Sébastien Pocognoli

Genk

Pocognoli began his career with the youth team of Standard Liège, but left at the age of 15 to join Genk, where the club offered him a professional contract and felt Standard Liège would not give him first-team opportunities if he had stayed. Pocognoli made his Genk debut, where he came on as a substitute for Marco Ingrao in the second half, in a 1–0 win over Gent on 9 April 2004, which was his sole appearance that season. However, the new manager René Vandereycken sent him to the reserve team the following season. In 2006, he made a first-team breakthrough at the club, and played his first game for the previous two years on 22 January 2006, where he made his first start and played 69 minutes before being substituted in a 2–1 loss against Charleroi. In the next game against Westerlo on 28 January 2006, Pocognoli scored his first Genk goal (and his first professional goal), in a 2–0 win. He finished the 2005–06 season with fifteen appearances and one goal. Despite interest from clubs like Eredivisie side Ajax and Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, Pocognoli ended up staying at the club and did well when he set up a goal for Ivan Bošnjak, in a 1–1 draw against Standard Liège on 19 August 2006. Three days later, Pocognoli signed a new contract with Genk, keeping him until 2008 and two months later, he signed another contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2011 Despite being sent–off for a second bookable offence against Sint-Truidense on 29 October…

Pocognoli played youth football for Belgium at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. He was a squad member at the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He also played at the 2008 Summer Olympics, making 6 appearances at the tournament. After being called by the senior team for the first time on 24 May 2008, Pocognoli made his senior team debut on 30 May 2008, making his first start, in a 3–1 loss against Italy, and he has appeared in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. While playing for the national team in 2009, Pocognoli was involved in a dressing room altercation with teammates Timmy Simons and Stijn Stijnen.

Early career

Upon retiring from playing at the end of the 2020–21 season, he was hired by Union SG to coach their under-21 team. Pocognoli then had stints managing Genk's under-18 team and the Belgium under-18 team.

Union SG

In July 2024 Pocognoli returned to Union SG as head coach of their first team. In his debut season as manager, Pocognoli guided Union SG to a historic league title, their first in 90 years. After finishing third in the regular season behind Genk and Club Brugge, his side went unbeaten in the Championship Playoffs, winning nine of ten matches. A decisive 1–0 away victory over leaders Club Brugge and a final-day 3–1 win against Gent sealed the title and earned them a first-ever spot in the Champions League league phase.

Monaco

On 11 October 2025, Pocognoli was announced as the new head coach of Ligue 1 side Monaco. On 1 June 2026, he was sacked by Monaco.

Scotland

On 16 August 2026, Pocognoli was announced as the new head coach of the Scotland national team, signing a two-year contract, which the BBC described as a "brave choice". He became Scotland's second foreign head coach, after German Berti Vogts, who managed the team from 2002 to 2004. Pocognoli said he felt a connection with Scottish football.

Born in Seraing, Pocognoli is of Italian descent. Pocognoli revealed that his father worked next to the stadium. Growing up, he revealed that he initially hated football, but thanks to his stubborn father, he grew to like football as a sport.