This Saturday, May 30, Paris Saint Germain and Arsenal will face each other to decide who is the king of Europe this season. The French can revalidate the title, while the English can be crowned for the first time.
But whoever wins, one thing is clear. It will be a Spaniard who lifts the trophy from the benchwhether it be Luis Enrique with PSG or Arteta with Arsenal. But they are not the first national coaches to win the Champions League.
Jose Villalonga
The first Spanish coach to win the then called ‘European Cup’ was Jose Villalonga with Real Madrid. The white club was the first to win this trophy and was with him on the benches.
Jose Villalonga
The merengue team dominated the first years of the competition, winning the first five editions. Although only the first two with Villalonga on the bench, in 1956 and 1957, beating in the final Stade de Reims and Fiorentina 4-3 and 2-0 respectively.
Miguel Munoz
The last of those five in a row for Real Madrid was conquered by Miguel Muñoz on the bench. A man who was in charge of lifting the first two as white captain. Although his first stage as a white coach would only last a few months.
Miguel Munoz
He had to replace the one who lifted the previous two, the Argentine Luis Carniglia, after suffering from colic. Fortune of destiny, he led the team in the final against the Eintracht Frankfurt that the merengue team won 7-3.
In 1960 he returned to take charge of the Merengue team, being the Madrid coach for the next 13 years. In between, left another European Cup, in 1966, after beating Partizan 2-1 in the final.
Vicente del Bosque
It was not until the change of format to the Champions League in which a Spanish coach once again lifted the European title. It was Vicente del Bosque, again with Real Madrid.
Vicente del Bosque training Real Madrid
In the record of the man who later became world champion with the Spanish National Team, There are also two Championslike his aforementioned compatriots. In 2000 he added the first, after winning the last match to Valencia, who lost to the whites in the final 3-0.
Two years later, the second would arrive. Bayer Leverkusen would be the loser, losing 1-2, where Zidane’s legendary volley happenedconquering Madrid for the third time in five years.
Rafa Benitez
In 2005, for the first time, a Spanish coach won the Champions League without being the coach of Real Madrid. Also, with a foreign team. It is about Rafa Benítez with Liverpool.
Benítez lifting the Champions League with Liverpool
It wasn’t just any final. That year it happened ‘The Miracle of Istanbul’. Milan and Liverpool faced each other. The Italian team led 3-0 at halftime. However, In the first 15 minutes of the second half they managed to tie the match.
The final was resolved on penalties, and after the errors of Serginho, Pirlo and Shevchenko, the English team emerged champion and Benítez became the fourth Spanish coach to win the top European title.
Pep Guardiola
In 2008, one of those who years later became one began on the bench. one of the best in history, Pep Guardiola. That year there was a confrontation in the final between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the final.
Guardiola lifting the Champions League
Barça won the match 2-0 and that season, in addition to signing a sextetbegan a period in which few teams could face him. Two years later the final was repeated. Same participants and same result, victory for Barcelona 3-1 with Guardiola at the helm, who signed his second Champions League in three years.
But he still had another one to add to his lists. In his seventh season with Manchester in 2023 He won his third after beating Inter 1-0 in the final, becoming the Spanish coach who has won the Champions League the most times.
Luis Enrique
The last Spanish coach to win the Champions League was Luis Enrique. Like Guardiola, he did it for the first time with Barcelona in 2015, the year in which They also won the League and Cup. In the continental tournament they defeated Juventus in the final with a 3-1 score.
Luis Enrique lifting the Champions League
Last season he conquered Europe again, this time with PSG. With the French club he dominated the continent, and The one who suffered the most was Inter, after receiving 5-0 in the final.
This Saturday, Luis Enrique can equal Guardiola as the Spanish coach with the most Champions League titles under his belt. After a tough tie against Bayern, the Parisian team moved on to a new final against Arsenal, and has a date with history to win its third and second in a row.
