THE Champions League group stage returns for its second round of fixtures this week, as Europe’s giants go head-to-head once more.
Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City are in action tonight, before Manchester United, Celtic and Chelsea all play on Wednesday.
Of those six clubs, three of their bosses have a rich history in this competition… as a player, as well as a manager.
Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola all starred on the biggest stage and enjoyed great success as players.
But which other managers would make it into a best XI made up only of Champions League managers?
We take a look below, featuring a funky 5-4-1 diamond formation…
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GOALKEEPER
Senol Gunes
THE current Besiktas boss, Gunes spent 15 years playing at Turkish giants Trabzonspor.
The 31-cap Turkey international turned out just 17 times in Europe but did muster 470 appearances between the sticks in all competitions during his career.
His Besiktas team are paired up with Monaco, RB Leipzig and Porto in Group G in 2017-18.
DEFENCE
Sergio Conceicao, Massimo Carrera, Mauricio Pochettino, Darko Milanic, Giovanni van Bronckhorst
AS is very much the in-style thing to do, we're running with a pair of wing-backs... with star duo Van Bronckhorst and Conceicao getting the nod.
The Feyenoord boss spent his career at the club as a player, as well as turning out for Rangers, Arsenal and Barcelona.
Meanwhile, now-Porto boss Conceicao turned out for European giants including Lazio, Parma, Inter Milan and of course, the Portuguese side themselves.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the back-five, Spurs boss Pochettino - an ex-Paris Saint-Germain star - teams up with Spartak Moscow chief Carrera and Maribor man Milanic.
MIDFIELD
Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone, Antonio Conte, Zinedine Zidane
WHILE the defence looks strong, there is absolutely no doubting the fact the midfield is easily the strongest area of this XI.
Defensive-minded City boss Guardiola - who famously played for Barcelona - teams up with Blues man Conte and Atletico Madrid's Simeone in midfield.
The trio sit just behind Champions League icon Zidane in a star-studded quartet.
Zidane of course has won the Champione League trophy on three occasions - once as a player and twice as a manager, but all at Real Madrid.
STRIKER
Ernesto Valverde
FROM Madrid to Barcelona, the lone striker role goes to Nou Camp chief Valverde.
The centre-forward turned out for Espanyol, Barca and Athletic Bilbao amongst others during his career.
All in all, he netted 77 times in 320 games, before going into management in 2001.
Which Premier League striker has had the best start to the 2017-18 season? Find out here...
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