Champions League is fertile ground for new managers – but knowhow could be key later on
Quick summary
An editorial analysis examining how relatively new managers in the Champions League — including Luis Enrique, Vincent Kompany, and Mikel Arteta — have approached the competition, and whether tournament experience becomes decisive in the knockout stages.
Full article
Attributed to original sourceLuis Enrique, Vincent Kompany and Mikel Arteta are among the favourites to lead their sides to victory, but more recent appointments should not be counted out
A delve into the history of the Champions League shows that managers can and do win in their first season at a club, but also that experience matters. Which makes it interesting, given that tenures for the 2026‑27 crop range from newly appointed coaches to one with almost 15 years in charge. Some have managed more than 100 matches in the competition, others none.
It gets under way on Tuesday with 14 of the 36 clubs led by managers who have been in the role for less than a year. It cannot match the turnover of the Premier League, in which 11 of 20 managers were appointed in 2026, but the tenures of the head coaches involved this season break down neatly.
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What happened
The Guardian examines the Champions League campaigns of several managers still in the early phase of their tenures at elite clubs. Luis Enrique at Paris Saint-Germain, Vincent Kompany at Bayern Munich, and Mikel Arteta at Arsenal are all navigating their first or second European campaigns with title-challenging squads. The piece contrasts the attacking, possession-based philosophies these coaches have brought to European nights with the more pragmatic, experience-driven approach traditionally associated with José Mourinho. It argues that while fresh tactical ideas can thrive in the group phase, the knockout rounds — with their tighter margins and tactical cat-and-mouse — tend to reward managers who have accumulated Champions League knowhow over multiple deep runs.
Chance analysis
Champions League football continues to be a proving ground for the next generation of elite managers. Coaches like Luis Enrique, Vincent Kompany, and Mikel Arteta have arrived at clubs with title ambitions and have already shown they can impose distinct tactical identities on the European stage. The open, high-tempo football favoured by this new wave contrasts with the calculated, knockout-tournament pragmatism long associated with serial winners. Whether ideology or experience decides the trophy remains the central question each spring, and the answer has shaped — and will continue to shape — how the continent's biggest clubs plan their hiring cycles.
No direct impact on upcoming matches; this is a broader tactical and managerial context piece ahead of the new Champions League campaign.