UEFA club tournaments shift in power: Spanish tacticians surpass the Italians. French and Greek clubs on the rise

Dutch football has vanished from the European club tournaments

Paul Kemp Apr 8, 2024

Last year at this point in the season, Sportingpedia conducted a ranking of managers who guided their teams to the quarter-finals of the European club tournaments, categorizing them by nationality. The results revealed that Italian tacticians led 6 of the 24 teams who reached that stage, more than any other country. Now, 12 months later, we have repeated the ranking, expanding it to include the nationality of managers as well as the teams that reached the quarter-finals in Europe. The data shows that Spanish head coaches are dominating, with 7 of the 24 teams under their guidance, while Italian managers have decreased slightly from 6 to 5. Interestingly, 7 managers who reached the European quarter-finals last season have replicated their success this year. In terms of clubs, England has the most with 5 representatives, while Italian and Dutch teams have decreased by 2 each, with the number of Serie A sides dropping from 6 to 4 and Eredivisie teams from 2 to none. This has come at the expense of French and Greek teams, who have seen improvements, rising by 2 from last year, with French sides increasing from 1 to 3 and Greek teams from 0 to 2.

Key Takeaways:

9 teams and 7 managers reach the UEFA quarter-finals in back-to-back seasons
Last season there were only 2 Spanish managers at this stage, while now they are 7 – more than any other country
A year ago, there were multiple managers from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium. Now there are more than 1 tacticians only from Spain, Italy and Germany
Teams from France and Greece are on the rise at the Italian and Dutch club expense
Both English representatives in the Champions League are led by Spanish managers
4 countries still have a chance to register a clean sweep and triumph in all 3 tournaments: England and France if 3 English or French teams win the separate competitions; Spain and Italy if managers from these countries lead their teams to victory in the separate tournaments

The results from the 2022/23 season revealed that Italian tacticians accounted for 6 of the 24 qualified teams. This campaign, at the same stage, Spanish head coaches are on the surge, leading 7 of the 24 teams that have reached the quarter-finals, while the Italians mark a slight decrease from 6 to 5. The biggest decrease is with the Dutch specialists, as last season at this stage there were 4, while in the current campaign there is not a single tactician from the Netherlands left to compete.

Another interesting finding when comparing the current season to the last is that 7 of the specialists who were in the quarter-finals last year have replicated their accomplishment and find themselves at the same stage 12 months later. Only 2 have successfully qualified for the later stages of the Champions League in consecutive seasons, but only 1 of them will remain after the quarter-finals, as Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti are set to face each other. The other managers to have reached the quarter-finals in back-to-back seasons include Xabi Alonso, Roger Schmidt, Stefano Pioli, David Moyes, and Vincenzo Italiano.

The picture changes drastically when we switch focus from managers to clubs. Twelve months ago, Italy boasted the highest number of representatives at the last-8 stage with 6, while now English teams are the most with 5. Italy’s representation has dropped from 6 to 4, marking the most drastic decrease, with only one other country witnessing a decline by 2 teams. In the 2022/23 season, the Netherlands had 2 sides in the quarter-finals, Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar, whereas now there isn’t a single Dutch team left in the European tournaments. The decrease in Italian and Dutch teams has come at the expense of French and Greek sides, which have seen their representatives rise from 1 and none to 3 and 2, respectively.

Detailed breakdown of all countries and their representatives (managers and clubs) at the quarter-finals of UEFA’s club tournaments and comparison to last season:

Spain

2023/24 season
Representatives: 10
Managers: 7 (Champions League: Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola, Xavi, Luis Enrique; Europa League: Xabi Alonso; Europa Conference League: Unai Emery, Jose Luis Mendilibar)
Clubs: 3 (Champions League: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona)

2022/23 season:
Representatives: 4
Managers: 2 (Champions League: Pep Guardiola; Europa League: Xabi Alonso)
Clubs: 2 (Champions League: Real Madrid; Europa League: Sevilla)

Italy

2023/24 season
Representatives: 9
Managers: 5 (Champions League: Carlo Ancelotti; Europa League: Stefano Pioli, Gian Piero Gasperini, Daniele De Rossi; Europa Conference League: Vincenzo Italiano)
Clubs: 4 (Europa League: Milan, Atalanta, Roma; Europa Conference League: Fiorentina)

2022/23 season
Representatives: 12
Managers: 6 (Champions League: Carlo Ancelotti, Luciano Spalletti, Simone Inzaghi, Stefano Pioli; Europa League: Massimiliano Allegri; Europa Conference League: Vincenzo Italiano)
Clubs: 6 (Champions League: Napoli, Inter, Milan; Europa League: Juventus, Roma; Europa Conference League: Fiorentina)

Germany

2023/24 season
Representatives: 7
Managers: 4 (Champions League: Edin Terzic, Thomas Tuchel; Europa League: Roger Schmidt, Jurgen Klopp)
Clubs: 3 (Champions League: Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich; Europa League: Bayer Leverkusen)

2022/23 season
Representatives: 5
Managers: 3 (Champions League: Julian Nagelsmann, Roger Schmidt; Europa Conference League: Heiko Vogel)
Clubs: 2 (Champions League: Bayern Munich; Europa League: Bayer Leverkusen)

England

2023/24 season
Representatives: 5
Managers: 0
Clubs: 5 (Champions League: Manchester City, Arsenal; Europa League: West Ham, Liverpool; Europa Conference League: Aston Villa)

2022/23 season
Representatives: 5
Managers: 1 (Champions League: Graham Potter)
Clubs: 4 (Champions League: Manchester City, Chelsea; Europa League: Manchester United; Europa Conference League: West Ham)

France

2023/24 season
Representatives: 4
Managers: 1 (Europa League: Jean-Louis Gasset)
Clubs: 3 (Champions League: PSG; Europa League: Marseille; Europa Conference League: Lille)

2022/23 season
Representatives: 2
Managers: 1 (Europa Conference League: Didier Digard)
Clubs: 1 (Europa Conference League: Nice)

Portugal

2023/24 season
Representatives: 2
Managers: 1 (Europa Conference League: Paulo Fonseca)
Clubs: 1 (Europa League: Benfica)

2022/23 season
Representatives: 4
Managers: 2 ( Europa League: Ruben Amorim, Jose Mourinho)
Clubs: 2 (Champions League: Benfica; Europa League: Sporting Lisbon)

Turkiye

2023/24 season
Representatives: 2
Managers: 1 (Europa Conference League: Ismail Kartal)
Clubs: 1 (Europa Conference League: Fenerbahce)