Europe made its mark in America responds to El País: the technicians who broke the mold and won the prize

The 36th edition of the América le responde a El País survey, which corresponded to the 2021 season, marked an unprecedented event: the award for best coach went to a European. On this occasion, it was Portugal's Abel Ferreira who, after arriving at Palmeiras with no previous titles to his name—having previously coached Sporting Braga in Portugal and PAOK Thessaloniki in Greece—won the Copa Libertadores in Montevideo that season by beating Flamengo 2-1 in extra time. This achievement was so impressive that 77 journalists voted the Portuguese coach as the best coach of the season, with six more votes than Marcelo Gallardo, who finished second, and Lionel Scaloni closing the podium with 43 votes. But what is particularly noteworthy is that Europe has won two of the last four awards for best coach, as Ferreira's compatriot Artur Jorge won the award in 2024. The Braga-born coach, who arrived at Botafogo from Sporting in that city, won the Copa Libertadores, defeating Atlético Mineiro in the final and becoming—by a landslide—the best coach of the season with 118 votes, far ahead of Gustavo Costas with 31 votes and Lionel Scaloni with 28 votes, who came in third again, as he did three years earlier. The current coach of the Argentine national team was one of two South Americans to win the other awards in the last four seasons, taking the prize in 2022 after winning the World Cup in Qatar, while Brazilian Fernando Diniz won it in 2023 after winning the Copa Libertadores with Fluminense. Since 2011, this award has not gone to a Uruguayan coach, when Óscar Washington Tabárez won it, having already won it in 2010. Following in the footsteps of the former Uruguayan national team coach, José Néstor Pekerman (2012-2014) and Marcelo Gallardo (2018-2020) won it three times in a row.