Will a British manager win the Premier League in the near future?
Is foreign influence in the top football leagues needed for the top leagues to remain at the top? Is it that top managers have always had a personal ambition to work in the ‘top’ leagues? Maybe it’s for the competition? the recognition? or the money?
Futbol is a ‘global’ sport, so it isn’t a surprise that the best leagues in the World would search across the globe for the best person that will bring improvement to the tactical and performance standard of the league.
As good as foreign influence can help develop the game, it might also say a lot about the confidence a league has in their nationals when the opportunities are not given to them. The Premier League has never been won by a British manager. Jupp Heynckes has been the only German to have managed Bayern Munich since 2009.
The Italian Serie A has the fewest foreign managers.
Amongst the top 5 leagues in Europe, the Italian Serie A has given the most trust to their nationals when it comes to football management. 19 of the 20 teams in the league is under the management of an Italian, this includes the best teams in the league as well.
Udinese is the only team in the Serie A that has a foreign manager.
They kept it in the family – Only 1 of the 20 teams in the Italian Serie A has a non-Italian manager.
Julio Velazquez (Udinese / Spain)
In Spain, it’s just the Spaniards and the Argentines in the Spanish La Liga.
5 of the 20 teams in the Spanish La Liga have a foreign manager, and they are all from Argentina.
Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
Eduardo Berisso (Athletic Club)
Antonio Mohamed (Celta Vigo)
Leo Franco (Huesca)
Mauricio Pellegrino (Leganes)
In Germany, 5 of the 18 German Bundesliga teams are managed by a non-German.
Niko Kovac (Bayern Munich / Croatia)
Adi Hütter (Eintracht Frankfurt / Austria)
Tayfun Korkut (Stuttgart / Turkey)
Lucien Favre (Borussia Dortmund / Switzerland)
Pal Dardai (Hertha Berlin / Hungary)
In France, 6 of the teams in the French Ligue 1 is managed by non-French.
Leonardo Jardim (Monaco / Portugal)
Gus Poyet (Bordeaux/ Uruguay)
Thomas Tuchel (Paris St. Germain / Germany)
Miguel Cardoso (Nantes / Portugal)
Michel Der Zakarian (Montpellier / Armenia)
Antoine Kombouaré (Guingamp / New Caledonia)
There are no signs of trust in the Premier League for the English managers.
In England, the ratio flips on its head.
The Premier League is the only league that has more foreign managers than local managers. Only 4 of the 20 team are managed by British managers. None of these teams are considered title favorites.
Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace)
Sean Dyche (Burnley)
Eddie Howe (AFC Bournemouth)
Neil Warnock (Cardiff City)
