Klopp next: Ranking the last 10 ex-Premier League bosses to step into international management
Jurgen Klopp is set to take charge of Germany for his return to management, two years after he rode off into the sunset at Liverpool.
It’ll be a first taste of international management for the former Mainz and Borussia Dortmund boss, but there was always an inkling that he’d end up in charge of his country one day.
Ahead of Klopp getting to work, we’ve ranked the last 10 former Premier League managers (not counting caretakers) to make their first venture into international management.
10) Chris Hughton (Ghana)
Hughton had been out of work for 18 months when he got the Ghana job in February 2023, in a move reflecting his father’s heritage.
Previously a Premier League manager for Newcastle United, Norwich and Brighton, Hughton failed to last 12 months in charge of Ghana.
An exit in the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations prompted his sacking in January 2024, leaving with a 31% win rate.
9) Frank de Boer (Netherlands)
Crystal Palace’s appointment of De Boer in 2017 was one of the most disastrous in Premier League history, with the club backtracking after just five games.
After a year out of the game, he returned to management in MLS with Atlanta United, before becoming Netherlands boss in September 2020.
He lasted longer than he did at Palace, but didn’t fare much better, becoming the first Netherlands manager to fail to win any of his first four games in charge.
A round of 16 exit at the delayed Euro 2020 was the end of the road for De Boer, who has since only managed Al Jazira in the UAE for a brief period.
8) Graham Potter (Sweden)
After his dreadful spell with Chelsea and not-much-better tenure with West Ham, Potter may have felt he just needed to get out of England to revive his once-promising managerial career.
Thus, in October, he headed back to the country where he started to make a name for himself as a manager: Sweden.
Having previously inspired Ostersund from the fourth tier all the way to the Europa League until he left for Swansea in 2018, Potter was appointed as Sweden’s manager with the aim of sneaking into the World Cup through the Nations League backdoor on the back of a disastrous qualification campaign.
He achieved that, but Sweden were knocked out by France in the round of 32. By then, though, he had already earned a contract extension until 2030.
7) Gus Poyet (Greece)
Poyet had a year and a half in charge of Sunderland between 2013 and 2015, before a range of short stints across the globe.
In February 2022, he got the Greece job, having previously managed AEK Athens in the same country.
Poyet actually won more than half of his 22 matches in charge and won a Nations League promotion, but crucially lost a play-off for Euro 2024 qualification, which prompted Greece to let his contract expire.
6) Jesse Marsch (Canada)
Marsch’s first managerial job after his sacking by Leeds United has been to take charge of Canada.
He inspired them to their first ever World Cup knockout stage win – but it was one they would have been predicted to get, against South Africa – before their elimination at the hands of Morocco in the round of 16.
Marsch signed a four-year contract with Canada before the World Cup, which will take him to the next one.
5) Carlo Ancelotti (Brazil)
One thing former Chelsea and Everton manager Ancelotti had never done across his illustrious coaching career was take charge of a country, until he left Real Madrid for the Brazil job in May 2025.
Before their World Cup exit at the hands of Norway, his record included 10 wins from 16 games. It’s now 10 from 17.
In terms of his whole career, he’s probably the best manager here, but not managing to get Brazil to the quarter-finals has to be seen as a failure by his and their standards.
4) Mauricio Pochettino (USA)
Since leaving Spurs in 2019, Pochettino hasn’t quite found the magic it felt like he had there.
He won Ligue 1 with PSG but left the club soon after, and only lasted a season at Chelsea.
His move into international management with the USA in September 2024 was a left-field turn, but he still has them in contention at the World Cup they’re co-hosting.
3) Steve Clarke (Scotland)
Clarke’s spell with Scotland has just come to an end but he should be able to reflect on it with pride.
During his seven-year reign, the former West Brom boss led Scotland to their first Euros in 25 years and first World Cup in 28 years.
They didn’t make much of an impression at any of the three major tournaments he led them in, but just being there was an achievement, as was their promotion in the 2022-23 Nations League.
No individual has managed Scotland in more games than Clarke, who helped them punch above their weight.
Definitely not a better manager than Ancelotti or Pochettino, we stress, but he performed better against expectations in the international job he took.
2) Thomas Tuchel (England)
Faced with the task of replacing one of their longest-serving managers after Gareth Southgate’s exit, England opted for former Chelsea boss Tuchel, who officially started his work in January 2025.
Tuchel has a record of 15 wins from 19 games so far, the most recent being an impressive victory over Mexico on their own turf to put England into the World Cup quarter-finals.
It hasn’t all been an easy ride and he will be judged on how long England can remain at the World Cup, but they remain on track under his watch so far.
1) Roberto Mancini (Italy)
The manager who won Manchester City’s first Premier League title, Mancini went on to manage clubs in Turkey, Italy and Russia before his country came calling in 2018.
The highlight of Mancini’s five-year reign with Italy was them winning Euro 2020, but their failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup was a blot on his record.
Still, a win rate of 61% is the second best of his career, behind only his first spell with Inter Milan.
Mancini must have got a taste for international football, as his next job was to take charge of the Saudi Arabia national team. He has recently been linked with a return to the Italy job too after another failed World Cup qualification attempt suggested it might not have all been his fault after all.
As the only manager here to win a major trophy with the country he took charge of – so far – he tops the list.
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