The game has undoubtedly come a long way on a physical and technical level, but perhaps modern coaches could learn a thing or two from their predecessors.
So with that being said, what can be learnt from the past and what are the root problems with modern coaches?
Prime Ferguson, Mourinho and Ancelotti were all adaptable
Whilst Carlo Ancelotti has had great recent success, the Italian was also a key player in the coaching world in the early 2000s.
With a certain Pep Guardiola starting to make a name for himself, Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Ancelotti were under threat from a new footballing philosophy that was about to revolutionise the game.
However, as the great managers that they were, they didn't rip up their playbook or attempt to mirror Guardiola's style of football. Instead, they made small adjustments to an already winning formula to avoid becoming stale.
For example, Ferguson was the manager of a club in Manchester United that had a DNA of attacking football in a league known for its direct style of football. Therefore, he played a brand of football that both appeased the fans and considered the type of opposition he was facing.
Ferguson used his one-of-a-kind man management skills to get the best out of every individual, however talented or limited they were as footballers. He was fearless in his confidence in youth, and most importantly of all, he adapted from game to game and season by season. He was a pragmatist.
When he saw the game developing, he wasn't scared to make adjustments to his formation or tactics, and when he felt even a hint of his squad becoming stale, he wasted no time in rebuilding it.
Ferguson also became notorious for making game-changing and often match-winning substitutions. Great managers don't just tweak things after a bad result; they attempt first to prevent that result from happening.
Ancelotti, meanwhile, has always been very adaptable. Yes, he has a favoured formation and way of playing, but he isn't stubborn for stubborn's sake. The Italian hasn't won all he has won in different countries with the same rigid style.
He adapts depending on his squad and the league he is coaching in, as he recognises you can't play the same way in Italy as you can in Spain, just like you can't expect the same from Everton players as the Real Madrid Galacticos.
Then you have Mourinho, and you might be thinking, 'didn't he just have one very effective style that worked in an era of football completely different to the one we see today?'
The answer is actually no.
Mourinho did change his formation during his incredibly successful first stint at Chelsea within the same 2004/05 season.
These legendary coaches each had their own philosophies and tactics, but what they had in common was equally important to their success. Being great with people as a sports coach is one of the skills that sets you apart from your peers.
They were also adaptable in every aspect of coaching, and they weren't afraid to admit something wasn't working. They made changes. They evolved.
Successful coaches in 2025 continue to be adaptable
Over the last 20 years, football has undergone significant changes. The game has become far more tactical and data-driven, and both coaches and players are far more professional on and off the pitch.
Guardiola has gone from being the pretender to the throne in the early 2000s to the king of the managerial kingdom today. So much so, a wave of young coaches haven't just taken inspiration from him but have, in many cases, copied and pasted his style.
That proved to be effective (on the main) until quite recently, when football underwent its latest evolution.
There has been a shift to this more direct way of playing across Europe recently, and the coaches who have recognised that and adapted accordingly have reaped the rewards; others have stubbornly stuck to their principles (or Guardiola's principles).
The managers who have seen that football is becoming more physical, more direct and less robotic are the ones who have succeeded.
Luis Enrique and Mikel Arteta scream out as two traditionally Pep-influenced coaches who adapted to the changing circumstances.
Luis Enrique's PSG are a very technical side, but they were most devastating in the Champions League last season when they hit teams at pace with Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Enrique is and always will be a system-first coach, and whilst he demands his attackers to work just as hard out of possession as in possession, he encourages his players to have freedom to express themselves on the ball. That has been a clear adaptation to his previously more rigid style.
Arteta, in a slightly different way, has recognised the importance of height and physicality in a Premier League that is becoming incredibly physical.
So the Spaniard has brought in big, strong players across Arsenal's back line and moved away from inverted full-backs in the Oleksandr Zinchenko mould, and altered his tactics to play more direct and feed his new modern-day centre forward, Viktor Gyokeres.
In fact, this has been a common theme across several teams in the Premier League.
Ironically, Guardiola himself has recognised this shift and has changed his style quite dramatically to what Guardiola-ball has ever looked like before. He has started to prioritise Erling Haaland's strengths by asking his players to play more long balls in behind and essentially letting a freak of nature do the rest.
Pep clones or otherwise - a new wave of coaches fail to adapt
However, not all head coaches are so keen to adapt, and that is holding them back. The name Ruben Amorim comes to mind as a prime example of a manager so stuck in his ways that he openly refuses to change.
Manchester United's most recent game against Sunderland might have been a hint towards him finally adapting and tweaking his system, but it had been staring him in the face for some time.
Nobody is asking him to throw his whole philosophy out of the window, but adapting to a new league feels like a no-brainer. Amorim's response to journalists asking if he will adapt, though?
"No. Not even the Pope can make me change."
Stubbornness might be praised by some, but in the unique world of football management, it feels flawed.
Take Russell Martin as a case study of the stubborn modern coach who plays out from the back and attempts to play pretty football with a technically limited group of players.
It was a style that saw Southampton get promoted because they weren't punished by Premier League quality players or pressed effectively by top systems.
So when they came up to the top division and he refused to change his approach against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, his outfit were exposed and punished devastatingly.
Whether it was pure arrogance or naivety, it is hard to know. One thing that is for certain, though, this copycat approach to management has to stop.
And if you aren't capable of that, at least realise that the man you are trying to copy has adapted his style.
Another supposed elite coach who is at risk of finding himself in deep water if he doesn't adapt soon is Hansi Flick. His insanely high line is thrilling to watch, and it was largely effective last season.
Like Luis Enrique, Flick was smart to bring back individualism to a sport that was becoming robotic. He let Raphinha and Lamine Yamal express themselves in the final third with a high and wide approach, using the offside trap and a sweeper keeper to great effect.
It wasn't faultless, though, and it resulted in a lot of high-scoring games; Barcelona just had a knack for outscoring their opposition. This season, however, teams have cottoned on to Flick's system and are exposing his high line time and again.
The last two matches against PSG and Sevilla should worry Barcelona's supporters. The Catalan giants were lucky to walk away with just a 2-1 defeat against an injury-hit PSG in the Champions League before being humiliated by Sevilla 4-1 in LaLiga just a few days later.
Flick must alter his system soon or risk his second season ending similarly in trajectory to how it went at Bayern Munich in his managerial past.
Because as much as football has evolved, past and present-day examples tell us that adaptation is no bad thing. In fact, the best coaches are the ones brave enough to adapt their previously winning formula.
Football is always changing, and if you don't move with the times, you will soon become yesterday's man.
The key is to stay relevant today, tomorrow and in a decade. Few have achieved it, but those who have are immortalised as managerial greats.