Bossing it early: Mikel Arteta and the world's best young managers

Evening Standard

·26 September 2024

Bossing it early: Mikel Arteta and the world's best young managers

The Arsenal manager is leading the new crop of youthful head coaches

From the youngest-ever Premier League manager to the nephew of a European great, managers are getting younger and Mikel Arteta is at the forefront.

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Here, Standard Sport lists the best bosses under the age of 45...

Xabi Alonso

Hired by Bayer Leverkusen in October 2022, when the club was fighting relegation from the Bundesliga, the Spaniard led them to the domestic double a year later. Leverkusen did not lose a single game on their way to becoming Bundesliga champions and their only defeat was in the Europa League final.

51 - The number of games Bayer Leverkusen went unbeaten last season before losing to Atalanta in the Europa League final.

AFP via Getty Images

Ruben Amorim

Appears destined for one of Europe’s big clubs after an impressive stint with Sporting Lisbon. The 39-year-old won the Portuguese top-flight for the second time in four years last season and has earned rave reviews for the attacking style of football he plays.

96 - Goals scored by Sporting in the league last year, their best tally since the 1973-74 season.

Mikel Arteta

Excelled after being given his first managerial job by Arsenal in December 2019. The Spaniard won the FA Cup in his first season but then endured a rocky patch. Has since led Arsenal to two successive second-place finishes behind Manchester City in the Premier League.

169 - The number of games it took Arteta to reach 100 Premier League wins, 10 matches fewer than Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Sebastian Hoeness

The nephew of Bayern Munich legend Uli Hoeness has worked wonders at Stuttgart and is now on the radar of top clubs. The 42-year-old led Stuttgart to second in the Bundesliga last season, finishing above Bayern Munich, as they qualified for the Champions League.

14 - Stuttgart had not played in the Champions League for 14 years until Hoeness guided them there in May.

Fabian Hurzler

Brighton were never likely to make a conventional appointment following Robert De Zerbi’s exit this summer, but the arrival of 31-year-old Hurzler from St Pauli was still a long way out of left field. The German has made a fine start at the Amex, though, named Premier League manager of the month for August.

5 - The number of players in Brighton’s squad who are older than their manager (James Milner, Jason Steele, Danny Welbeck, Joel Veltman and Lewis Dunk).

Adam Davy/PA Wire

Kieran McKenna

After leading Ipswich to back-to-back promotions to reach the Premier League, there were fears the fairytale would be cut short this summer as Chelsea, Manchester United and Brighton eyed up 38-year-old McKenna. The Englishman, though, signed a new deal that has him already among the country’s best-paid managers.

193 - Goals scored by McKenna’s Ipswich in just 92 matches across their League One and Championship promotion campaigns.

Thiago Motta

Once ridiculed for talking up a 2-7-2 formation (he was including the goalkeeper as part of the midfield), Motta is now regarded as one of the most tactically innovative coaches in Europe. The former Barcelona and PSG midfielder is, at the age of 42, just embarking upon his first crack at one of the continent’s top jobs, having taken over at Juventus this summer.

60 - Years since Bologna had played in the top tier of European competition before Motta led them into the Champions League in May.

Julian Nagelsmann

Still aged just 37, Nagelsmann feels more like one of the veterans of the German coaching scene, having already managed Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich. Now at the helm of the national side, all eyes are on the 2026 World Cup after a young team exceeded expectations at this summer’s home Euros.