World Football: Power Ranking Europe's Most Desirable Coaching Vacancies

Some of European football's most prestigious managerial jobs have been vacated over the last month.

Sir Alex Ferguson's long-held role at Manchester United was not long empty, with David Moyes promptly chosen to replace his compatriot. Others have not been filled so quickly, including the latter's former job at Everton.

Ranking the most desirable coaching jobs in Europe is no easy task, what with the situation surrounding several of them being in a constant state of flux right now.

High profile roles at Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan could become available within days. Several already vacant ones that feature on this list are seemingly (according to reports listed within the slide) on the verge of being filled themselves.

Only confirmed vacancies have been ranked here. The criteria behind the list includes recent form, finances, current players and different aspects of club history.

Ultimately, though, the most desirable of the jobs has come down to this writer's judgement. Your opinion may differ.

Though if you think Stoke City is a better job than Real Madrid, you are probably a Potters fan.

9. Malaga

Malaga would almost certainly have been higher on this list if not for the uncertainty that surrounds the club right now.

Owner Abdullah Al Thani's failure to pay outstanding debts at the club has been an ongoing issue for some time, as this Daily Mail story from December 2012 details.

It has contributed to a situation where coach Manuel Pellegrini's vision of the club's future direction is not being satisfied by the reality. As BBC Sport was among those reporting this week, the 59-year-old has chosen to part ways with the club.

Potentially, some of the team's best players could follow him through the exit door, too, with Isco already being linked in the Daily Mail with Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Yet not every player is going to leave. In the right hands, the remnants of this season's Champions League quarter-finalists could still have a decent season next time around.

If nothing else, it is a challenge for an incoming coach, perhaps one with something to prove.

Making his job a little easier will be UEFA's decision to lift the second suspended year on the club's European competition ban. According to ESPN FC, Malaga are "confident that CAS would force the entire suspension to be lifted, allowing the team to play in Europe next season."

8. Stoke City

Tony Pulis leaving Stoke City was surprising, even considering their underwhelming late-season form.

His second spell at the club lasted seven years, most of it spent in the Premier League. The first major downturn in form has seen Pulis jettisoned, with the Potters seeking a new outlook from the man in charge.

The replacement will be charged with maintaining the stability provided by Pulis’ pragmatic approach, but achieving it with a more palatable brand of football.

Implementing this will take time. The Stoke squad is still primarily geared up for the physical and largely direct style that has worked so well for them. Big overnight changes are not needed. Rather, Stoke could do with incremental ones that can take the team forward without forsaking the toughness that has kept them in the top-flight since 2008.

Stoke is not a particularly glamorous job, but with Premier League football immediately on offer, it is a good one.

Player-wise, captain and central defender Ryan Shawcross, as well as the incoming Jack Butland, are among the standouts to be utilized.

Also, the Britannia Stadium is one of England’s most atmospheric grounds. Up until this most recent campaign it was a fortress, too, with few visiting sides leaving there with the points.

With careful management, it could become one again.

7. Everton

The standards set by David Moyes on Merseyside will be hard for his replacement to live up to.

Everton’s long-serving boss did a consistently solid job with relatively limited resources. Much of the impressive squad Moyes assembled is likely to remain, but keeping them in the top-six will be no small task.

That challenge has considerable appeal, though. Bringing relative success to one of English football’s traditional ‘big’ clubs could potentially be a career-defining job—as it has proven to be with Moyes.

As for the more immediate practicalities of the Goodison Park gig, it might encompass losing one or two of the club's top players almost straight away (Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines are almost certain to attract interest from elsewhere).

On the other hand, players like Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin and Tim Howard provide welcome senior leadership and proven quality. Considerable young talent in the form of Seamus Coleman and Ross Barkley is also available to select.

A few careful, select additions could be more than enough for this team to maintain its levels of seasons past.

6. Real Sociedad

Currently locked in a dead heat with Valencia for La Liga's fourth place, Real Sociedad occupy sixth on this list on the basis that they may yet qualify for the 2013-14 Champions League.

However, it does say something about the limitations of the Sociedad job that even on the verge of making Europe's premier club competition, their manager is about to leave.

According to ESPN FC, Philippe Montanier is leaving for a job back home in France with Stade Rennes, having chosen the offer of a three-year deal over the one available at the Anoeta.

The truth is that the Basque Country club are still establishing themselves back in Spain's top-flight following their promotion for the 2010-11 campaign.

Relative safety in the upper reaches of the table is nothing to be sniffed at—even if there is little glitz and glamor to go with it.

Deportivo La Coruna have struggled at the bottom of La Liga since being promoted back. Sociedad have done well to push on beyond that since their return.

How they would deal with the demands of league commitments and a Champions League campaign is unclear. But there are going to be more than a few managers who would fancy a crack at testing their capabilities, especially in the latter.

5. Werder Bremen

Off the back of this season’s Champions League final featuring Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, there is plenty of hype about the Bundesliga being the place to be in European football right now.

Any coaches who consider this true might be eyeing up the vacancy at Werder Bremen right now.

