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The 2017/18 Season of the Premier League was memorable for various reasons. There was a total attendance of 14,505,909 and 1018 goals were scored in the 380 games played. Manchester City won the league, whereas Manchester United finished second.
Swansea City, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion were relegated to the Championship at the end of the season. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Cardiff City and Fulham won promotion from the Championship and will be playing in the Premier League in the 2018/19 season.
The new Premier League season is only a few weeks away and the transfer market is buzzing with rumors of players who are supposedly on the move. However, the 2018-2019 Season will also see 4 managers who will be getting their first taste of the hustle and bustle of the most talked about league in the world.
We take a brief look at all of the four newcomers in Premier League management.
#4 Nuno Espirito Santo
Born in Sao Tome and Principe, Nuno Espirito Santo is a 44-year-old ex-goalkeeper, who represented Portugal at the 1996 Olympics. He will be a familiar face to Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, because Nuno was a part of Mourinho’s famous Porto side that won the 2002/03 UEFA Cup and the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League.
Nuno retired in 2010 and moved into management, first starting as a goalkeeping coach. His first coaching appointment was for Portuguese side Rio Ave, who, under him, were the finalists in both domestic competitions and qualified for the UEFA Europa League for the first time in their history.
Nuno's efforts caught the eye of several clubs and moved to Valencia, leading them to a 4th place finish in 2014/15. He moved to Porto the next season and on 31st May 2017 was appointed the Head Coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In his first season at Molineux, Nuno led the Wolves to the Championship title, finishing 9 points clear and earning them a promotion to the Premier League.
Nuno has won the Manager of the Month three times during his one season in Spain and last season, Wolves played inspirational football under him. He will be raring for his debut in the Premier League and will be hoping to replicate some of the success of his coaching career in his first season here.
#3 Slavisa Jokanovic
The Serbian joined Fulham in December 2015 and after winning the Championship play-offs in the 2017/18 season, finally led his club back into the Premier League for the 2018/19 season.
Jokanovic was a defensive midfielder in his playing days and he represented Yugoslavia in both the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2000 UEFA European Championship. He had played for Chelsea for two seasons between 2001 and 2003.
His managerial career started with a successful spell at his former club Partizan Belgrade, where he joined in the middle of the 2007/08 season. He won the league and cup double in his first year itself and also defended both trophies in the next season.
He won the Thailand Premier League with an unbeaten record with Muangthong United in the 2012/13 season, after which he moved again. Incidentally, he had brief spells in Bulgaria and Spain, before he joined his first English Club, Watford, in October 2014.
Jokanovic successfully secured them promotion to the Premier League from the Championship, but strangely left before the start of the new season. He then joined Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv and took them to their first UEFA Champions League group stage in 11 years.
It was after that season that his tryst with Fulham began.
Jokanovic managed to take Fulham to the Championship play-offs in his first full season in charge at Craven Cottage, but they lost in the semi finals and the Premier League eluded them.
However, Jokanovic was not to be denied the second time. They were unlucky to miss automatic promotion, but defeated Aston Villa in the Championship play-offs finals at Wembley.
Fulham are returning to the Premier League after an absence of 4 years and this season will be a fabulous test of a gritty and tenacious manager who has proven his worth over the years.
#2 Unai Emery
Arsene Wenger’s decision to leave Arsenal at the end of the 2017/18 season sent a wave of curiosity around the Premier League. To replace a manager who had been at the helm of a club for 22 years was no mean task, and the worries and concerns were justified.
Manchester United had experienced great discomfort while immediately replacing the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, and Arsenal were apprehensive. So when they announced that Unai Emery was to be appointed as Wenger’s replacement, a lot of heads were turned and for various reasons.
Emery started his coaching career at the club where he retired from professional football; Spanish third tier side Lorca Deportiva. In his first season, he got them promoted and in the next season, the club narrowly missed out on a place in La Liga.
Emery then took up the job at Almeria, where he got the club promoted to La Liga in his first season and drove them up to 8th position in the next season. Next up was four years at Valencia, where he took them to three successive 3rd place finishes.
After a brief spell at Spartak Moscow, Emery got the Sevilla job in the middle of the 2012/13 season. In his three years there, he won 3 consecutive UEFA Europa League titles.
In 2016, Emery took over at Paris Saint German. PSG, under his guidance, won both domestic cups in the first season and a domestic treble in his second, after winning the league in 2017/18 season.
Emery has a proven track record and has worked with some big names as well, so his first season at Arsenal and the Premier League will be watched closely by football fans all over the world - especially since he is replacing an icon like Arsene Wenger.
#1 Maurizio Sarri
The Italian takes over the helm from Antonio Conte for the second time in his career, this time at Chelsea.
The former banker decided to follow his passion in football and entered football management at 1999, aged 40. He initially worked with lower league sides in Italy, before taking up the job at Pescara in Serie B.
Sarri switched to Arezzo next season, replacing Antonio Conte there. At Arezzo, he masterminded the Italian side’s run to the quarterfinals of Coppa Italia, where they lost a closely contested tie to AC Milan.
Sarri had brief spells with a few other Italian clubs before returning to Serie B with Empoli. There he confirmed their promotion to Serie A in his second season and ensured their stay in Serie A in the next season.
His next job was with Napoli, where he took them to 2nd and 3rd places in the league in his first two seasons. In his last season with Napoli, they finished 2nd, just 4 points adrift of Juventus at the top, with 91 points - a record for a runner-up team in Serie A.
On 14th July this year, Maurizio Sarri was name the Head Coach of Chelsea. But the man who won the Serie A Coach of the Year in 2016/17 season will have his hands full at Chelsea, dealing with superstars on the verge of exit and the aftermath of a poor season.
Sarri will need all his experience and wits to come to his aid, in what will be his toughest job till date.
Who among these 4 will have a successful season? Comment below to let us know!
