UEFA Champions League: Power Ranking the Eight Quarterfinal Coaches

The UEFA Champions League quarterfinal pairings are set. Eight teams from seven countries will battle it out to reach the semifinals, taking one step closer to the final in Munich. 

The range of clubs across those seven countries (Cyprus, England, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain) also includes a range of managers with distinctly different European pedigrees. Some have been here before, either with their current clubs or another, and a handful have taken the title.

That makes ranking them difficult—the relative strengths of their teams matter, but so does their experience, or lack thereof, in this part of the competition. There are two distinct groups in this batch of managers: those that have, and those that have not.

Naturally, those that have are the cream of the crop, and those that have not inspire much less confidence. That doesn't preclude one or more of them from out-managing their opponent.

Jose Mourinho has two Champions League titles, though neither with Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola has the era's best team and two titles in the last four years. Jupp Heynckes of Bayern Munich and Didier Deschamps of Marseille each have a Champions League title to their names dating back to the 1990s and early '00s. 

Meanwhile, Massimiliano Allegri of Milan, Roberto Di Matteo of Chelsea, Ivan Jovanović of APOEL and Jorge Jesus of Benfica are in uncharted waters. 

8. Roberto Di Matteo

Not only is Roberto Di Matteo's CV among the weakest of the quarterfinal bunch, the Swiss-born Italian coach is new to his post at Chelsea.

So far, so good, though, with the Blues having turned around a disappointing run of form since Di Matteo took over for the sacked Andres Villas Boas. It's hard to suggest Di Matteo doesn't have the ability to coach at this level when Chelsea turned around a 3-1 first leg deficit against Napoli in the last round.

And let's not forget, Chelsea went all the way to the Champions League final in 2008 after a man with less pedigree than Di Matteo, Avram Grant, took over for Jose Mourinho. 

7. Ivan Jovanović

APOEL's Serbian manager, Ivan Jovanović has done wonders to get the small Cypriot club this far in the competition. As a top club in Cyprus, APOEL is a fixture in the Champions League qualification rounds, but had never before advanced into the knockout rounds.

The achievement is also the greatest of Jovanovic's career. Jovanović is on his second stint with APOEL, having bounced between the Cypriot and Greek leagues over the course of the last eleven seasons.

Jovanović comes in ahead of Roberto Di Matteo thanks to his greater experience (despite the relative weakness of the leagues in which he's coached, his accomplishments with a squad much weaker than Chelsea's, and his greater time at the helm with his current team. 

6. Jorge Jesus

If these power rankings were based on hair, Jorge Jesus of Benfica might come in at No. 1. As it is, the Portuguese coach is a toss up with AC Milan head man Massimiliano Allegri.

Jesus comes in behind Allegri thanks to the latter's slightly shorter rise to the top of his respective league, and the lack of Champions League experience for the Benfica manager.

Topping a group that included Manchester United is impressive, but Benfica lucked out a bit getting Zenit St. Petersburg in the last round. 

5. Massimiliano Allegri

Allegri has AC Milan top of Serie A and into the Champions League quarterfinals—a good performance for a young coach who has steadily risen up the ranks in Italy. What Allegri lacks in experience, he makes up for with his tactical acumen and squad management.

The Rossoneri man has the daunting task of leading his team past odds-on favorites Barcelona in the quarterfinals, but it seems clear he won't be daunted by the task.

As the pressure grows more intense, it's impossible to know how Allegri, as young and inexperienced as he is, will handle it. 

4. Didier Deschamps

Didier Deschamps' CV as a player well outstrips his record as a coach, but the Frenchman is no stranger to leading a team into the far reaches of the Champions League. He's one of four in the group with a final appearance to his name, having led Monaco the brink in 2004.

Monaco was Deschamps' first job after his retirement from playing, making the Champions League final appearance an incredible achievement. Monaco defeated Real Madrid and Chelsea on the way, before losing to Jose Mourinho's Porto. 

Deschamps has held just three managerial positions in his short coaching career, with a year at Juventus in Serie B following the Calciopoli scandal sandwiched between Monaco and Marseille. 

Since returning to France, Deschamps has led Marseille to a Ligue 1 title in 2010. 

3. Jupp Heynckes

Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes is far and away the most experienced manager in the quarterfinals (this also makes him the oldest), and has a European championship on his résumé from his time with Real Madrid in the late '90s.

The German has had reasonable success at most stops, and currently has Bayern Munich second in the Bundesliga standings and into the Champions League quarterfinals. The German club hit the round of eight of the European competition fresh off of a 7-0 dismantling of the Swiss club Basel.

Considering the drama surrounding Germany's most famous club in recent years (including Heynckes' short stint as interim manager in 2009), none of that was a given.

What Heynckes lacks in youthful exuberance, he more than makes up for with sheer breadth of experience.

2. Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola is the least experienced manager in the Champions League quarterfinals. He's only coached at Barcelona, obviously benefits from the system and wealth of talent at his disposal, and has never faced serious questions about his ability to do the job.

But it's still impossible to rate him any lower than second in the group of coaches remaining in the Champions League, simply because of all that he's accomplished since taking over at the Camp Nou in 2008. 

Pep already has two Champions League titles, three consecutive La Liga championships, and is known as the steward of one of the greatest teams the world has ever seen. Whether or not he wins another trophy from here on out, his amazing record speaks for itself.

1. José Mourinho

"The Special One" in the top spot of the power rankings is hardly a surprise. Recognized as one of the modern era's best tactical minds, Mourinho's two Champions League titles and six league titles speak for themselves.

Mourinho just wins, wherever he goes. That he's also one of the most fascinating men in world football is just an added bonus.

Mourinho's time at Real Madrid has not been without struggle. The Portuguese manager has lived in the shadow of the great Barcelona teams since arriving in Spain, fighting to bring his club to the top of the domestic and European competitions.

With a Real Madrid-Barcelona final and a chance to exorcise recent demons in sight, it would be foolish to bet against Mourinho.