European Manager of the Year: Mikel Arteta, Luis Enrique and GOAL's top 20 coaches of the 2025-26 season - ranked

Brentford were a popular pick for relegation ahead of the new season, with rookie manager Keith Andrews tasked with stepping into Thomas Frank's shoes while dealing with the sales of club captain Christian Norgaard and star forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, who scored 39 goals between them the previous campaign.

You would hardly have known when watching the Bees, however, as Andrews led his team to a ninth-placed Premier League finish, matching the best that they achieved under Frank. The only disappointment will be that they missed out on European qualification on goal difference, with a run of just two wins from their final 13 games ultimately proving costly.

There wasn't a domestic European with a more dominant winner than the Eredivisie, as PSV successfully defended their title, finishing a massive 19 points clear of second-placed Feyenoord under the stewardship of Peter Bosz. His side netted 101 goals in their 34 league matches, which was again a long way clear of the next best (NEC Nijmegen on 77).

Bosz was rewarded for securing a third-straight league title with a two-year contract extension, though he will hope for an improved performance in next season's Champions League as, despite big wins over Napoli and Liverpool, PSV fell short of qualifying for the knockout rounds.

Yes, Sunderland spent big for a newly-promoted side last summer, with the majority of their new arrivals proven commodities, but the Black Cats were still tipped for Premier League relegation by most onlookers heading into their first top-flight campaign since 2017. That they never even flirted with the bottom three, then, was a huge feather in Regis Le Bris' cap. But for them to end the season sat in seventh and with Europa League qualification secured goes beyond anything anyone could have reasonably expected.

Le Bris' side showed no fear upon their return to the big time, and their safety was all-but secured by the halfway point of the season. Some disappointing results in the early spring led to reports the Frenchman could still be replaced at the end of the summer, but he emphatically clapped back with wins over Everton and Chelsea to close out the campaign and spark wild scenes at the Stadium of Light.

Oh, and they beat Newcastle home and away... What a season on Wearside!

NEC Nijmegen have only qualified for European football on three previous occasions, but they could find themselves in next season's Champions League after Dick Schreuder led them to a third-placed finish in the Eredivisie, which comes with it a place in the qualifying rounds for Europe's premier club competition.

Schreuder returned to the Netherlands last summer after a spell in Spain with Castellon, and a 5-0 win over Excelsior Rotterdam on his debut set the tone for a memorable campaign as NEC not only produced in the league, but also reached the Dutch Cup final, albeit they lost out to AZ Alkmaar on the day.

Hearts' season might have ended in heartbreak, but credit must still be given to the job that Derek McInnes has done at Tynecastle. Not since Sir Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen side of 1985 has a team other than Celtic or Rangers won the Scottish top-flight, but McInnes and his team were minutes away from breaking the Old Firm duopoly before losing out to Celtic on the final day.

Backed by part-owner Tony Bloom's Jamestown Analytics, the scouting technology that has helped Brighton establish themselves in the Premier League, McInnes was able to blend his little-known new signings with those who were previously established at Tynecastle to great effect, and were it not for a questionable refereeing decision or two (or three or four...), may well have had a league winner's medal as his reward.

The title of Europe's most unlikely title winners for 2025-26 undoubtedly goes to FC Thun in Switzerland. The club almost went out of business when they were relegated to the second tier in 2020, but have bounced back in remarkable fashion thanks in large part to the coaching of Mauro Lustrinelli.

Having never managed at club level before being appointed by Thun in 2022, Lustrinelli led the club to promotion last season before romping to the top-flight title - Thun's first in their 128-year history - this time around. Though they finished just five points clear, that does not tell the full story, as they failed to win any of their final five games after mathematically becoming champions.

Lustrinelli's achievements have caught the eye, too, with him having been appointed the new manager of Union Berlin in the Bundesliga off the back of this unlikeliest of successes.

Having taken over with them bottom of the Bundesliga and staring relegation in the face back in April 2023, Sebastian Hoeness has worked wonders with Stuttgart over the past three years since leading them to survival.

A fourth-placed finish this time around means they will play in the Champions League for the second time in three years, while Stuttgart also reached their second-straight DFB-Pokal final, though they were unable to defend the trophy they won last season as Bayern Munich and Harry Kane ran out victorious in Berlin.

