The current football season is into its second half and most of the big clubs are doing well. However, there are some like Manchester United and Chelsea, who have had to endure underwhelming runs.
While the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti, Diego Simeone and Thomas Tuchel are doing reasonably well as managers of their respective clubs, there have been a few young managers who have been very impressive this season.
In this article, we will talk about three such managers. We have consciously not included Mikel Arteta in it, as the Spanish manager was very close to winning the Premier League last season itself.
Xabi Alonso
Alonso was a great player in his own right, having played for big clubs like Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. He won a lot of silverware for club and country, but is now showing the potential of repeating the act as a manager as well.
Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen is at the top of the Bundesliga table with 49 points from 19 matches, which is two more than the tally of perennial favourites Bayern Munich. The 42-year-old Alonso has made his team play possession-oriented football that is easy on the eye.
Should be able to win the Bundesliga with Leverkusen, he is surely going to be enticed by bigger clubs from all over Europe. A future stint at Liverpool or another big club cannot be ruled out at this stage.
Michel
Michel’s Girona is leading La Liga with 52 points from 21 matches ahead of the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. The 48-year-old Spanish manager did not have a particularly impressive career as a player. As a result, he was not good enough to earn an international cap for the Spanish national team.
However, he seems to be making amends as a manger, as his team’s story has been one of the most inspiring ones in Europe this season. His team has performed well against Barcelona and Atlético Madrid this season, beating them once each so far. Still, their underperformance against Real Madrid has been a reason for concern.
Winning the league title is still a long way off, but cannot be ruled out altogether. If Michel is able to ensure even a top four finish for his team and ensure qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League, it will be a commendable feat.
Roberto De Zerbi
De Zerbi’s Brighton & Hove Albion plays in a more competitive league arguably and hence, their current position of seventh in the table is quite good. Brighton is ahead of Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle in the table, which is something to be proud of.
With veterans like Danny Welbeck and Adam Lallana in his team and a young Kaoru Mitoma to complement them, Brighton has exhibited some quality football. They defeated Manchester United 3-1 in an exhilarating display in one of their matches, which was one of the better performances by any Premier League team this season.
The 44-year-old Italian might be destined to manage a bigger club a few years down the line. It might happen as early as the next season itself.