The five best managers of the season in Europe

Cameron Smith

• 18 May 2025 10:00 CDT
• 6 min read

Analysis

The 2024-25 season is almost over and we are well and truly into awards season.

A plethora of managers have masterminded impressive campaigns on the continent, with several teams enjoying immensely successful seasons as a result of the head coach in their dugout.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the five best managers of the season in Europe.

Antonio Conte (Napoli)

Napoli’s 2023-24 campaign was a trainwreck; one year after winning the Scudetto for the first time since 1990, they finished a lowly 10th.

In search of a fix, they turned to Antonio Conte and backed him with the signings of Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay, among others. The result? They are two games away from a second Serie A title in three years.

Conte has reverted to a back four system in order to accommodate McTominay and he is on the verge of winning his seventh league title as a manager. He would also become the first head coach in history to win a European top five league with three different clubs (Serie A with Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli).

Arne Slot (Liverpool)

Arne Slot was chosen as Liverpool’s replacement for club legend Jurgen Klopp last summer and his first season in charge has been impressive to say the least.

The Reds were knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage, they lost to Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round of the FA Cup and they were defeated by Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final. However, Slot guided them to just their second ever Premier League title with four games to spare thanks to a fantastic campaign in the English top flight.

Slot’s debut season hasn’t been perfect, given Liverpool’s cup disappointments, but winning the Premier League title is no mean feat, and his achievements at the helm helped convince both Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah to sign contract extensions.

Hansi Flick (Barcelona)

Hansi Flick was regarded as one of the most exciting managers in Europe when he guided Bayern Munich to the continental treble during the 2019-20 season, but his stock nosedived following a dismal 2022 World Cup campaign in charge of Germany.

After a period out of the game, he was hired by Barcelona as their replacement for Xavi in May 2024 and he has enjoyed a hugely successful debut campaign at the helm of the Blaugrana.

Flick has implemented an extremely bold offside trap since his arrival at Barcelona, and it is set to guide them to the Spanish top flight title. The Blaugrana were knocked out of the Champions League by Inter Milan at the semi-final stage, but it was the first time they’d reached the final four since 2019 and Flick’s first season in charge has still been a major triumph.

Luis Enrique (PSG)

Luis Enrique resigned as the Spain head coach following their last-16 exit to Morocco at the 2022 World Cup and he was appointed as the new Paris Saint-Germain boss just months later.

After an encouraging first season in charge at the Parc des Princes, Enrique has stepped things up big time this year. He has transformed PSG into arguably the best team in the world and they will face Inter Milan in the Champions League final as they look to finally win the biggest trophy in European club football.

Enrique has devised a system that has allowed Ousmane Dembele to finally realise his potential, Desire Doue to explode as one of the best wonderkids in Europe and Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi to become world-beaters at full-back. Furthermore, PSG’s midfield trio have been simply unplayable this term.

Simone Inzaghi (Inter Milan)

Inter face an uphill battle to usurp Napoli to the Serie A title, but Simone Inzaghi fully deserves his nomination as one of the best managers in Europe after guiding the Nerazzurri to the Champions League final.

He masterminded a 7-6 aggregate win over Barcelona in the semi-finals, despite having a significantly less valuable squad at his disposal, and Inter will face PSG in their second Champions League final in just three years.

Inter’s starting XI for their second-leg win over Barcelona cost just €126 million, yet Inzaghi has continued to defy the odds by establishing them one of the best teams in world football.

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