Roberto De Zerbi next? Four managers who were out of place in the Championship | OneFootball

Roberto De Zerbi has replaced Igor Tudor as Tottenham Hotspur head coach, signing a long-term contract with the club in danger of being relegated from the Premier League.

According to reports, De Zerbi’s contract includes no relegation clause, meaning if Tottenham go down, he’s going down with them.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be the best – and most out-of-place – stadium in Championship history if that does happen, while the club’s wage bill, international experience and many other factors would likely set records in the second tier.

But would De Zerbi be the most out-of-place manager in Championship history? He would certainly find himself on this list of the finest coach to manage in the division. The best? One man is very difficult to top…

Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds United)

And that man is Bielsa, who brought Leeds back to the Premier League in 2020, ending a 16-year hiatus.

The Argentine legend failed to earn promotion in his first year at Elland Road, but Leeds’ improvement was astronomical. It was clear to see why so many incredible managers looked up to him, and it also became clear to those unaware that Leeds United are a pretty big club.

But Bielsa managing in the Championship was just absolutely mental.

As alluded to, Bielsa was idolised by world-class coaches such as Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone and Mauricio Pochettino. He is one of the most influential managers of all time and had no right spending two years in the Championship. Leeds fans will be forever grateful that he did.

Rafael Benitez (Newcastle)

Champions League-winning manager Benitez was unable to keep Newcastle in the Premier League in 2015/16, but he surely would have managed it had Steve McClaren left sooner. They were a different team in those final months of the season, but the ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid manager simply didn’t have enough time to steer a sinking ship to safety.

Some expected Rafa to leave St James’ Park following the club’s relegation, but he stayed to become a cult hero, and Newcastle returned to the top flight at the first time of asking.

In 2016, Benitez had managed both Real Madrid and Newcastle in the second tier of English football. This sport is wild.

Vincent Kompany (Burnley)

In terms of managers who looked out of place in the Championship, there isn’t much competition for Bielsa, Benitez and De Zerbi, if he fails to keep Spurs in the Premier League. Bielsa’s arrival in West Yorkshire sent shockwaves around the world of football, whereas our next examples only look a bit mental with the benefit of hindsight.

Kompany used the managerial and coaching knowledge he gained from playing under Guardiola and then managing Anderlecht to guide Burnley to promotion in 2022/23.

Burnley’s possession-based football saw the Clarets finish 10 points clear of second and 21 clear of third, with an impressive total of 101.

As a rookie head coach with no major achievements in management, Kompany wasn’t exactly out of place at Burnley or in the Championship, but he is now manager of Bayern Munich, which is quite the gig.

Burnley were relegated with Kompany at the helm in 2023/24, but he still earned the Bayern job after sticking to his principles throughout the season. Despite being a former world-class defender, his team plays some of the best attacking football in Europe, helped by having Harry Kane and Michael Olise.

Enzo Maresca (Leicester City)

In the same boat as Kompany, Maresca was Leicester City manager in the Championship after graduating from the Guardiola school of football.

The Foxes finished top in a very competitive Championship season, and their 97-point haul was enough for Chelsea to appoint the Italian.

A year after managing Leicester against Rotherham and Plymouth Argyle, Maresca’s Chelsea were smashing Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final. Incredible.