You might think that, given the greatly expanded nature of Europe’s top club competition since 1992, heaping up a pile of victories wouldn’t be too tricky for a top manager. Group stage games against the likes of Qarabag (no offence) and Maribor (no offence) surely helps.
Yet it’s not that simple: to earn a spot here you don’t just need to be a successful manager, you need to be a survivor hardy enough to have fought your way to 18+ Champions League victories. Getting to the final every single year helps – but only one bloke seems capable of doing it. How mundane.
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