Klopp, Tuchel, Wagner? Who is the best ever German Premier League manager?

Seb Sternik
1 December 2021

Head coach of the Bundesliga team BVB Borussia Dortmund Juergen Klopp (L) and Ralf Rangnick (R), head coach of the Bundesliga team FC Schalke 04

Following his appointment as the new interim boss of Manchester United, Ralf Rangnick will join a short list of German managers to work in the Premier League.

Despite approaching its 30th year, the league has only ever seen six German managers - with Rangnick set to become the seventh. The 63-year-old has been given a six-month deal as he looks to bring the Red Devils out of their current rut.

As Rangnick prepares for the biggest job of his life, we dusted off the history books to look at all six German managers to have worked in the Premier League. To make things interesting, we've also given them a rating out of 10.

Felix Magath (Fulham 2014)

Let's begin with Felix Magath - the man who broke the glass ceiling and became the first German to manage in the Premier League.

With 11 games remaining of the 2013/14 season, Fulham - who were bottom - sacked Rene Meulensteen and his staff. Magath, who had been out of work for two years and never managed outside Germany, was quickly drafted in to try and fix the desperate situation at Craven Cottage.

The German was Fulham's third manager that season but despite being faced with a hopeless situation, the six-time Bundesliga winner (as player and coach) was adamant that survival was a realistic goal.

Magath's first game was against West Brom and his men certainly made a promising start, picking up a point at the Hawthorns.

Just two weeks later though, Magath suffered the most devastating defeat of his short reign as Fulham were thrashed 3-1 by their closest relegation rivals, Cardiff City.

Despite that seismic loss, Fulham did eventually begin to turn the corner. A 1-0 victory over Newcastle sparked a run which saw the club win three of their next five games. Fulham were now 18th and with four games to go, belief was growing at Craven Cottage.

However, the positivity didn't last long. Despite coming close to pulling off a miracle, Magath's men fell at the final four hurdles as a haul of two points from their remaining fixtures saw the club plunge into the Championship.

PREMIER LEAGUE RATING: 3/10

Magath's short stint in the Premier League ended in relegation but the 68-year-old deserves at least three points in our ranking for giving the Cottagers a glimmer of hope with his run of three wins from five.

Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool 2015-present)

When the curtain eventually comes down on Jurgen Klopp's time at Liverpool, you can rest assured that his era will be fondly remembered at Merseyside - at least the red side anyway.

The German took over the club in October 2015 and has since won four trophies - most notably ending Liverpool's 30-year wait for a Premier League crown.

When Klopp first arrived at Anfield, he inherited a team that was crumbling under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers.

It was a team in desperate need of fresh blood, new ideas and a manager who could change the culture within the changing room. Klopp did just that as he slowly moulded his squad into English, European and even World champions.

The 54-year-old has clocked 300-plus games as manager of Liverpool and has been able to maintain his winning percentage at around 60%. What's more, the Reds are arguably one of the Premier League's most entertaining sides having bagged over 70 goals in four of his last five seasons.

PREMIER LEAGUE RATING: 8/10

Klopp still has a long way to go before anyone can compare his achievements to the likes of Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly. Nevertheless, he gets a strong eight from us for rebuilding a sleeping giant.

Daniel Farke (Norwich City 2017-2021)

Daniel Farke's four-season spell at Carrow Road was full of ups and downs as he brought the club back to the big time but also failed to deliver stability in the Premier League.

His first season at the club was all about building the foundations for what was to come. Farke won 15 of 46 Championship games and finished 14th in what was a forgettable campaign.

The following year would certainly make up for any early disappointments. Farke claimed two Manager of the Month awards as he led the club to the league title and promotion. The Canaries scored 93 goals that season as the manager's attacking style began to reap rewards.

Farke decided to stick with the same offensively-minded tactics when the club entered the 2019/2020 Premier League season. Unfortunately for the German, his strategy backfired in a big way.

