Described as the ‘best club competition’ in world football, the UEFA Champions League has, over the years, carved a special reputation among football fans. Even winning the title once guarantees a player, or a club, a chance to be part of football folklore. A Champions League win is also an important achievement on a manager’s CV.
And over the years, several legendary coaches have had the honour of winning it, some even doing it more than once in their career. However, there are some who managed to do it at a very young age.
So, here are the youngest managers in the history of the UEFA Champions League.
Pep Guardiola- 38 years
Never in football history will we see a managerial debut season like the one Pep Guardiola had back in 2008. Taking charge of a disjointed Barcelona side, Guardiola quickly removed players such as Ronaldinho with newcomers such as Pedro. What he achieved was the first sextuple as the Catalans won a record six trophies playing their famous tiki-taka style. This included La Liga, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.
Under his tutelage, Barcelona won the Champions League after topping their group before beating Lyon, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United to win their third Champions League crown.
Miguel Munoz- 38 years
Miguel Munoz is the first person in history to win the European Cup (the predecessor to the UEFA Champions League) both as a player and coach. The midfielder was part of the team that won the first three European cups in 1955–56, 1956–57, and 1957–58 before retiring. He would then join Real Madrid as a coach, winning them two European titles and nine La Liga.
His first European Cup victory came in the 1959-60 season when the Los Blancos defeated Jeunesse Esch, Nice, Barcelona, and Eintracht Frankfurt to win their five consecutive European Cup.
Jose Villalonga Llorente- 37 years
Two of Miguel Munoz’s three European Cups came under the legendary Jose Villalonga Llorente, who won the club the title in 1955-56 and 1956-57. Villalongas’ first title win as a manager came when he was only 37 as the Los Blancos defeated Servette, Partizan Belgrade, AC Milan, and Reims to win their first title.
Villalonga would win two La Liga and Copa Latina with the team before winning a further four trophies with Atletico Madrid.
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Guus Hiddink- 41 years
Guus Hiddink remains one of the best Dutch managers of all time. During his illustrious career, Hiddink managed PSV Eindhoven, Real Madrid, and Chelsea. He also led the South Korean team to a third-place finish in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
However, his greatest tenure came with OSV, where he won 12 trophies, including six Eredivisie, four KNVB Cup, one Johan Cruyff Shield, and one European Cup. The continental title came in the 1987-88 season when PSV defeated Galatasaray, Rapid Wien, Bordeaux, Real Madrid and SL Benfica to win the title.
Zinedine Zidane- 44 years
Zinedine Zidane is not only one of the youngest Champions League-winning managers but is also the only one to do it three consecutive times. Taking charge of Real Madrid in mid-season, Zidane won his first trophy in 2016. He would follow it up with two more titles in 2016-17 (against Juventus) and 2017-18 (against Liverpool).
He won 12 trophies during his two stints at the club, including two La Liga.
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