The 7 best dressed managers at Euro 2024: Southgate, Deschamps, Spalletti…
With the Euros now in the knockout stages, the fun and games is over. It’s strictly business on the pitch, but who’s treating it that way on the touchline? We’ve picked out the seven managers with the strongest touchline outfits at Euro 2024.
In an era where the discourse surrounding the beautiful game is a never-ending cesspit of aimless transfer rumours, mind-numbing Twitter threads pushing agendas and people forcing us to watch football through graphs, it’s important not to lose touch on truly vital analysis – what a manager is wearing.
Before we get into that exclusive club, though, a word for the poor souls who didn’t make the cut.
Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann appears to have shrunk his best clothes in the wash and is these days dressing like an IT technician, while Romania’s Edward Iordanescu has tried everything from suit, to dress down, to full tracksuit and still can’t find a fit that he likes. Sort it out, guys.
Gareth Southgate
It’s been a somewhat boring start for Southgate’s side on the pitch, somehow stuttering their way to the top of a Group C we never want to have to talk about or think of ever again, but the England manager has much more to rave about from a style perspective.
For all the fanfare about the unforgettable 2018 World Cup waistcoat look, Southgate’s nonchalant knit approach to Euro 2024 represents a serious development in his style.
As iconic as the waistcoat was, it wasn’t a gimmick to be repeated and Southgate now dresses with more comfort and a subtle dash of flair.
He looks a little bit like he works at Zara with the knitted polos and the fitted trousers, but their uniform isn’t bad. We reckon he’s some second-hand jewellery and a pair of Nike Dunks away from joining fashion TikTok – and he’d probably look better than half the creators on there.
Luis De La Fuente
Replacing Luis Enrique was always going to prove a seriously difficult task. Oh, you mean on a football front? Yeah, sure. Whatever. De La Fuente has stepped up to one of the toughest gigs in international football and done it looking cool as f*ck.
It probably helps that the 63-year-old is absolutely jacked, but his fashion choices are subtle yet seriously suave.
Most of the time he pairs up a perfectly tailored black suit with a t-shirt, a custom pair of Spanish adidas originals and glasses which feel somewhere between Formula One driver and James Bond villain.
Dressed like that, De La Fuente wouldn’t look out of place managing a high-end fashion store in Milan or Paris, or incidentally stood on an F1 grid among the stars. In his first tournament as manager, we’re mightily impressed. Safe, but it works.
Luciano Spalletti
Italy simply never get it wrong. Roberto Mancini looked the dog’s b*llocks at Euro 2020 as they won the tournament and Spalletti looked almost as good three years on.
Emporio Armani’s 2024 offering for Spalletti and his staff is a little more out there in colour, materials and fit, but it just works. The Azzurri boss looks exactly that – the boss – and stands out on the touchline in a sea of dress-down co-ords and club-shop tracksuits. Over the top and we bloody love it.
Domenico Tedesco
Managing a national team at the European Championship is bold, but do you know what’s bolder? Doing it in a beige/grey, tweed suit.
Tedesco is doing both at the same time and has guided Belgium through to the knockout stages of the tournament looking exceptionally cool, all while navigating the stress that comes with an increasingly mortal ‘golden generation’.
Is it the most outlandish? No, as he’s pairing it up with a t-shirt. It sure is different, though, and he stands out while flailing his arms around on the touchline. Nagelsmann is jealous of this fit and so is your cool history teacher.
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Ralf Rangnick
A suit with a t-shirt appears to be the new meta at Euro 2024, with virtually all managers going for the look to varying degrees of success. Much like Tedesco, though, Rangnick is sex’ing it up with his choice of suit colours.
His Austria side are playing electrifying football on the field and he’s orchestrating it in style from the sidelines. It’s nothing too crazy, but the t-shirt is often paired with a seriously smart suit and shoes.
No socks, though. Incredibly brave, Ralf. Your dad despises it, which probably suggests he’s onto something.
Murat Yakin
Flying under the radar as his ever-impressive Switzerland side does his talking for him on the pitch, Yakin is quietly a smooth operator in the fashion department.
Pairing up a brave quiff with glasses that look like they’ve been carved from a fighter jet, a polo shirt showing chest and trainers that look like they’d cost a mortgage from Selfridges, it all feels a bit whacky, but it’s working. It’s a hell of a lot more interesting than most.
Didier Deschamps
Tournaments start and finish, managers come and go, seasons change, but the one constant in life will always be Deschamps dressing like he means nothing but business when on the touchline for France.
There are far too many people in the world who believe they can pull off a suit without a tie. If you’re questioning whether or not that’s you, then you can’t. Sorry. Thems the rules. We can’t either, but Didier certainly can. He owns it, actually.
Looking like the stag at the wedding who’s spent the evening nailing whisky but remains unflustered, he’s cooler than the seeds in the cucumber. Forget Bond villain – he goes full Bond with his fits and he owns it. The waviest man in the game.