In football, older coaches are often perceived as statemen ruling with an iron fist over their much younger counterparts.
But in the modern day there are increasingly more bosses starting out at an early age.
In some cases, coaches are younger than their players. However, this hasn’t stopped them from reaching the top level.
Previously, clubs avoided younger coaches in favor of more experienced peers, opting for a safer pair of hands.
However, in recent years, club’s boardrooms have become more adventurous with their appointments, hoping to unearth the next tactical trailblazer who will revolutionize the club rather than just keep it afloat.
The Kenya Times details the seven top managers in world football currently under the age of 40, from household names just starting out in the game to gaffers who feel like they have been around for an eternity but are still mindbogglingly young.
Coaches Under the Age of 40
Vincent Kompany 38
Vincent Kompany is the new head coach of FC Bayern, after putting pen to paper on a deal until 2027.
Kompany, 38, replaced Thomas Tuchel as Bayern’s new boss after the club finished the season trophyless.
Despite Burnley getting relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2023/24 season, Bayern Munich reportedly made Vincent Kompany the fourth most expensive manager of all time.
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The club reportedly received £10.2 million (Ksh1,673,829,180.00) in compensation for the remainder of his contract.
Vincent Kompany began his professional career at Anderlecht in 2003/04, winning the Belgian championship in 2004 and 2006.
After two seasons at Hamburg, he joined Manchester City in 2008/09, where he won four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, two FA Cups, and two Community Shields.
Inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2022, Kompany also made 89 appearances for Belgium, scoring four goals.
He also played in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, with Belgium finishing third in 2018.
After serving as player-manager at Anderlecht, he ended his playing career in 2020 and then managed Burnley in 2022/23, guiding them to Premier League promotion before their relegation the following season.
Julian Nagelsmann (36)
Julian had become one of the most sought-after young managers in the world during his time with RB Leipzig.
In his first season, he helped the club reach the Champions League semi-final for the first time in its history eventually losing to PSG.
After just two impressive seasons at RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich were convinced and offered him their vacant managerial position.
He took over as Bayern coach in 2021 when Flick left to coach the German national team.
Nagelsmann led Bayern to another Bundesliga title, its 10th straight, but was fired by the Bavarian powerhouse in March due to management concerns that he wasn’t getting the best from the squad.
Still only 35 years old, Nagelsmann won the Bundesliga in his first season in charge – the first major trophy of his young – albeit fast-tracked – managerial career.
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Wayne Rooney (38)
Former Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney was appointed the head coach of the Championship side Plymouth.
The 38-year-old succeeded Ian Foster, who was sacked on April 1, 2024, after a poor run of results.
Prior to joining Plymouth, Rooney was the manager of Birmingham City before being sacked on January 2 after a disappointing reign of less than three months in which he lost nine of 15 games.
The Blues, who were in the Championship play-off places when Rooney took over but were relegated to League One earlier this month.
Matthias Jaissle (36)
Matthias Jaissle was born on April 05, 1988, in Nürtingen and is a former German soccer player with stints at VFB Stuttgart and TSG Hoffenheim.
He has been under contract with Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia since summer 2023 as the head coach. Before that, he was head coach at RB Salzburg for 2 years and won the double there, among other achievements.
Domenico Tedesco (38)
Former Schalke, Spartak Moscow and RB Leipzig boss Domenico Tedesco was appointed Belgium head coach.
The 38-year-old, who was born in Italy but also holds German citizenship, signed a contract until after the 2024 European Championship.
Tedesco began coaching at the age of 31 with the Stuttgart and Hoffenheim youth teams.
His first managerial role was a short spell in charge of lower division side Erzgebirge Aue before joining Schalke ahead of the 2017-18 season.
He led them to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga in his first season in charge but was sacked in March 2019 after a run of seven games without a win.
Reuben Amorim (39)
Ruben Amorim is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of Primeira Liga club Sporting CP.
He began his coaching career at Casa Pia in 2018 but resigned in the same year amid a dispute with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).
Amorim was then appointed head coach of Braga B before taking charge of the first team in December 2019, where he won the 2020 Taça da Liga.
In March 2020, Amorim was appointed manager of Sporting CP and won the title with the club in 2021 at the age of 36.
He guided Sporting CP to a double, winning both the Taça da Liga and the Primeira Liga, thus ending the club’s 19-year league title drought.
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