Pochettino, Arteta, to Nagelsmann – Managers of top European clubs who have never won a league title

Mauricio Pochettino joined Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-German in January 2021 after an impressive five and a half years stint at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Argentine coach, who joined the Spurs in the 2014/15 season after managing Southampton for a year in the Premier League, guided the club to a top-four finish on four occasions and also helped them reach a Champions League final for the first time in the club’s history in the 2018/19 season where they lost 2-0 to Liverpool.

Despite Pochettino establishing Tottenham as one of the top clubs in England, neither could he guide them to a Premier League title, nor could he win any other trophy with the club. In November 2019, Pochettino parted ways with Spurs and Jose Mourinho replaced him at the helm.

Last season when Pochettino joined PSG, the French giants were third on the points table behind eventual champions Lille and Olympique Lyon. Pochettino managed the club in 21 league games where he won 16, lost four and drew one. In the end, PSG lost out on the title by just a point, finishing second with 82 points from 38 matches.

PSG witnessed a massive overhauling of their squad this season with the signings of big names like Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnaruma, Achraf Hakimi, Georginio Wijnaldum and Argentine superstar Lionel Messi. The French capital-based club have been the strongest team in Ligue 1 in the last decade winning the league title on seven occasions in the last nine years. Now that Pochettino is in charge of one of the strongest teams in Europe, he will hope to win his first-ever league title as a manager.

Other than PSG’s Pochettino, there are quite a few top European clubs whose managers have never won a league title in their career. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta began his professional coaching with the Gunners in 2019 and is yet to win a league as a manager. He had served as an assistant coach at Manchester City to Pep Guardiola though.

Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann replaced Hansi Flick at the helm of affairs this season. Nagelsmann, who has prior experience of managing Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, has never won the Bundesliga title. Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui guided the Spanish club to a Europa League triumph in the 2019/20 season but the Spaniard is yet to win a league title in his career.

Here, we take a look at some of the top European clubs’ managers who have never won a league title in their careers.