Best Coaches in Football Manager 2022 (FM22) Groups

[Dylan]

First, here's a tip for finding the best computer-generated coaches — the backroom staff that aren't real people but are created by Football Manager. Click staff, then staff search and go to search by attribute. Add the key attributes for the role you want (a full list of key attributes can be found here) and feast your eyes on the computer-generated coaches with incredible stats.

All of the people listed below begin each game save unemployed and are accessible if you begin a new game save with the following nations selected: England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Scotland and Portugal.

Best assistant managers​

Brian Kidd

Kidd represents excellent value, as he can comfortably lead training sessions on your behalf given that he's competent in a wide range of coaching attributes.

His low level of discipline score may appear concerning on the surface, but a workaround here would be if you have individual conversations with players who are not putting in the effort they should be in training. His 18/20 rating for judging player potential is also a nice bonus.



Peter Hermann

Hermann can be in charge of your team's style of play and how they operate in possession, thanks to his 16/20 mental rating, and his tactical knowledge makes him a smart choice for managers who often flick between two or three different formations.

He is also more than capable of analysing how good a young player can become, and can provide trusted feedback about the best players in your squad. His low adaptability score means you may have to be patient with him before you see his best work.

Best attacking coaches​

Fausto Salsano

Salsano's recent career history suggests he will only join top sides and that much is true in FM22. Not only is Salsano a qualified attack coach, but he also has strong enough tactical and technical attributes that he can be trusted to lead all aspects of attacking training sessions without much issue.

The most used formation in FM21 was a 4-2-3-1, which Salsano specialises in.



Raul Jose

A 19/20 rating for attacking means Raul Jose can't be overlooked as an option to help your forward-thinking players develop. He is also an astute technical coach, but less skilled on the tactical side of the game.

As a bonus, Raul Jose is also more likely to join a wider range of sides than our second here, which gives him an advantage over Salsano despite their similar attributes.

 

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Best defensive coaches​

Miguel Quaresma

Aside from being a highly qualified defensive coach, Quaresma has a high mental coaching attribute, which suggests he will be able to help teach the basics of defending as well as helping your side play out from the back with ease.

Given his proficiency and reputation, he will likely only joins sides competing for European places, but if you can find a way to bring him in, he is among the best available defensive specialists.



Robert Sara

Sara is more attainable than Quaresma and will likely join most teams in Europe's top five leagues.

His low mental coaching attribute means he may not be the best person to lead possession-based training sessions, but his motivation (17/20) and people management (15/20) point towards him being able to do a fine job.

Best fitness coaches​

Paco de Miguel

As we outlined in our guide to what every coach does, fitness coaches only need to specialise in fitness. They can have low scores everywhere else, which is the case with De Miguel, but that doesn't matter.

When it comes to fitness, he is one of the best available options and is often willing to join most first division teams in FM22.



Luca Iuliano

There really isn't much to separate De Miguel and Iuliano here. Both have the best possible fitness rating they can have and both are readily available for most top division teams.

De Miguel's mental attributes are slightly better than Iuliano's, which gives him a small edge, but both would be reliable as they have a 20/20 fitness rating.

 

[Dylan]

Best mentality coaches​

Tony McAndrew

McAndrew's attributes make him one of the best coaches across all departments who begins each FM22 game save without a club.

His 20/20 adaptability rating is as good as it gets. You can expect to sign him and see results straight away and the rest of his mental attributes are exactly what you'd want from a coach.



Joe Jordan

Most FM players opt for a gegenpress style of play, which means your team will need to be able to play out from the back. A coach with a good mental coaching attribute is capable of developing a strong style of play for your team to adopt, and that's something Jordan specialises in.

He also has respectable scores for determination. motivating and people management so can be trusted to get the best from players and not settle for the bare minimum.

Best tactical coaches​

Loris Beoni

Beoni spent 25 years working his way up from the lower rankings of Italian football to obtain coaching positions at Napoli and Juventus in the past few years. He is one of the best tactical minds without a club in FM22.

His favoured formation is a 4-2-3-1, making him the perfect fit for managers who use that formation.



Francesco Sarlo

Like Beoni, Sarlo favours a 4-2-3-1 formation. Unlike Beoni, he is far more adaptable (16/20), meaning he could transition more easily into any coaching unit around Europe.

His 16/20 tactical rating scratches the surface of what you might consider elite, so if you can't sign Beoni, Sarlo is a highly respectable fallback.

 

[Dylan]

Best technical coaches​

Dennis Bergkamp

Bergkamp was one of the most technically gifted players before he retired and those skills have translated seamlessly into his coaching ability.

He is an ideal fit to work with your attackers on their technical ability, as well as helping your penalty takers and free-kick takers become specialists too.



Ian Cathro

Cathro is one of Nuno Espirito Santo's trusted assistants who finds himself without a club following the Portuguese's dismissal from Spurs last year.

Tottenham's loss can be your gain, as he can be brought into lead set-piece training and be trusted to produce reliable results.

Best goalkeeping coaches​

Luigi Turci

The only stats that matter for a goalkeeping coach in FM22 is GK distribution, GK handling and GK shot-stopping. And Luigi Turci is proficient enough across those areas that he warrants consideration as a new addition to your coaching staff.

The pool of goalkeeping coaches is slightly thinner than elsewhere, but Turci is a strong enough option that he can be trusted to work with your very best shot-stoppers.



Alfred Dossou-Yovo

Dossou-Yovo's goalkeeping attributes sit on the cusp of what you might consider to be elite, but having 15/20 scores in key areas is no bad thing at all.

His ability to work with youngsters also makes him a smart choice to help nurture an upcoming goalkeeping prospect.

 

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Best picks for head of youth development​

Hermann Gerland

Gerland is arguably the best option on this entire list. He is likely to only join teams competing in Europe, but if you can secure his signature, he has everything you would want from a head of youth development.

His 20/20 ratings for working with youngsters and judging player potential increase the chances of you getting a batch of five-star rated youth players from your yearly youth intake.



Ramon Planes

Planes is a nice fallback to Gerland. If your back-up option "only" has a rating of 18/20 for working with youngsters, then that points towards them being highly skilled.

Unlike Gerland, Planes is more willing to join smaller sides and won't reserve his talents only for teams competing to win trophies in year one.

Best performance analysts​

Harrison Kingston

The number of high-level performance analysts who aren't already at a club in FM22 is a little thin, but Kingston represents good value here.

He ticks all the right boxes and has all the key attributes you would want having spent eight years working for Liverpool.



Pedro Boucas

Like Zanelli, Boucas lacks determination but has enough going for him on the data side of things that would be a solid choice for most sides.

He is also fairly attainable and can be signed without much difficulty, making him a smart selection for lower-ranked teams.