“Thank you for the best days of my life” said Oliver Glasner and Crystal Palace fans as an incredible two-and-a-half year journey had a dream final destination with a Conference League win.
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s second-half goal saw the Eagles soar past Rayo Vallecano and take home the trophy in their very first European campaign. It capped a surreal 12 months for the club.
Prior to May 2025, Palace had never lifted a major honour in their 120-year history. One year on, they’ve won the FA Cup, the Community Shield and now the Conference League.
How has he done it? And what’s next for both Palace and the brilliant Glasner?
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How Glasner made the Eagles fly
Arriving in South London in February 2024, and even with a fine reputation for his work in the Bundesliga and Europa League triumph with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022, no one could have foreseen what was ahead.
The second age of Roy Hodgson ended in retirement with chairman Steve Parish looking to take the club into the future. Recruitment had already gone that way.
Glasner inherited a squad packed with talent. Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze had established themselves as two of the very best attackers in the league, let alone outside the “Big Six”.
Marc Guehi was an England international primed for a starring role at Euro 2024 while the likes of Adam Wharton, Dean Henderson and Daniel Munoz had all joined in the months prior.
The since-departed Dougie Freedman’s run of signings rivals any in recent memory but Glasner is the key to their stunning success.
There’s been a multitude of issues for Glasner to deal with. Olise left in 2024, Eze in 2025 and Guehi in January this year. The latter had the Austrian feeling “completely abandoned” and on the verge of also exiting but he thankfully carried on.
His first few months saw a stunning 4-0 rout of Manchester United and a 1-0 win at Anfield as Palace ended the season in 10th place and with 49 points. Both equalled Premier League-era highs for the club.
The next season saw that points tally beaten by four and the FA Cup won in incredible fashion against Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. And this season, well we all know by now. There’s also been a club-record 19-game unbeaten run.
| Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace | |
|---|---|
| Games managed | 121 |
| Wins | 51 |
| Draws | 36 |
| Losses | 34 |
| Goals for | 179 |
| Goals against | 139 |
| Trophies won | Conference League, FA Cup, Community Shield |
His tactical nous had his side lined up in a 3-4-3 shape and often without the need for possession. His ability to manage a very small squad has been supreme, his man-management elite.
Glasner’s legacy at the club isn’t just the trophies he’s won. It’s where his players are now. Eze is a Premier League champion and could soon be a Champions League winner too. Guehi has won the FA Cup again. Henderson is the Palace captain. All three are in the England World Cup squad. Wharton should be.
Olise is a genuine world superstar with Bayern Munich and France and is joined in the Les Bleus squad by the once-unlikely duo of Mateta and Maxence Lacroix. Ismaila Sarr – who replaced Olise – hit a career-high 21 goals this season and is set for a starring role with Senegal this summer. The list goes on.
He leaves Palace in a place they’ve never been close to before and as an all-time legend of the club.
Where do Palace go from here?
Succeeding Glasner may prove to be the impossible job for whoever is next in line to the throne at Palace.
There’s been strong and surprise rumours of Andoni Iraola but he’s also in the frame for the AC Milan job. Thomas Frank is in the mix too. Parish has had months to identify the ideal candidate but it doesn’t make the task any easier.
There’s also set to be further big-name departures from Selhurst Park. Adam Wharton – Man of the Match on Thursday night – is reportedly a top target for Liverpool and Mateta is likely to push for a move as he did in January.
There is Europa League football though. A year later after their demotion to the Conference League due to Uefa’s contradictory multi-club ownership ruling and Nottingham Forest’s lobbying.
While the heights scaled by Glasner mean the only way is down in truth, there is an area where Palace can go up – the league table. Since their return to the top flight in 2013, they are still yet to finish above 10th or below 15th.
It’s a remarkable record that could go either way depending on their post-Glasner plan.
The sky should be the limit for Glasner
Glasner was effusive in his praise of his players and the Palace supporters following the win in Leipzig but there were no second thoughts over his exit.
“I took this decision. It’s a chapter. A good chapter. But other chapters will follow” he said, and the question now is what that next chapter might be.
A return to the Bundesliga could be a runner with Bayern Leverkusen likely to sack Kasper Hjulmand after a disappointing sixth-placed finish.
Just two years on from their invincible league and cup Double, the club are in a state of flux. So many of the title winners are gone, Erik ten Hag came and left within three games and now there could be more change.
It’s a serious challenge but is it one Glasner wants to sink his teeth into? Or might he take a break as he did after his exit from Frankfurt three years ago?
More jobs are likely to be available in the next six months and his stock has never been higher. What odds on a return to the Premier League with Liverpool before 2026 is out?
For now though, Glasner has more than earned his day – or months – in the sun.
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