Norwich ended the season stone dead last with a mere 21 points to their name - 14 points from safety. The campaign had also been a disaster from a goalscoring perspective as the Canaries bagged just 26 goals; ten less than 19th-placed Watford and 14 fewer than Bournemouth who finished 18th.

Farke kept his job and a year later, he secured the club's immediate return to the Premier League. The German was rewarded with a new four-year-contract but just a few months after signing on the dotted line, he was sacked.

After 11 games of the season, Norwich were bottom of the table with only five points to their name. Despite leaving the club on the back of a poor run, Farke will be fondly remembered at Carrow Road.

PREMIER LEAGUE RATING: 1/10

If we were rating managers on their ability to win in the Championship, Farke would have scored 11. However, as we are looking at the Premier League only, the German can't realistically score any higher than a one.

Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea 2021-present)

Thomas Tuchel hasn't been in the Premier League for two minutes yet his impact has been emphatic.

The German arrived at Chelsea in January 2021 following the dismissal of club legend Frank Lampard. At the time, the Blues were sitting well outside of the top six after picking up just eight victories from 20 league outings.

Despite starting in late January and facing stiff competition for a top-four finish, Tuchel was able to deliver Champions League soccer after leading the Blues to 11 wins from 18 Premier League games.

If that wasn't enough, the 48-year-old helped the team to an FA Cup final appearance as well as the Champions League trophy.

As things stand, Tuchel's men are top of the Premier League and locked in a three-horse race to win the title. In fact, the German is fighting on all fronts and could realistically end the campaign with multiple trophies in the cabinet.

PREMIER LEAGUE RATING: 10/10

Tuchel is yet to put a foot wrong since arriving at Chelsea. How can he possibly score less than 10?

David Wagner (Huddersfield Town 2015-2019)

A 3-0 loss to Leeds, a 3-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday and a 2-0 loss to Middlesbrough. This was how life at Huddersfield began for David Wagner.

If you would have told Huddersfield fans - after that run of games - that they would be in the Premier League a couple of seasons later, many would have questioned your sanity.

The thought of Huddersfield Town mixing it up with the big boys was just as absurd as Leicester winning the Premier League. Yet somehow, life found a way of making both these absurdities come true in consecutive seasons.

After avoiding relegation in his first year at the John Smith's Stadium, Wagner masterminded a fifth-placed finish in the 2016/17 campaign. The team entered the play-offs as major underdogs but again, Wagner's men defied the odds by beating Reading in a penalty shootout and booking their spot in the world's biggest domestic league.

The task at hand was survival and Wagner got off to the perfect start as his men won their opening two games to proudly sit at the top of the standings.

Inevitably, the Terriers slowly descended down the table as the season continued. However, as the final round of games came to a close, the Yorkshire outfit were still four points clear of the relegation zone and could look ahead to another year of Premier League soccer.

As with all fairy tales, they must all ultimately come to an end. Following a dreadful start to the 2018/19 season, Huddersfield and Wagner parted ways - a move which closed an incredible chapter in the history of the club.

PREMIER LEAGUE RATING: 7/10

This may seem like a high rating for a manager who left his club bottom of the table. However, his achievement of keeping Huddersfield up during the 2017/18 season was on for the history books.

Jan Siewert (Huddersfield Town 2019)

Our Huddersfield tale doesn't end there. The final German Premier League manager on our list is Jan Siewert - the man who replaced David Wagner.

With the club rooted to the bottom of the standings, avoiding relegation would have required yet another Terriers miracle.

On this occasion though, Huddersfield were out of luck as Siewert lost 12 of the final 15 games and the club returned to the second tier.

Siewert stayed on as manager but after a poor start to the Championship season, he was replaced by Danny Cowley.

PREMIER LEAGUE RATING: 0/10

Siewert was dealt an impossible hand but what other rating could you give a manager who only produced one victory over his five-month spell in the Premier League?