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While the footballing fraternity awaits 2019 with the utmost belief of hope and future success, 2018 was nonetheless a very eventful year.
While the retirements of iconic players and the emergence of exciting young talent have always grabbed the headlines more often than not, this year, it was the managers of various footballing clubs who have managed to shift the attention of the fans alike towards them and their glorious careers.
As is the case with the on-field players, footballing greats such as Arsene Wenger and Jupp Heynckes bid goodbye after illustrious managerial stints at the some of the best clubs in the world while there was the curious case of the resignation of three-time UEFA Champions League winning coach, Zinedine Zidane, from his post as Real Madrid coach.
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In spite of such resignations and retirements making football all the more poorer in their absence, young managers have emerged through the storm and made their name during the course of the year in various national and international competitions.
We take a look at six of the best managers aged under 45 based on their contributions to their respective clubs in no specific order.
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#6 Marcelo Gallardo (River Plate) - 42 years old
An avid follower of Marcelo Bielsa, Gallardo has been instrumental in River Plate's success. With deep knowledge of the game, Gallardo has been acknowledged by many to be amongst the first of a few South American managers to bring in visualization techniques to the continent and it has reaped success.
Their recent win over the Boca Juniors was another indication of Gallardo's expertise of the game with attacking football on the show each and every time River Plate play. Young players such as Bruno Zuculini and Martinez have been at their best thanks to the gaffer. River Plate plays generally in a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-2-2-2 which implies either one or two center midfielders to control the tempo of the game and dictate it.
With Argentina faltering at the International scene repeatedly, Gallardo's achievements at a bonafide club such as River Plate should attract the Argentine FA's interests.
#5 Sergio Conceicao ( FC Porto ) - 44 years old
In the summer of 2017 with dire circumstances prevalent over Porto's need to satisfy FFP rules, Conceicao took over reins and has never looked back. After four trophy-less years, Porto was able to finally win the 2017-18 Primeira Liga under Conceicao. He transformed Porto into an attack-minded team that would implement possession-based football concentrated in the middle of the pitch. The full-backs, mainly Alex Telles are very attack-minded providing the width for Porto during games.
This season, Porto are sitting at the top of the table with Moussa Marega doing well at the front. With the experience of Iker Casillas at the back, Porto is once again a force to reckon with brilliant performances in the UEFA Champions League Group Stage as well.
With Portugal consistently producing great tactical managers such as Jose Mourinho, Sergio Conceicao might just be next in line to be considered amongst the elite of Europe.
#4 Eddie Howe ( AFC Bournemouth ) - 41 years old
Eddie Howe is considered to be amongst the best managers of the Premier League with his Bournemouth side doing well sitting near the middle of the table. Howe started off as caretaker manager for the Cherries in January 2009 and would subsequently take up the role permanently twice.
Eddie Howe has been known to favor possession-based football with high pressing a key area of their football. The attacking style of Howe has already borne fruits this season with the like of Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser propelling Bournemouth to a famous win.
This season, Howe has set his team up in a 4-4-2 where the support striker Josh King drops into the hole to link up with the midfield. With two exciting wingers in Ryan Fraser and David Brooks, width and crosses are provided in abundance for Callum Wilson, who had been linked with a move to Chelsea earlier in the season. Defensive stability has also been taken care of with Dutch center-back Nathan Ake marshaling the troops at the back.
With limited resources available, Howe has done well to turn Bournemouth to a potential top ten side in the Premier League. Reputed English managers are a rarity in this era but Eddie Howe could break the trend and establish himself as one of the best in England in 2019. Bournemouth would be lucky to have him continue over the course of 2019.
#3 Mark Van Bommel (PSV Eindhoven) - 41 years old
After a fairly successful career, Mark Van Bommel took up the PSV job from Phillip Cocu in the summer of 2018 after serving as assistant manager for the Australian national team. In spite of the defensive midfielder's bad reputation in terms of tackles and discipline on the field, Bommel's PSV has been wonderful to watch this season with slick play and robust defending.
PSV have been rampant in the league with the reigning Dutch champions scoring a joint-league-high of 60 goals and the joint-best defense in the league conceding only eight goals in the Eredivisie, holding both records with second-place Ajax. Although Ajax and PSV have been fairly equal, PSV romped to a 3-0 win over the arch-rivals in September signaling Van Bommel's prowess.
PSV put up admirable performances against Tottenham and Inter with Hirving Lozano being the star of the side. Bommel has his side set up in a 4-3-3 formation with Hirving Lozano and Steven Bergwijn playing as inside forwards to support Luuk De Jong in the middle. With the very beautiful and effective play, PSV is on course for another domestic title although Ajax is going to say otherwise.
PSV's exploits in the UEFA Champions League have already caught the eye of the public. Although it is just the beginning of his managerial career, it is just a matter of time until Mark Van Bommel is proactively persuaded by bigger clubs in Europe.
#2 Simone Inzaghi (Lazio) - 42 years old
Manager of Lazio since 2016, Simone Inzaghi is the brother of AC Milan legend, Filippo Inzaghi. In spite of the pressure of being an Inzaghi and taking over from Bielsa, who had resigned from the job after just 48 hours, Simone has done admirably at the Rome club.
In his first full season, Lazio finished at the fifth position signaling a successful career ahead. With Ciro Immobile in front and young stars such as Milinkovic-Savic coming to the fore, Lazio finished in fifth place. Losing out on a UEFA Champions League spot on goal difference in the 2017-18 season could have been a tough pill to swallow for anyone, but Inzaghi has hit the ground running this season with Lazio doing well this time too.
Currently occupying the fourth spot in the table, Lazio implements a 3-5-2 formation with either of Joaquin Correa or Luis Alberto playing behind Ciro Immobile as a shadow striker of sorts. Adam Marusic and Senad Lulic provide the width for the side which heavily depends on their midfield to provide the balance in their attacking style of play.
Lazio success over the past few years has been down to Inzaghi to a certain extent. Even after the sale of Filipe Anderson to West Ham, Lazio have held their own in the league which has lead to Inzaghi finally overshadowing his brother, albeit as a manager.
#1 Julian Nagelsmann (Hoffenheim) - 31 years old
Widely considered to be the best young manager in the business and the next in line to be RP Leipzig manager, Nagelsmann has led a relatively young Hoffenheim side to a Champions League spot in 2017-18.
He has continued his good work in this season as well. Nagelsmann idolizes Pep Guardiola and it is evident in Hoffenheim's play as well with the German club playing usually in a 3-5-2 formation with Reiss Nelson and Joelinton up front with Belfodil also providing an option. Kerim Demirbay is pivotal to Nagelsmann's style of play which involves slick-passing game similar to that of Wenger's Arsenal.
The German has installed a video wall for better analysis for the players. 2019-20 would see Nagelsmann coaching RP Leipzig, which is a hub of young exciting talent. It is a match made in heaven and would surely be successful in the coming years.
