The 20 Premier League managers - ranked on their professor suitability
By Sean Walsh
Speaking after Brazil's win against Tunisia, Richarlison described Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte as a 'professor' without prompt.
It's high praise from the forward, who's clearly been impressed by the Italian's attention to detail during his brief time at Spurs.
But it got the ol' brain juices flowing - which managers really would be suiting to becoming a professor?
Here's a ranking of the 20 Premier League bosses, anyways...
20. Gary O'Neil
Club: AFC Bournemouth (interim)
Specialised subject: He's just the supply teacher
Teaching style: Not his problem
I'm sure Gary O'Neil's a smart guy, but he's the only person on this list whose job isn't permanent, so he's dead last I'm afraid.
19. Jurgen Klopp
Club: Liverpool
Specialised subject: Asthmatics
Teaching style: Too many hugs, not enough learning
Fun fact - Jurgen Klopp has never worn a suit in his life. Don't check that, you can trust me. It's true. He's not cut out for the professor life.
18. Steve Cooper
Club: Nottingham Forest
Specialised subject: Celebration Police Academy
Teaching style: The more students, the merrier
You having fun there, Steve? Teaching all 700 of your new students not to juggle? Didn't think so.
17. Steven Gerrard
Club: Aston Villa
Specialised subject: Scouse 101
Teaching style: No lesson plan, just intense staring
Believe me, it took great restraint to not to shove a 'yeeee course' joke in here needlessl- oh, never mind.
16. Eddie Howe
Club: Newcastle United
Specialised subject: PE
Teaching style: Dodges all the hard questions
Eddie Howe's smile never feels sincere and he is a master at evading tricky questions. Not sure how well that translates into the teaching world.
15. Brendan Rodgers
Club: Leicester City
Specialised subject: Life Philosophy
Teaching style: Friend first, boss second, entertainer third
Big Brendy has a soft, soothing voice and a track record in the game. He also resembles a certain sitcom character in more ways than one.
14. Jesse Marsch
Club: Leeds United
Specialised subject: The First Amendment
Teaching style: Patriotic
Jesse Marsch has managed to at least somewhat shake off the Ted Lasso tag. But not completely.
13. Marco Silva
Club: Fulham
Specialised subject: 107 years of Greek history taught in 106
Teaching style: Naive
Could you trust a professor whose hair slightly resembles Snake's from The Simpsons? Well, more so than seven others on this list, anyway.
12. Bruno Lage
Club: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Specialised subject: Wolf-taming
Teaching style: 'Release the hounds'
Bruno Lage is helped out by his long and gangly figure, which would easily command the respect of a lecture theatre.
11. David Moyes
Club: West Ham United
Specialised subject: Finding yourself in Spain
Teaching style: Gets quite stale but refuses to change
Luckily for David Moyes, he's managed to ditch his tag as a complete loser since his Manchester United days. Now he's just a regular loser like many other Premier League managers.
10. Ralph Hasenhuttl
Club: Southampton
Specialised subject: Bouncing back from total humiliation
Teaching style: In a full suit with trainers and a waistcoat
"So Ralph, how does it feel to move into teaching and never have to lose a game of football 9-0 again?"
"Superb. How do you think it feels?"
9. Frank Lampard
Club: Everton
Specialised subject: Pretty much anything, he's a smart chap!
Teaching style: No but seriously he'd need to adjust his mindset
It's well-documented by now that Frank Lampard was rather book-smart. Whether he still is after some tough stints as a manager is another thing.
8. Roberto De Zerbi
Club: Brighton & Hove Albion
Specialised subject: 2000s hairstyles
Teaching style: Progressive
From the makers of the Marco Silva/Snake joke comes the newest instalment: could you trust a professor who looks like he's drawn his beard on?
7. Antonio Conte
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Specialised subject: Suffering
Teaching style: Non-stop fidgeting
Ah, we come to the man that inspired this article. In hindsight, Conte doesn't feel like that much of a professor from the outside looking in.
6. Thomas Frank
Club: Brentford
Specialised subject: Beekeeping
Teaching style: Mad scientist vibes
Hang on, let me just run 'Back to the Future' through Google translate...
'Tilbage til Fremtiden'. Man, these jokes write themselves sometimes.
5. Patrick Vieira
Club: Crystal Palace
Specialised subject: Invincibility
Teaching style: Why is there a live eagle in the classroom?
Patrick Vieira must have picked up a thing or two under Arsene Wenger, AKA 'Le Professeur'. That's 'the professor' for those who don't speak French.
4. Erik ten Hag
Club: Manchester United
Specialised subject: Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics
Teaching style: Plagiarised
Erik ten Hag might know everything about football ever. He's managed to make a short centre-back look competent in the Premier League.
3. Graham Potter
Club: Chelsea
Specialised subject: The joys of Scandinavian life
Teaching style: Professional
If Graham Potter's life was turned into a Hollywood film, he would be portrayed by Brad Pitt and always be seen in a tweed jacket. No, I will not elaborate.
2. Mikel Arteta
Club: Arsenal
Specialised subject: Motivational speaking
Teaching style: A bit too literate
Mikel Arteta will certainly get you hyped to learn, but boy would his methods be unorthodox. A man who brought out a lightbulb and Thomas Edison in a pre-match team talk would hit new levels of weirdness in an educational environment.
1. Pep Guardiola
Club: Manchester City
Specialised subject: Literally everything
Teaching style: Intense
"I am so happy to transition into teaching. More than you believe. We cannot compete with Oxford and Cambridge. They are so good."