Italian coach Francesco Farioli, 37, has led Porto (one of Portugal's most storied football clubs) to the Portuguese league title in his first season in charge, losing just one match throughout the campaign — edging out José Mourinho's Benfica, who went unbeaten but finished second. Farioli's path to the top of European football is highly unusual: rather than a long playing career, he built his expertise writing tactical analysis for coaching blogs, before being recruited by renowned coach Roberto De Zerbi after a match report he wrote caught De Zerbi's attention in 2015. The two worked together for three seasons at Benevento and Sassuolo, and Farioli subsequently held successful stints at Turkish clubs Fatih Karagümrük and Alanyaspor, then French side OGC Nice, and Dutch giants Ajax, establishing himself as one of Europe's most promising young managers before his title-winning debut season at Porto.