The 11 Best Young Football Managers Today (2025-26)
- Think Football Ideas
- 32 minutes ago
- 8 min read
Ranking the 11 Best Young Football Managers in 2025
There used to be that long-held belief which painted football’s dugout as a place for the greying veterans, suggesting it is better when a football manager has decades of scars and lessons behind him.
But the modern landscape is rewriting that script. More and more, younger coaches are shaping elite clubs with ideas, daring styles, and an ability to connect with players in ways older generations once considered unconventional.
Here are The 11 Best Young Football Managers Today (2025)
11. Will Still (32, Southampton)
Will Still’s name first broke into headlines at Reims when, at age 30, he stepped into management despite not holding the necessary UEFA license.
The fines became a quirky footnote, but the real story was his 17-game unbeaten streak in Ligue 1 that gave the French side rare momentum.
That rise came after an unconventional journey: a West Ham United supporter who once played Football Manager obsessively, he left his own playing days behind at 17 to study coaching in Preston.
Still sharpened his craft as an analyst at Sint-Truiden and Standard Liège, before a caretaker stint at Lierse at age 24 hinted at his potential. His reputation grew further at Beerschot, where he helped oversee promotion.
His path since then has been busy as Lens offered him the next platform, and his time there included working alongside his brothers.
Now his challenge lies at Southampton, where he shoulders the responsibility of restoring them to the Premier League. For a coach still barely into his thirties, the ceiling remains high.
10. Cesc Fàbregas (39, Como 1907)
From orchestrating midfields at Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea to reshaping a historic Italian side, Cesc Fàbregas has carried his vision seamlessly into management.
After cutting his teeth with Como’s youth and B teams, he stepped in during a turbulent spell and soon earned the reins full-time in 2024. His Serie A baptism was stern, with a Coppa Italia shootout defeat and a heavy loss to Juventus, but resilience followed.
A statement win away at Atalanta sparked a club-record six-game winning run, ultimately delivering Como their best league finish since 1987.
For someone who once pulled strings with a pass, the artistry has translated naturally to the touchline, guiding Como from obscurity to a stable place in the top flight while sharpening his own reputation as a tactician.
9. Thiago Motta (42, Unemployed)
Thiago Motta’s coaching journey has already spanned rescue jobs, rebuilds, and revolution.
After an ill-fated first step with Genoa, he revived his reputation at Spezia, steering a squad tipped for relegation clear of the drop and collecting Serie A Coach of the Month honours along the way.
Bologna proved the true stage for his philosophy, which is a possession-driven, positional style that lifted the club to their first Champions League place since the 1960s and delivered record points totals in the Serie A standings.
That success earned him the Juventus job, a role laden with expectation, though his tenure unravelled within a year amid inconsistent form. Even so, his bold tactical vision ensures his name remains in the conversation for Europe’s elite benches.
8. Fabian Hürzeler (32, Brighton)
Brighton have a history of bold appointments, and in Fabian Hürzeler they doubled down on youthful ambition.
Hürzeler is a former Bayern Munich academy player who moved into coaching in his early twenties. He built his reputation at St. Pauli, becoming the youngest manager in Germany's second division and leading them to Bundesliga promotion.
By the age of 30, he already held a UEFA Pro Licence, which in some ways is proof of his clarity of purpose. At 32, he arrived in the Premier League as the youngest permanent head coach in its history, tasked with sustaining Brighton and Hove Albion’s identity after Roberto De Zerbi's exit.
His debut campaign blended flashes of promise with the expected turbulence, resulting in an eighth-place finish, landmark wins over Manchester United and Spurs, as well as a Manager of the Month award, which underscored both his potential and the restless energy of a coach already imprinting his style on one of England’s most adventurous clubs.
7. Rúben Amorim (40, Manchester United)
Rúben Amorim’s path has been anything but ordinary. His rise began with Braga, where a back-three experiment turned into a tactical identity that carried him to silverware and drew wider attention.
Sporting Lisbon then gambled €10 million on his potential, which is one of the highest managerial “transfer fees” in history, and the payoff was swift.
He delivered the club’s first league title in 19 years, nurtured talents like Pedro Gonçalves and Nuno Mendes, and later added another championship that underlined his ability to reshape a squad in transition.
Those years established him as one of Europe’s most compelling young coaches, blending pragmatism with daring football. Following the sacking of Erik ten Hag, Manchester United turned to Amorim in November 2024, entrusting him with the responsibility of restoring lost prestige.
The job quickly exposed the scale of the challenge, with a bruising domestic campaign ending in the bottom half of the table, compounded by defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final.
