Management at the highest level remains unforgiving. Several well-regarded coaches sit without jobs after spells that combined notable achievements with abrupt endings.

Thiago Motta’s early career was uneven. His Genoa debut lasted 10 games before dismissal, but he steadied matters at Spezia, keeping the club in Serie A despite a transfer ban. Motta then overachieved at Bologna, taking them from ninth place to Champions League qualification, the club’s first appearance in Europe’s top tier since 1965. A 42-match return to Juventus followed and produced the lowest win percentage at the club in well over a decade.

Lucien Favre remains a mixed figure. He enjoyed strong spells at Borussia Mönchengladbach and during his first stint at Nice but faltered at Borussia Dortmund. A return to Nice lasted only half a season and Favre has been out of work since January 2023.

Xavi secured Barcelona’s 2022–23 La Liga title, yet his final season was turbulent and disjointed as the club’s entorno swallowed him. Questions persist about his long-term suitability at the very top level.

Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at Nottingham Forest ended in October 2025 after 39 days and eight games without a win, making him the shortest-reigning manager in the club’s history. His record elsewhere, however, includes trophies with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, Yokohama Marinos, Celtic and Europa League success with Tottenham Hotspur. “It’s just who he is, mate.”

Roger Schmidt left Benfica at the start of 2024–25 after a title-winning 2022–23 campaign and now serves as the J.League’s Global Football Advisor. Will Still rose fast at Reims with a 14-game unbeaten run but left in May 2024 as the team declined. Subsequent spells at Lens and Southampton produced further setbacks.

Other figures on the market include Gareth Southgate, who stepped down after Euro 2024 following eight years in charge of England; Erik ten Hag, dismissed early in 2024–25 then sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after three competitive matches in 2025; Marco Rose, Joachim Löw, Enzo Maresca, Edin Terzić, Laurent Blanc, Zinedine Zidane and Jürgen Klopp, each with differing recent trajectories and questions about what comes next.

Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, a handful of teams have defined eras by refusing to lose. These unbeaten runs, recorded across domestic and continental competitions, underline how consistency can rival silverware for legacy.

Celtic recorded a 42-game run between November 2016 and August 2017 under Brendan Rodgers. The Hoops went the entire league season without defeat and completed a domestic treble, lifting both the League Cup and the Scottish Cup. That streak ended in Champions League qualifying against Astana. Celtic still advanced on aggregate, but then lost five of six group matches and conceded 18 goals.

AC Milan also reached 42 games unbeaten after a May 1991 defeat to Bari. The Rossoneri went through the 1991-92 league season without defeat and did not lose until a 1-0 Coppa Italia semifinal loss to Juventus in April. That side featured Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten.

Ajax produced a 42-match sequence beginning at the end of 1994-95, a season in which they lost only once in the KNVB Cup. With Edwin van der Sar, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Nwankwo Kanu and Patrick Kluivert, Ajax lifted the Champions League and saw the run end with a 1-0 loss to Willem II in January 1996. They still won the Eredivisie and reached another Champions League final, losing on penalties to Juventus.

Juventus went 43 games unbeaten under Antonio Conte, mostly during 2011-12, winning the title and ending the run with a 2-0 Coppa Italia final defeat to Napoli.

Rangers registered a 44-game unbeaten spell across the 1992-93 season, which ended in March at the hands of Celtic. Walter Smith’s team won the domestic treble, beat Aberdeen in both cup finals and finished nine points clear in the league.

Dinamo Zagreb reached 45 matches without defeat from 2014-15 into 2015-16, their first loss that season a 5-0 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich. HNK Rijeka matched 45 games in 2016-17 before falling to Lokomotiva and later beating Dinamo 3-1 in the Croatian Cup final to secure a double.

Benfica held the post-war European record with 48 matches across 1963-64 and 1964-65, winning two Portuguese titles and a Taca de Portugal under an Eusébio-led side.

Union Saint-Gilloise produced a pre-war 60-game run of 44 wins and 16 draws, which ended on 3 February 1935. In 2023-24, Bayer Leverkusen achieved a 51-game unbeaten run under Xabi Alonso, finishing the Bundesliga season unbeaten before a 3-0 loss to Atalanta in the Europa League final ended the sequence.

Other notable invincible seasons in recent decades include Arsenal (2003-04), Porto (2010-11 and 2012-13) and Rangers (2020-21). Beyond Europe, Al Ahly have completed seven unbeaten league seasons since the 1960s, while Johor D.T. completed back-to-back unbeaten domestic campaigns in 2022 and 2023, each a 22-game league season with domestic trebles.

José Mourinho used a post-match press conference to remind a room full of reporters of a decision he made while at Manchester United and to celebrate a former player who has since flourished in Italy. After Benfica’s 2–0 Champions League victory over Napoli this week, the Portuguese coach entered the room carrying a bag. When asked what it contained he replied, “It’s Scott McTominay’s shirt.”

Mourinho leaned into the moment with some context from his United days. “I put him in, I benched Paul Pogba for him at Manchester United . The least he could do was give me his shirt.” The line referred back to McTominay’s first appearances for United in 2017.

McTominay made his debut in a Premier League match against Arsenal at Old Trafford in May 2017, coming on as a late substitute for Juan Mata in a 2–0 defeat. On the final day of that season he was given his first senior start in central midfield alongside Paul Pogba, with Mourinho rotating the side heavily ahead of the Europa League final three days later. Young colleagues who featured in that rotated line-up included Josh Harrop, Demetri Mitchell, Joel Castro Pereira, Axel Tuanzebe and Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

The Scotland international went on to make 255 appearances for Manchester United before his permanent move to Napoli in 2024. Since arriving in Italy he has increased his goalscoring output, registering 14 Serie A goals in less than one-and-a-half seasons, a tally the draft notes is five short of his entire Premier League total over seven years. He is also the reigning Serie A Footballer of the Year after playing a part in Napoli’s title win.

McTominay’s international story was also recounted. Born and raised in England to a Scottish father, he was eligible for both nations. As a first-team player at United he was on England’s radar despite never representing the Three Lions at junior level. Alex McLeish credits Mourinho with alerting him that the player was likely to opt for Scotland. “I rang José that morning,” McLeish recounted recently . “‘Come here for 12, let’s have lunch and a chat about Scott and then we’ll get him in the room.’ He couldn’t have been more accommodating,” the ex-Scotland boss continued. “I’d sensed Scott was keen, but I thought he’d still take a lot of persuading. He came in and was pretty clear in his own mind that he wanted to represent Scotland.”