Spain has a talent for producing technically gifted midfielders, but a quick look across at the Premier League will also tell you that they also have a large talent pool when it comes to coaching.
Four of the 20 coaches in England’s top division are currently Spanish, following Unai Emery and Julen Lopetegui’s migration this winter, while in Spain, 13 of the La Liga coaches are native.
There may well be a new rising star on the block though, with Arsenal’s Carlos Cuesta. Assisting Mikel Arteta, he has reportedly played a crucial role in Arsenal’s rise to the top of the table. Cuesta is just 27 years of age and has spent time coaching in the youth ranks of Juventus and Atletico Madrid before joining up with Arteta in 2020. He also speaks six languages fluently (English, Catalan, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese), as per Marca.
Cuesta has been described as an individual development coach, and is credited with a role the impressive form of Eddie Nketiah, who has so far effectively replaced the injured Gabriel Jesus.
As a footballer, he quit at 18 after realising he would struggle to go professional, despite playing with Marco Asensio in a Balaeric Islands selection. He then applied to Atletico Madrid on Twitter and got a job as an assistant with the lowest age group, working his way up to manage the under-19 side over the course of four years. On his departure, he went to study in Porto under Victor Frade.
At just 27, Cuesta will have a bright future ahead of him. Should Arsenal go on to win the league, it will not be long before teams are knocking on his door, in the same way Arsenal did with Arteta.