Thomas Schaaf parted ways with Bremen last week after 14 years as manager, which included a title win in 2003-04. Under Schaaf’s management, Bremen were one of four clubs (along with Kaiserslautern, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg) to break the Dortmund/Bayern duopoly of the past 20 years.

Breaking it again will prove difficult, given the increasing power of the Munich giants in particular. However, it is a source of prestige few others in Germany can claim to have achieved, providing at least one source of separation in one of the continent’s most competitive leagues.

Bremen are a little way removed from the days when players the calibre of Johan Micoud, Ailton and Mesut Ozil strode the Weserstadion pitch.

Still, despite their recent experience of lower-table mediocrity, restoring Die Werderaner to one of the Bundesliga’s genuine contenders will hold a lot of charm for some managers out there.

4. Napoli

That Napoli is one of European football’s most desirable jobs again is down to the remarkable turnaround that has been engineered there over the last decade.

President Aurelio De Laurentiis has played a crucial role in this and will be seeking to appoint someone capable of continuing the fine work of the departing Walter Mazzarri.

Having just enjoyed their highest Serie A finish (second) since the days of Diego Maradona, the Azzurri are at something of a crossroads. Without Mazzarri, and facing the possible departure of goal machine Edinson Cavani, repeating this season’s successes will not be easy.

The last time they qualified for the Champions League they followed it up with a disappointing fifth-place finish. The Guardian has it that Edin Dzeko will replace the Uruguayan as part of an exchange deal, but Napoli will also have to contend with a target on their backs again.

They are more experienced than before, though. Christian Maggio, Gokhan Inler and talisman Marek Hamsik are among the quality players still on the books.

Provided with suitable backing in the transfer market by De Laurentiis, the new manager could possibly put together the best team in Serie A outside of Juventus. Given the difficulties the Milanese giants have endured of late, now might be the time Napoli can consolidate.

3. Chelsea

As we reach the upper end of these rankings, the common theme uniting several of these clubs is the lack of job security.

The twisted logic of Chelsea and Roman Abramovich’s continued rotation of managers could be about to reach a ridiculous zenith with the reported reappointment of Jose Mourinho, according to the Daily Express.

It is easy to see why Mourinho (if it proves to be him) is contemplating a return to Stamford Bridge, beyond his emotional attachment.

The Blues have kept winning in his absence, backed by Abramovich’s millions. Reliable winners like Petr Cech and Frank Lampard remain, augmented by sparkling young talent including David Luiz, Oscar and Juan Mata.

With such quality at his disposal, the new Chelsea manager also has a favourably changing landscape of English football on which to make an impact.

Along with an accompanying European pedigree, Chelsea’s potential upside is about as high as it has been since Abramovich’s takeover in 2003.

2. Manchester City

The “changing landscape of English football” alluded to on the previous page of course refers to the absence of one Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

No club will relish the successful Scotsman’s absence more than their “noisy neighbours” Manchester City.

United are not going anywhere soon, with a strong squad and a capable new manager in David Moyes who will at least keep them competitive. But with Ferguson’s know-how no longer being applied, the emerging power across town will feel that now is the optimal time to establish themselves as England’s dominant side.

The next Man City manager—whether the incoming Manuel Pellegrini, as The Guardian has it, or someone else—could not ask for much more to work with.

Most of Roberto Mancini’s title-winning team remains. Despite failing to deliver in 2012-13, that is still a group of players possessing some considerable talent—Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Sergio Aguero, to name a few.

While Chelsea feels very much like the plaything of Abramovich, the feeling about City is that there is a more collaborative culture (so long as you do well enough, as Mancini’s firing demonstrated).

The philosophy of the club is only in the process of being established at a level akin to that at United and Barcelona. Anyone who can establish a working relationship with sporting director Txiki Begiristain (formerly of Barca) will have the resources and personnel to build something that goes beyond European shores in size and stature.

It is a project that may bring with it many demands, but the potential rewards are even greater.

1. Real Madrid

Considering how good a project Manchester City is, how come they are not No. 1 on this list?

Well, because the Real Madrid job is available.

In some respects, managing Los Blancos is about as nightmarish a job any manager could contemplate.

The bafflingly strong outside media influence, a fanbase that demands perfection and the convoluted politics of a hierarchy that is seemingly working against as much as it is for each other—who would want to deal with that!?!

To win at Real Madrid, though, is to achieve glory of a specialized variety, comparable to only a few of football's most storied clubs. Developed though it is by propaganda and bias throughout the years, it has established a certain truth.

It is the club of Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Hugo Sanchez and Raul. The chance to coach current stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas to the levels of these greats is something hardly anyone could turn down.

It is why Jose Mourinho left Internazionale so readily after winning a historic treble. It is why according to BBC Sport Carlo Ancelotti asked to leave the enviable project of Paris Saint-Germain to try his luck at the Bernabeu.

The Italian's appointment may be inevitable. But until confirmed or otherwise, Europe's most desirable coaching vacancy is at Real Madrid.