Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi named 2025/26 UEFA Europa League Revelation of the Season
Despite Johan Manzambi and Freiburg falling short against Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa League Final, the Switzerland international was recognised by UEFA with the inaugural Revelation of the Season award for his standout campaign.
After breaking into Julian Schuster's team towards the end of last season, the 20-year-old has gone from strength to strength over the last 18 months. He played 27 Bundesliga games in 2025/26, starting the majority, and scored five goals and provided four assists.
In the Europa League, Manzambi featured in all 15 of Freiburg’s games, scoring two and assisting two, including the goal that set Freiburg up for reaching the final.
Watch: Manzambi on the way to the very top
The Revelation of the Season award is given out by the UEFA Technical Observer Group according to the following criteria:
“The Revelation of the Season award recognises an emerging young player who has delivered outstanding performances across the season. Eligible candidates must be no older than 21 at the start of the campaign and can win the award only once in their career; previous Young Player of the Season award winners are also excluded from contention.
"The recipient is selected based on exceptional individual skill, clear and measurable impact on team performance, and notable progression, maturity and consistency relative to their age. The award is designed to celebrate a true breakthrough season, highlighting a player whose performances distinguish them as one of the most promising talents of their generation and a potential future star.”
Watch: Freiburg given hero's welcome home
These are all attributes Manzambi has offered in abundance this campaign. In winning the award, the Swiss midfielder joins a list of successful Bundesliga youngsters in the competition.
Since the introduction of the Europa League Young Player of the Season award in 2021, the prize has been won by a Bundesliga player on four out of the five occasions: Eintracht Frankfurt's Ansgar Knauff did so in 2021/22, before Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz followed suit in the subsequent two campaigns.
Manzambi’s next goal will be to show his qualities on the global stage at this summer’s FIFA World Cup, where he has been called up to represent Switzerland.
