UK workers choose Conte over Mourinho as ideal boss

Jose Mourinho may have ended the season with two major trophies following last week’s Europa League Final win, but his management style has divided opinion among fans and the media throughout the season. Now UK workers say his characteristics would make him a nightmare boss.

A survey commissioned by leading jobs board totaljobs asked employees what qualities make for a good and bad manager. Workers were then asked which characteristics they associate with a series of famous football managers to establish a Boot Room to Boardroom Index table of which ones would be best prepared to make a move into a traditional office environment.

Mourinho came dead last on the list of 20 managers, making him the only person whose negative characteristics were deemed to outweigh the positive. While respondents agreed the boss is undeniably successful (47%), almost one in three said he was arrogant, which cost him any chance of making top of the list.

Coming as the favourite, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was described by respondents as successful (39%), passionate (30%) and ambitious (27%), all of which were seen as winning traits for bosses. Despite being fired earlier this year, Claudio Ranieri took second place for his part in leading Leicester to victory in the 2016 UEFA Champions League, being described as successful (31%), passionate (26%) and humble (24%).

Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp was named as the most charismatic manager on the list (32%), while Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger ranked highest for loyalty (28%), though he only placed 14^th overall.

Boot Room to Boardroom table
1 Antonio Conte
2 Claudio Ranieri
3 Jurgen Klopp
4 Gareth Southgate
5 Mauricio Pochettino
6 Chris Coleman
7 Pep Guardiola
8 Martin O’Neill
9 Rafael Benitez
10 Harry Redknapp
11 Ronald Koeman
12 Brendan Rodgers
13 Sir Alex Ferguson
14 Arsene Wenger
15 Gordon Strachan
16 Roy Hodgson
17 Fabio Capello
18 Sven Goran Erikkson
19 Sam Allardyce
20 Jose Mourinho

To see the full infographic with findings from the survey, visit totaljobs.com/insidejob/boot-room-boardroom-index