Still, Hoeness has once again proven himself to be one of the brightest young coaches in Europe, and it is only a matter of time before a bigger club than Stuttgart takes a chance on the 44-year-old.

Real Sociedad endured a dreadful first half of the season, and were just two points above La Liga's relegation zone when Pellegrino Matarazzo was appointed as their new manager in December. The American subsequently oversaw quite the revival, as La Real lost just two of Matarazzo's first 15 games in charge to not just pull away from danger, but also reach the Copa del Rey final.

Matarazzo's side drew 2-2 with Atletico Madrid on the night in Seville before triumphing 4-3 on penalties to deliver just the seventh major trophy in the club's history. And though their form fell away a little following that glorious evening, there is no doubting the impressive job Matarazzo did during his first half-season in Spain.

After guiding Freiburg to a fifth-placed finish during his debut season at the helm, Julian Schuster backed that up this time around by taking the German outfit to their first-ever European final. The club had never previously been past the last 16 in any continental competition, but knocked out Genk, Celta Vigo and Braga on their way to earning a spot in the Europa League final.

They were admittedly outclassed by Aston Villa on the night, but that shouldn't take away from the achievements of Schuster and his team, who again qualified for Europe by finishing seventh in the Bundesliga and reached the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal. At 41, expect Schuster to be coveted by top teams over the coming years.

This was not a vintage Manchester City side - they dropped points in 15 different league games and crashed out of the Champions League in the last 16 - but Pep Guardiola certainly still got plenty out of a team in transition during what was ultimately his final campaign in charge at the Etihad.

The legendary coach successfully integrated new signings Rayan Cherki, Gigi Donnarumma, Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, while promising youngsters Jeremy Doku, Nico O'Reilly and Abdukodir Khusanov took positive strides forward.

Given how dramatically they fell away last season, that Guardiola was able to push Arsenal so close for so long while winning both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup should be celebrated, and he bows out having left a strong platform on which Enzo Maresca can build upon.

Believe it or not, but there was a point late in February when it looked like Lens were about to beat Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title. Pierre Sage's side just could not be shrugged off by the mega-rich European champions, and Luis Enrique was forced to play some of his star names far deeper into the campaign than he would have liked because of Lens' results.

Sage was able to get the best out of new signings Florian Thauvin and Odsonne Edouard, among others, and though their title tilt may have ended in disappointment, Lens were still able to celebrate after capturing the Coupe de France for the very first time after beating Nice in May's final. For a first season in charge, Sage could have hardly done more.

Given what happened to him last season, Francesco Farioli would have been forgiven for taking some time away from the game. The Italian resigned from his role in charge of Ajax after the Dutch giants surrendered a nine-point lead in the final five games of the Eredivisie season to hand PSV the title, but jumped right back on the horse by taking the Porto manager's job.

The 37-year-old made the right choice, too, as he guided his new club to their first Liga Portugal title since 2022, wrapping up the race with two games to spare as Sporting CP and unbeaten Benfica trailed in their wake. Farioli's side lost just two league games all season as his reputation as one of Europe's best young coaches was somewhat restored.

Bournemouth came into the season having lost their goalkeeper and three-quarters of their starting defence, and subsequently sold their best attacking player, Antoine Semenyo, in January. A lesser manager would have been forgiven, then, for making excuses if the Cherries had fallen into the lower reaches of the table. But Andoni Iraola is no ordinary manager.

Iraola quickly rebuilt his backline while sprinkling in quality elsewhere, and Bournemouth found themselves as high as second in the table after losing just one of their opening nine games. That bright start threatened to become a distant memory, however, as an 11-match winless run dropped Bournemouth back down to the within reach of the relegation battle.

With Semenyo about to be sold, some at the Vitality Stadium feared the worst. However, they need not have worried, as the Manchester City-bound winger's stoppage-time winner against Tottenham in his final appearance sparked what became an 18-match unbeaten run that lasted through to the very end of the campaign and secured a sixth-placed finish, and European qualification for the first time in the club's history.

Liverpool are getting quite the coach, presuming Iraola is the man to replace Arne Slot at Anfield.

