Four Spaniards have made the five-man shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or Men’s Coach of the Year award, putting Spain’s coaching influence at the centre of one of football’s biggest honours.
Luis Enrique, Luis de la Fuente, Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery are the four Spaniards on the list, while Vincent Kompany is the only non-Spanish nominee.
Ballon d’Or organisers announced the shortlist on their official channels, with the award covering coaching performances from August 2025 to July 2026.
Luis Enrique is among the leading names after guiding Paris Saint-Germain to the Champions League final last season. He also remains one of Spain’s most decorated modern coaches, having led Barcelona to a treble in 2015.
De la Fuente is the only national team coach on the shortlist. He continues to lead Spain through the 2026 World Cup cycle, having risen through the country’s coaching system before taking charge of the senior side.
Arteta earned his nomination after leading Arsenal to second place in the Premier League. The former Arsenal midfielder also worked as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City before taking charge of the London club.
Emery’s nomination reflects his work at Aston Villa, where he secured European football and continued to strengthen his reputation as one of the most accomplished Spanish coaches working outside the country.
Then comes the interesting exception.
Kompany is the only non-Spaniard on the shortlist after leading Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title in his first season in charge. But even the Belgian has a direct connection to the coaching influence represented by the other four.
He played under Guardiola at Manchester City before moving into management, giving the five-man list a curious link. Four nominees are Spanish, while the lone outsider was shaped, at least in part, by a coach whose methods were heavily influenced by the same Spanish football tradition.
That makes the shortlist more than a collection of successful coaches from the past season. It also offers a snapshot of how Spanish ideas about possession, positioning and tactical control continue to travel beyond Spain and shape coaches at the highest level of the game.
The winner will be announced at the 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony in London on Monday, October 26, 2026
