Today, in the latest articles about FM26 coaches, we look at the best coaches to bring in to help achieve your best defensive performances. Without further ado, here are our favourite defensive coaches on FM26:
Giuseppe Baresi (Inter)
Unlike his more high-profile brother Franco, who is a Milan legend, Baresi made a name for himself on the other side of Milan at Inter. He represented the Nerazzurri as a player, and since retiring, the 67-year-old has held a number of positions at the club, including head of youth development, coach and assistant manager.
The veteran coach is not just one of the best defensive coaches on FM26, he has some of the best attributes of any coach on the game.
As you would expect for a defensive coach, he is rated outstanding in his defending attribute. However, he also has the same rating for tactical, authority, determination, motivating, judging player ability and working with youngsters. His ratings for tactical and judging player ability are also rated very good. In short, Baresi has very few weaknesses as a coach.
One caveat to signing Baresi as one of your defensive coaches is that he is hard to prise away from Inter, where he has become part of the furniture.
Daniele Baldini (Free Agent)
Baldini is another veteran Italian coach who is an excellent addition to any coaching staff. The 61-year-old has had spells with several big clubs in real life, including Inter, Napoli, Roma, and Zenit in Russia.
His stats on FM26 are highly impressive, with outstanding ratings for defending, while he has very good ratings for possession, set-pieces, tactical, authority, motivating, determination and tactical knowledge.
The fact that Baldini is available as a free agent and willing to negotiate with most top-flight clubs, with a reasonable wage packet of £7,500 per week.
Daniele Bernazzani (Inter)
There may be something to the stereotype that Italy produces shrewd defensive players and coaches, as our third choice of defensive coaches is also Italian.
Daniele Bernazzani is another highly versatile staff member. His primary job is listed as head of youth development, yet he is currently working for Inter as a scout. The 62-year-old has been part of the Inter backroom staff in various roles since 2003.
His experience and ability are reflected in his attributes. His three outstanding attributes are working with youngsters, judging player ability and judging player potential. He also has very good attributes in defending, possession, tactical and technical, amongst others.
Similar to Baresi, Bernazzani is not keen on leaving Inter. It takes a massive club to prise him away from the Italian giants.
Kolo Touré (Manchester City)
As a player, Kolo Toure won the Premier League with both Arsenal and Manchester City, while also playing for Liverpool and Celtic at the top level of the game.
Having hung up his playing boots, the Ivorian moved into coaching, and he is now a highly respected coach within the beautiful game. He worked with his nation’s U-23 team before joining Celtic’s backroom staff and then joining Leicester City as a first-team coach.
In November 2022, Toure became manager of Wigan Athletic, but he only lasted until January 2023. In July 2025, he joined Manchester City as an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola, which illustrates his coaching quality.
His highest attributes are outstanding adaptability and determination, with a very good rating for defending, and a good rating for attacking, technical, and possession, among numerous others at the same rating. Like so many of the coaches on our list, Toure is not easily persuaded to leave his current club.
Paulinho Santos (Porto B)
The Portuguese coach currently plies his trade with Porto B. However, Santos began his coaching career with Porto’s first team in 2010 and has held various roles across the club’s first and second teams.
At 54, he is highly experienced, and his stats show that he is an excellent all-around coach. His highest attribute is outstanding for authority and very good for defending, possession and determination. His primary role is actually listed as an assistant manager.
It may not be easy to bring in Santos, unless you are an elite club. However, if he becomes a free agent or your club’s reputation grows, he may be open to joining.