As the successor to Simone Inzaghi, Cristian Chivu had quite the act to follow at Inter, while also having the task of picking up the Nerazzurri's squad after their treble hopes turned to dust during the final month of the previous campaign. A disappointing Club World Cup did not bode well, but the Romanian gradually got things moving back in the right direction at San Siro, to the point where Inter ended the season with two trophies to their name.

They finished 11 points clear at the top of Serie A after pulling away from their rivals in early spring before clinching the Coppa Italia with victory over Lazio following a remarkable semi-final comeback to beat Como.

The less said about their Champions League elimination at the hands of Bodo/Glimt the better, but Chivu can be thrilled with what he was able to achieve given he only had four months of previous top-flight coaching experience with Parma.

Debate will rage as to whether Hansi Flick's risky high line puts a ceiling on what Barcelona can achieve when it comes to the Champions League, but you can't argue with the domestic success the German coach has had since arriving in Catalunya in 2024.

Barca successfully defended their La Liga crown, finishing eight points clear of second-placed Real Madrid despite the likes of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong missing chunks of the season due to injury.

Flick's side play one of the most exciting brands of football anywhere in Europe, and with president Joan Laporta keen to double down and spend big this summer, few would bet against them tasting more success next term.

He was a brilliant player, and now it seems that Cesc Fabregas is a pretty handy manager too. After guiding newly-promoted Como to a mid-table finish in his first season in charge last term, the former midfielder set his sights on European qualification this time around, but even then few foresaw the campaign that was to come from Como.

Fabregas guided his team to a fourth-placed finish in Serie A, thus securing Champions League qualification for the first time in the club's history. His side boasted the best defence in the league, conceding just 29 times in 38 games, while the outstanding Nico Paz knitted together their attacks as he continued to thrive under Fabregas' tutelage.

With most of the vacant jobs at big clubs being filled, it seems Fabregas may now be able to lead Como again next season as they prepare to dine at Europe's top table.

When Aston Villa kicked-off the season by failing to win or score in their opening five games, there were genuine concerns that Unai Emery had taken the club as far as he could, with a lack of transfer activity in the summer seemingly having caused things to go stale at Villa Park.

However, Emery once again showed why he is regarded as one of the very best coaches in Europe. A dramatic upturn in results led to Villa forcing their way into the title picture around the turn of the year, and though they eventually fell away during a disappointing winter, they recovered to secure a fourth-placed finish and a return to the Champions League.

Throw in yet another Europa League triumph, and Emery continues to prove those who doubted him wrong over and over again.

Bayern Munich fell into the appointment of Vincent Kompany somewhat after six different coaches turned them down before they hired the Burnley boss in 2024, but the Bavarians could hardly be happier with the Belgian as his team took plenty of steps forward during what was a thrilling campaign at the Allianz Arena.

Kompany's team played the best attacking football in Europe, and scored 122goals on their way to defending their Bundesliga crown, finishing 16 points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund. They followed that up by also triumphing in the DFB-Pokal while reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League showed progress in Europe, even if Kompany might feel like this was an opportunity missed given the form of Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz.

After three successive runners-up finishes, and five seasons without a trophy, Arsenal and Mikel Arteta finally got over the line this time around and earned a well deserved Premier League title. Arteta has gradually edged away from the Guardiola-esque football his Gunners side played upon his arrival at the Emirates, and deserves credit for the way he anticipated the league's switch to a more physical, set-piece-led style and built a team capable of lasting the course.

There were, of course, bumps along the way, but Arsenal were the outstanding team of the English campaign, while the only game they lost in Europe was the Champions League final, and even that came via a penalty shootout. Given where the Gunners were when Arteta took over, that is some journey that the Spaniard has taken them on, and he has earned the plaudits that are now rightly coming his way.

If last season's treble win didn't cement Luis Enrique's place among the greatest coaches of his generation, then him backing that up by defending the Ligue 1 and the Champions League crowns surely does.

PSG didn't have things all their way domestically as Lens pushed them all the way while they suffered an embarrassing Coupe de France exit to Paris FC, but the ends justify the means, and the ex-Barcelona boss must take credit for the way he utilised his squad so that PSG's best players were most fresh for their European exploits.

Luis Enrique's side weren't quite the same free-flowing outfit who swept all before them last term, but they still possessed one of the most dangerous attacks in world football, and utilised to the fore to ensure another memorable campaign at Parc des Princes.