Conference League winner 

©IMAGO

Oliver Glasner will be leaving Crystal Palace, having secured the club’s first European trophy. On Wednesday, Palace beat LaLiga minnows Rayo Vallecano 1-0 thanks to a goal by Jean-Philippe Mateta (51’) in front of 39,176 at the Arena Leipzig. For Glasner, who has announced that he will leave the club in October, it is his second European trophy, becoming just the second Austrian to do so after Ernst Happel won the European Cup with Feyenoord in 1970 and Hamburger SV in 1983. Glasner also won the Europa League with Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022.

There is no doubt that his reign at Palace was a success on the pitch. Not only has the 51-year-old won the Conference League, but also secured the FA Cup, the club’s first major trophy in 2025. With a point per game average of 1.59, Glasner also ranks first among all coaches who have been in charge for at least a full season at the club (overview). The success, however, takes its toll; Glasner is the Austrian Jose Mourinho. While his clubs are successful, there are also plenty of stories of confrontations with people above him in the hierarchy.

That was the case at Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg, where Glasner left after successful periods on the pitch. In his defence, both clubs were less successful following his departure. Without a doubt, the Austrian is extremely demanding, but the FA Cup, the way Crystal Palace cruised through the Conference League, where they won eight games, drew three and lost three, for a points per game average of 1.98, speaks for itself.

Glasner: European success versus Premier League slump

Sure, there is also a flipside to Glasner’s success. In the Premier League, Palace have struggled, finishing just 15th with 45 points. It isn’t the first time this has happened under Glasner, either. When Frankfurt won the Europa League in 2022, the club finished 11th in the Bundesliga standings. Like now, Glasner opted to focus on only one competition, and the reward then was participation in the Champions League. For Palace, it will be ‘just’ the Europa League next season.

What about Glasner? The Austrian now has the pedigree of having won not just one but two European trophies. His personal ambition has meant exits at Wolfsburg, Frankfurt, and Palace. All three times, Glasner bet on himself, and the bets paid off, and whoever bets on him next is likely to secure a top coach, with the ability to win trophies, and backed by the right funding might even stick around for a long-term project.