scored 17 goals and assisted 11 times in that season. N'Golo Kante's stunning debut season saw making him 175 tackles and 156 interceptions, which were the most in the league that season.

Leicester City won 23 games. drawn 12 and lost only 3 games to earn a club record 81 points en route clinching their first and only Premier League title. 

Leicester City' squad in the 2015-16 Premier League

The Most Expensive Transfer in History

Football, the sport is what it is because of the amount of revenue it has been generating over the last few decades and professional players earning a hefty amount for showing their skills week in and week out. 

Footballers attracting "A huge amount of money" has been one of the reasons why players are now ready to leave their favourite clubs or leagues and play somewhere they can more money.

Neymar Jr, the Brazilian attracted people's eyes from his early days in Santos. He then was signed by FC Barcelona and played alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to create one of the most fearsome trios in football history. However, after spending four seasons with the Catalonian club, Neymar made a move to the French club Paris St. Germain (PSG) where he earned a record transfer fee of €222 million in August 2017.

Neymar's move to PSG from Barcelona for €222 million is still the most expensive transfer in football history as of August 2024.

The Messi-Ronaldo Era

Well, if you are writing about major football facts and you do not mention Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, you should either end up in jail or accept some huge punishments from the football fans. 

I waited till the last to mention these two greats because if we mentioned their moments created with goals, trophies or seasons, the list would have ended up being 10000 words long. That's why and rightly so, we mentioned the whole Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era as a significant football moment in the history of football.

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Since 2006, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo won a total of 77 trophies (Messi 44, Ronaldo 33). They scored fifty-plus goals in a season a record 13 times in their career (Messi 6 times, Ronaldo 7 times). They are the only two players to score over 800 official goals each in their careers for club and country.

They both have scored more than 100 goals in their international careers. Moreover, they dominated the Ballon d'Or winners list by not letting anyone other than themselves win the award from 2008 to 2017. The record was finally broken by Luka Modric of Croatia when he won the 2018 Ballon d'Or to announce "the end of an era".

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Both legends together won the European Golden Shoe award ten times (Messi 6 times, Ronaldo 4 times). Messi, the Barcelona legend is the top scorer in La Liga history while Ronaldo is the top scorer in UEFA Champions League history.

With both the players going beyond the prime, football is now back to normal where players scoring 30-40 goals are getting considered as the best in the world, again.

Managing a club and a country at the same time is indeed very hard. But, some of the managers were very comfortable doing that. AIFF appointed FC Goa boss Manolo Marquez as the head coach of the Indian Men’s National team after sacking Igor Stimac. He has previously managed Espanyol B and Las Palmas in Segunda Division and La Liga respectively. The Spaniard will coach the Blue Tigers and FC Goa at the same time. As Manolo Marquez will manage a club and a country at the same time, we'll look at the five managers who have done it in the past in this article on football facts.

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Football facts: Five managers who have coached Club and country at the same time

Rinus Michels (Barcelona and Netherlands)

Rinus Michels was one of the greatest managers of his time. He took charge of FC Barcelona after winning three European Cups with Ajax in 1971. He led the side to a La Liga title in 1973/74. Michels took over as manager of the Netherlands in 1974, before the World Cup in West Germany. The Dutches qualified for the final to face the hosts after defeating Argentina and defending champions Brazil. But, the Netherlands lost the final, and Rinus immediately left the job for his last year at Camp Nou. Michels later returned to the national team and won the UEFA Euro 1988.

Alex Ferguson (Aberdeen and Scotland)

Before joining Manchester United, Alex Ferguson managed Aberdeen and Scotland at the same time. Ferguson was a member of the national team’s coaching staff during the qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup. Manager Jock Stein collapsed and died at the end of the final group game but Scotland qualified for a play-off against Australia. Ferguson took control of the Scottish national team against Australia and then in the World Cup.

Scotland failed to progress from the group stage in the 1986 World Cup under Alex Ferguson. But, with Aberdeen, he was quite successful. He won the Scottish and League Cup in the 1985-86 season. Ferguson won 9 titles managing Aberdeen from 1978 to 1986 before joining Manchester United and becoming the most successful manager in the history of English football.

Guus Hiddink (PSV Eindhoven and Australia/Chelsea and Russia)

Dutch manager Guus Hiddink took over the managerial job of Russia in 2006 and took them to the Euro semifinals in 2008. He replaced Luiz Felipe Scolari in 2009 in Chelsea while managing Russia. The Dutchman took Chelsea to the Champions League semifinal and won the 2009 FA Cup.

In 2005 and 2006, he managed PSV Eindhoven and Australia simultaneously. He guided Australia to the World Cup finals for the first time in 32 years. Australia even qualified for the knockout rounds but lost to eventual winners Italy.

Leonid Slutsky (CSKA Moscow and Russia)

Leonid Slutsky was appointed as the Russian manager in 2015. The contract was until the end of UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying. He was also managing CSKA Moscow at the same time. Earlier, he had taken CSKA Moscow to the knock-out stage of the Champions League (2009) for the first time in the club's history.

He guided Russia to win the remaining matches of the qualifiers and to the finals. At the same time, he led CSKA to its third title in four years. Slutsky resigned from being the coach of the Russian team after a 3–0 loss to Wales in the UEFA Euro 2016 group stage.

Fatih Terim (Galatasaray and Turkey)

Fatih Terim managed Galatasaray four times and the Turkish National Team three times in his managerial career. In the third act, he managed the club and country at the same time. Galatasaray won its 18th league title with a scoreless draw against Fenerbahce. Galatasaray made a poor start to the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League season, losing the first two group matches in Group H, but they won three of their last four group matches to advance to the Round of 16. 

They faced Real Madrid in the quarter-finals and got knocked out of the competition. In the 2013-14 season after a poor start in both league and UCL, Terim decided to step down after so much controversy and drama. 

In August 2013, Terim was appointed interim manager of Turkey ahead of four critical 2014 World Cup UEFA Group D qualifying matches. Turkey won their next three qualifying matches but lost their last qualifying match against the Netherlands by 2–0 in Istanbul. Turkey finished fourth in Group D and failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals.

After leaving Galatasaray, Terim continued with the national team and took charge of Turkey in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers.