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After spending five years as Mikel Arteta’s assistant at Arsenal, Carlos Cuesta is now in his first managerial role at Parma and is the youngest head coach in Europe’s top five leagues.
At 30, he has already coached youth teams at Atletico Madrid and Juventus and this season Parma finished 13th in Serie A after taking the reins last summer.
After retiring from a playing career at age 18, Cuesta began a sports science degree but always knew he wanted to be a coach.
“You have to maximize potential and that comes from doing things that you think will help you,” he said of his path to coaching.
One way the Spaniard did this early in his career was by messaging Real Madrid and Atlético staff on social media. It was through this that Cuesta eventually found himself volunteering with the youth team at Atlético.
“I was very lucky,” Cuesta said. “During the journey I met incredible people who were very willing to help me grow, were very available, opened their doors to knowledge. I learned a lot. I had a lot of inspiration.”
One of those men was Arteta, his friend and mentor, with whom Cuesta shared the touchline at Arsenal for half a decade.
When he left the club last June, He said “I am convinced that the best moments are yet to come for this football club”.
Following Arsenal’s recent success, Cuesta was glowing about both his former club and their manager, but was careful to draw a line between their achievements and his own involvement.
“I’m extremely happy for them,” he said. “They deserve everything. Everyone in this organization and especially Mikel.
“A lot of people can see how incredible he is, and I can tell he’s better than people see.
“When you get to know him every day, that’s when you realize he’s even better. He’s an incredible person, leader and coach.”
