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Claudio Ranieri
The Leicester City boss is a strong contender to take home the top coach honour at the FIFA awards next January. Ranieri guided a team that was threatened by relegation just a season prior to the Premier League summit, helping the club win their first ever league title – a truly remarkable and unprecedented achievement.
Fernando Santos
The Portugal national team boss is another likely candidate for the award. He guided the Portugal side to their first ever major international trophy at the 2016 European Championship in France. His side endured a bad start but kept up a stoic defence to reach the European summit.
Luis Enrique
Enrique helped his team to a domestic double of the league title and the Copa del Rey. They successfully overcame a spirited challenge from Real Madrid for the league title, but couldn’t get past Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Nevertheless, doing the domestic double in a second successive season is no mean feat.
Zinedine Zidane
The Frenchman effectively managed for only half a season after being appointed manager following the sacking of Rafael Benitez at Real Madrid. However, it is hard to say that he has left any visible imprints of his own on the side despite their Champions League success.
Chris Coleman
The Welsh manager guided his national team to a successful qualification to the finals of Euro 2016 – their first major international tournament since the 1958 World Cup. And they didn’t disappoint at the tournament proper, going all the way to the semi-finals before losing to the eventual champions Portugal.
Didier Deschamps
The France national team boss guided his side to the final of the European Championship at home but couldn’t help them get the better of Portugal as Les Bleus succumbed to a 1-0 loss courtesy of a solitary strike from Eder. Had the French won the tournament Deschamps would have been a safe bet for The Best Coach honour.
Pep Guardiola
The Catalan manager ended his three-year stint at Bayern Munich with the Bundesliga title but he couldn’t add anymore to their trophy cabinet after losing to Borussia Dortmund in the final of the German Cup and to Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Mauricio Pochettino
The Argentine has completely transformed the mentality as well as the atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur and almost took them to the league title before Leicester sprinted away. Nevertheless, a top three finish was a remarkable achievement as it guaranteed a Champions League spot.
Diego Simeone
The Atletico Madrid boss has had better years at the Vicente Calderon. His side lost their second Champions League finals in three years to Real Madrid and their challenge fizzled away quite early in the league as well as in the Copa del Rey.
Jurgen Klopp
The Liverpool boss was in his first season in charge of the English giants and guided them to the final of the Europa Cup only to lose to Sevilla. He couldn’t guide his side to a European spot through the league route.
Wasi is a keen fan with loads of knowledge about the game. He has written for some of the world’s leading soccer websites and is a major Barcelona and Pune City FC fan. He loves the Champions League and watches 200+ EPL games & La Liga games per season.