Yet amid the turbulence, the United hierarchy stood by him. With heavy summer investment and sharper expectations, Amorim now finds himself at a crossroads as his philosophy, once a symbol of Sporting’s rebirth, is being tested under the unrelenting glare of Old Trafford.
6. Andoni Iraola (42, Bournemouth)
Andoni Iraola has built a reputation on resilience and ingenuity. His early stumbles at AEK Larnaca were quickly offset by a remarkable Copa del Rey semi-final run with Mirandés, where his side knocked out Sevilla and Villarreal.
That knack for upsetting the odds carried into Rayo Vallecano, where he earned promotion and delivered their first cup semi-final in four decades.
At Bournemouth, early doubts gave way to belief as his team not only secured a club-record Premier League points tally but also ended Manchester City’s 32-game unbeaten streak.
His Cherries have become a model of bold, fearless football, far removed from the survival scraps many expected, and Iraola has quietly carved his space among the Premier League’s most respected young coaches.
5. Julian Nagelsmann (37, Germany)
Julian Nagelsmann’s ascent began at Hoffenheim, where at 28 years old he became the Bundesliga’s youngest coach, rescuing a team staring at relegation and swiftly steering them into Champions League football.
At Leipzig, his reputation sharpened, breaking records as the youngest manager to win a Champions League match and to guide a side to the semi-finals.
Bayern Munich paid a record fee to secure him, and though he delivered the league and Super Cup titles with a 71% win rate, his abrupt dismissal showed how little patience the elite often afford.
As the head coach of Germany, he led his team to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, making him the youngest coach in the tournament's history.
He has since been allowed to continue coaching through Euro 2028. At 37 years old, his career already feels remarkable, but there is a strong sense that the most significant moments are yet to come.
4. Edin Terzić (42, Unemployed)
Few managers are as closely tied to a club as Edin Terzić is to Borussia Dortmund. Twice handed the reins, he cultivated strong bonds with players and fans alike, even guiding them to a DFB-Pokal triumph in 2021 during his first stint as interim coach.
His path to the dugout was shaped by early years learning under Jürgen Klopp at Dortmund and later by spells alongside Slaven Bilić at Beşiktaş and West Ham, experiences that broadened his tactical outlook.
Back at Dortmund, he twice came within touching distance of historic success, with a league title lost on goal difference in 2023 and a Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in 2024.
Choosing to step away, Terzić left with his reputation intact, his blend of loyalty, pedigree, and European experience ensuring his next move will draw intrigue.
3. Vincent Kompany (39, Bayern Munich)
Vincent Kompany’s progression feels like a captain’s natural extension. His apprenticeship at Anderlecht was less glamorous but formative, shaping him into a coach who trusted youth and leaned on tactical identity over resources.
Burnley was where that vision exploded into life as he tore up the pragmatic model, delivered expansive football, and powered the club to a 101-point Championship season that rewrote records and earned him Manager of the Year.
The Premier League proved a harsher arena. Relegation exposed flaws, an inexperienced squad and tactical rigidity, yet his reputation survived intact.
Bayern Munich saw beyond the blemishes, paying a hefty compensation fee to make him their head coach, one of the costliest managerial appointments in history. Their gamble paid off spectacularly.
He not only re-energised the squad but also delivered attacking blitzes on the Champions League stage, including a nine-goal demolition of Dinamo Zagreb, before sealing the Bundesliga crown in his debut campaign.
The former defender has transitioned into a strategist with the same presence he once showed as a captain
2. Mikel Arteta (42, Arsenal)
From Pep Guardiola’s right-hand man to Arsenal’s revivalist, Mikel Arteta’s journey has been transformative. His debut season delivered an FA Cup, but the broader project has been about reestablishing Arsenal as title contenders.
Three successive seasons of finishing behind the eventual champions underline both progress and frustration. Yet his tactical clarity, player development, and ability to reshape the club’s identity have made him indispensable.
A league triumph remains elusive, but his influence has re-anchored Arsenal at English football’s top table.
1. Xabi Alonso (43, Real Madrid)
Xabi Alonso embodies the new standard of coaching brilliance. His tenure at Bayer Leverkusen produced history: a Bundesliga title, a domestic double, and an unbeaten league campaign that captured imaginations across Europe.
That success made him the natural successor at Real Madrid, where his poise, intelligence, and relentless standards now guide the most demanding club in world football.
At 43, he is already viewed not as a rising star but as a benchmark, the manager against whom a generation will be measured. The question is, will he become one of the greatest Spanish football managers of all time? Only time will tell.
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