"Coaching giants" lead European teams in a new competition to challenge Spain.

Sep 23, 2026

While Spain insists on keeping its coach Luis de la Fuente, who led the team to victory in the World Cup and the European Championship, with a contract extending until 2032, several major European teams have begun reorganizing their coaching staff with prominent names. Leading the charge are Zinedine Zidane with France, Jürgen Klopp with Germany, and Xavi Hernández with the Netherlands, in a new race to break Spain's dominance.

The coaching changes are not limited to France and Germany; Italy has brought back Roberto Mancini, while Portugal has turned to the experience of Jorge Jesus, and the Netherlands has appointed Xavi as the first foreign coach to lead their national team in 48 years.

These appointments reflect the European teams' desire to enter a new phase following the recent World Cup, with a clear openness to names that possess strong experience and rich backgrounds at the club level, while Spain bets on continuity and technical stability.

Zidane and Klopp at the Helm

Zinedine Zidane is set to sit on the French national team's bench for the first time on Friday in Kocaeli, Turkey, succeeding his former teammate in the midfield of "Les Bleus," Didier Deschamps, after years of being the leading candidate to take over.

French team captain Kylian Mbappé described Zidane's arrival as "like a movie," as it was decided to assign a personal bodyguard to the new coach, an unprecedented step for this position.

Zidane faces a significant challenge given the legacy left by Deschamps since he took charge in 2012, leading the French team to the semifinals in five of the last six major tournaments and winning the World Cup in 2018.

Zidane had confirmed in July that coaching France was the only job he had hoped to take, after building an exceptional career with Real Madrid, leading them to win the UEFA Champions League three consecutive times in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

In Germany, the local federation has chosen Jürgen Klopp to lead a team looking to regain its stature after years of inconsistent results.

The former Liverpool manager stated that taking charge of the German national team represents the "pinnacle" of his coaching career, emphasizing that he will do his utmost to restore the team to its place among the giants of world football.

Klopp began his mission with an expanded squad of 44 players, divided into two groups to prepare for the first four matches of the four-time World Cup champions.

Xavi and a New Dutch Challenge

The Netherlands has appointed Xavi Hernández as the successor to Ronald Koeman, with a contract extending until the 2030 World Cup, following the previous phase that ended with the team exiting in the Round of 32 in the last edition of the tournament.

Xavi's appointment is a significant step in the history of the Dutch national team, as he becomes the first foreign coach to take charge in 48 years.

Xavi has a strong intellectual connection to Dutch football, rooted in the Barcelona school and the influence of Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels, which the Spanish coach referenced upon his appointment, expressing a special bond with Dutch football heritage.

His coaching experience at the highest level is primarily linked to Barcelona, which he led after Ronald Koeman in 2021 before leaving in 2024.

As for Italy, the country has decided to return to Roberto Mancini, who led the national team from 2018 to 2023 and guided them to win the European Championship in 2021.

Mancini stated upon his return that he came to "win as quickly as possible," after previously leaving the national team to accept an offer from Saudi Arabia.

Mancini's return carries a heavy burden for a team that has won the World Cup four times but has failed to qualify for the last three editions of the tournament, making the 2021 European Championship title a notable exception in a difficult period for Italian football.

Portugal Bets on Experience

In Portugal, Jorge Jesus, 72, has been selected after the departure of Spaniard Roberto Martínez following the loss to Spain 1-0 in the Round of 16 of the World Cup.

Jesus's first major test will be to defend the UEFA Nations League title, as the Portuguese project heads toward the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Portugal, Spain, and Morocco.

Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, will continue to lead the national team, with Jesus affirming his symbolic status in Portuguese football, stating that Ronaldo is "a symbol of the national team and of Portugal, and will remain so in history."

The wave of change has extended to other national teams, with Slaven Bilić returning to lead Croatia, having previously managed the team from 2006 to 2012, while Dutchman Mark van Bommel has taken charge of Belgium.

Santi Denia, who succeeded de la Fuente as coach of Spain's Under-21 team, has received his first major opportunity at the senior level by taking charge of the Czech Republic.

These shifts place several of Europe's most famous coaches in new challenges as major teams enter a different phase of preparation for upcoming tournaments, while Spain continues to opt for continuity with de la Fuente amid a European race to reshape the balance of power.