The English Premier League (EPL) kicks off this Friday, August 16, 2024, with Manchester United hosting Fulham. This match marks the beginning of a fresh campaign as clubs across the league aim to dethrone defending champions Manchester City, who have claimed the title six times in the past seven years.
A look back at the history of the EPL reveals an intriguing fact: since the league’s inception in 1992, no English manager has ever led a club to an EPL title. The closest any English native has come to winning the league was in 1991 when Howard Wilkinson guided Leeds United to victory in the final season of the old First Division, just before the EPL was introduced.
In 1993, Ron Atkinson led Aston Villa to a second-place finish, ten points behind Manchester United. Three years later, Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United narrowly missed out on the title, finishing four points behind Manchester United.
Foreign managers with most EPL titles
When it comes to foreign managers, Scots have been the most successful, largely thanks to the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, who won 13 EPL titles with Manchester United, and Kenny Dalglish, who secured one title with Blackburn Rovers in 1995. Italians follow closely with four EPL trophies: Carlo Ancelotti (2010) and Antonio Conte (2017) both led Chelsea to the top, while Roberto Mancini guided Manchester City to their first top-tier title in 44 years in 2012, and Claudio Ranieri achieved the ultimate underdog victory with Leicester City in 2016.
Frenchman Arsène Wenger has three EPL titles with Arsenal (1998, 2002, 2004), equalled by Portuguese manager José Mourinho, who won with Chelsea (2005, 2006, 2015). Spain’s Pep Guardiola has dominated recent seasons, securing six Premier League titles in the past seven years with Manchester City. Rounding out the list are Manuel Pellegrini from Chile, who won with Manchester City in 2014, and German manager Jürgen Klopp, who led Liverpool to their first Premier League title in 2020.
The only Englishmen in the EPL
A lot has changed in the over three decades of the League’s existence, there were only six foreign managers out of 22 in total in the first edition back then. Now, in the new season 2024/25 kicking off this Friday, there will be only three Englishmen on the benches of the Premier League clubs.
They include Everton’s Sean Dyche, Newcastle’s Eddie Howe, and Wolverhampton’s Gary O’Neil. Many football pundits find it not necessary to pay attention to the trio as their chances of lifting the trophy after nine months of the season 2024/25 are close to none.
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