Only a few foreign managers had instant success in their first Premier League season.
The Premier League is undoubtedly the toughest league to conquer. It is definitely not easy for any foreign manager to win the title in the first season. It does not only apply to them but also to their own native bosses. The likes of Arsène Wenger, Jürgen Klopp, or even Pep Guardiola could not instantly clinch the title in their season debuts.
In the 2024/25 season, four teams have just appointed their new boss: Chelsea, Liverpool, Brighton, and West Ham. However, only two of them are led by entirely new foreign bosses. The Blues snatched Enzo Maresca. It might be his first season in the top division, but he was already in charge of Leicester City last season. Meanwhile, The Hammers named Julen Lopetegui to be at the helm of the team. He is an experienced figure in the EPL, as he had a brief spell with Wolverhampton before.
That leaves Liverpool and Brighton, which do have a new manager without previous experience in England. Arne Slot and Fabian Hürzeler have begun their campaign with a victory. The former, especially, could be the next foreign manager to win the league in his season debut. The Dutch manager has the luxury of a star-studded squad and promising young talents at his disposal. The Reds remain one of the title contenders this season.
Naturally, things would be hard at first for the new foreign manager in charge. Yet, there have been anomalies. Four figures in the dugout below have proven that nothing is impossible. Unsurprisingly, all of them were at the helm of the two wealthy teams in the English top flight, Chelsea and Manchester City.
José Mourinho (2004/05)
The current Fenerbahçe boss is undoubtedly one of the best managers in the world. His service attracted a number of big teams after winning two continental titles in a row for FC Porto: the UEFA Cup in 2003 and the Champions League in 2004. Chelsea was eventually the lucky one, as they managed to lure him to move to London. His target was clear: win the first Premier League title. Such seemed quite hard to achieve at that time by his predecessors, including Claudio Ranieri.
Then, all changed under the Portuguese gaffer. The Blues emerged as the new rivals in the title race, which was only dominated by Manchester United and Arsenal at the time. Frank Lampard and co managed to meddle before eventually toppling them at the end of the 2004/05 season with 95 points, or twelve points ahead of Arsenal in second place.
The former Bobby Robson interpreter during his tenure in Barcelona was also able to guide them to the Champions League semifinal in the same season. He won another league title in 2006 and the FA Cup in 2007 before being dismissed by the owner back then, Roman Abramovich. His legacy, however, still remained. His key men, such as Didier Drogba, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Petr Čech, and Frank Lampard, went on to be the mainstays of the star-studded squad. Moreover, their winning mentality helped them win more silverware afterwards.
Mourinho’s name was so popular among the Blues’ fans that he returned to Stamford Bridge for his second spell there in the mid-2010s. The former Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss guided them to clinch another league title in 2015.
Carlo Ancelotti (2009/10)
Don Carlo is another exceptional manager in the Premier League, as he became the second one to win the league title in his first season. He already gained continental success with AC Milan by clinching the UCL title twice, in 2002/03 and 2006/07. The former defensive midfielder arrived in 2009 from AC Milan and managed to lead them to their third Premier League.
Chelsea was at the top of the table, collecting 86 points, only one point above Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United. The Italian gaffer also clinched the FA Cup in the same campaign. However, their form in the Champions League was not really satisfactory, as they were beaten by Mourinho’s Inter Milan in the round of 16.
Ancelotti’s second season was disappointing, as the Blues went trophyless. They finished second in the Premier League with 71 points, or nine points adrift from Manchester United. John Terry and co also slumped to a defeat against United in the Champions League’s quarterfinal. Ancelotti then parted ways at the end of the 2010/11 season and moved to PSG before gaining more continental success in his first stint with Real Madrid.
Manuel Pellegrini (2013/14)
The 70-year-old manager was the next one on the list. He managed to win the Premier League in his first season with Manchester City by collecting 86 points, or just two points clear of Liverpool. However, the Cityzens’ victorious campaign was not entirely due to their excellent form.
Liverpool’s skipper, Steven Gerrard, also contributed to their success with his notorious slip while playing host to Chelsea in one of the crucial last games of the season. The Reds’ convincing campaign suddenly deteriorated, and Pellegrini’s men swooped to the top of the table afterwards.
Before taking charge of David Silva and Co., the Chilean boss had been able to guide the traditional mid table sides, Villarreal and Malaga, to further stages in the Champions League in 2005/06 and 2012/13, respectively. He even brought The Yellow Submarine to finish third and second in La Liga in 2004/05 and 2007/08, respectively. However, he failed to replicate his success story at Real Madrid.
Pellegrini stayed in the Etihad until 2016, after leading Manchester City to their first UCL semi-final in the 2015/16 season. He returned to England after a spell in China by taking charge of West Ham United before going back to Spain with Real Betis in 2020.
Antonio Conte (2016/17)
The current Napoli boss is the last gaffer to win the EPL in his first season. Surprisingly, he did it in the same season as Pep Guardiola’s season debut. The Italian boss managed to guide Chelsea to topple Guardiola’s men, as well as Mourinho’s Manchester United, Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City, and Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool with 93 points, five points ahead of Pochettino’s Spurs.
Conte also won the FA Cup in the following season but departed in summer 2018. The former Juventus and Italy national team manager in EURO 2016 returned to England by joining Spurs in 2021 but failed to win a single trophy until he was sacked in 2023.