Parma hires Arsenal’s Carlos Cuesta as youngest Serie A manager in nearly a century
Photo Credit: Parma Calcio
Parma Calcio has appointed 29-year-old Carlos Cuesta as their new manager. The former Arsenal assistant coach becomes the youngest manager in Europe.
Cuesta is the youngest Serie A manager since Triestina’s Elio Loschi in 1939. Loschi was 29 years, nine months, and 20 days old when he managed his first game. Cuesta will be 30 years and 26 days old when he takes charge of Parma for the first time on August 24. At the moment, Cuesta is the youngest manager in Europe’s top five leagues.
The Spaniard joined Arsenal in 2020, spending five seasons at the club. Cuesta quickly became one of manager Mikel Arteta’s closest confidants. He was most known for his communication skills, unique tactics, and ability to develop players. Fluent in six languages, Cuesta was applauded for his powerful one-on-one conversations with players. His knack for inspiring and developing players through those talks was highlighted in Amazon’s All or Nothing: Arsenal docuseries in 2022.
The beloved Arsenal assistant addressed the club and its fans in a social media post on Wednesday.
“After five beautiful years, it’s hard to put this into words,” said Carlos Cuesta in a statement on Instagram. “But I can only express how grateful I am for having lived my day-to-day with such special people and feel what it means to represent this football club, with its incredible history and values.
“Because of the quality of its people, I’m convinced that the best moments for this football club are still yet to come. Enjoy the journey, because it is a very exciting one. Thank you, Arsenal.”
Cuesta helped Arteta make Arsenal into title contenders, with three consecutive second-place finishes and a trip to this year’s Champions League semifinals.
Before joining the North London-based club in 2020, Cuesta coached at the youth ranks for Atletico Madrid in Spain and Juventus in Italy. At just 18, he joined Atletico, coaching the Under-13s before moving on to work with the U17 team. While coaching with Atletico. Cuesta studied under the “godfather of football tactics,” Vitor Frade, at Porto University. Frade’s most notable student is Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho, a three-time Premier League champion and two-time Champions League winner.
Following his time in Spain, Cuesta moved to Juventus to be an assistant coach for their U17 and U23 teams, while also spending time traveling Europe to study coaches and tactics. It was during this period that he met two of the more influential people in his career.
The 29-year-old spent time learning under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, where Arteta was an assistant to the manager. Arteta added Cuesta to his Arsenal coaching staff in 2020, the former Arsenal midfielder’s first full season at the helm.
While at Juventus, Cuesta met Federico Cherubini, the club’s sports coordinator at the time. Cherubini was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Parma on January 22, 2025, and was integral to giving Cuesta his first senior managerial job.
Cuesta replaces 44-year-old Cristian Chivu, who was made manager of Italian giants Inter Milan in June.
The Spaniard will begin his journey with Parma on July 1, 2025. He signed a two-year contract with an additional option for a third year. Cuesta will be introduced as the new Parma boss on Thursday, June 26, at the Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma.
