From a Rangnick prodigy to a champion of Europe – everything you need to know about England’s new boss. James Clement reports.
So, Tuchel it is. The FA have decided upon just the third foreign manager in the nation’s history as the former Borussia Dortmund, PSG and Chelsea boss takes the hot seat. He will take on what is considered one of the toughest gigs in world football – and arguably with the hardest act to follow since the sacking of Sir Alf Ramsey in 1974. No pressure then Thomas. So what is there to know about England’s new boss?
Described as an ‘assertive and demanding’ player, Tuchel never made the grade at his boyhood club FC Augsburg. Released at 19, Tuchel would go on to sign for Stuttgarter Kickers in the Bundesliga 2 before spending four years at fourth-tier SSV Ulm. Fitting the 1990’s German mould of a ‘sweeper’, Tuchel was forced to retire at only 25 due to a knee injury.
A period of uncertainty lay in wait for the German as he undertook a Business degree whilst working as a glass collector in a Stuttgart pub to pay for rehabilitation costs. Tuchel described this period of his life as a ‘valuable lesson’ as he left his footballing bubble and was for the first time around people that didn’t know him for his football. It was a humbling two years until he was even able to work on the bar.
He got his break in coaching from ex-Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick in 2000 as a coach of Stuttgart’s youth sides. Here he crossed paths with future German internationals Sami Khedira and Mario Gomez to name a few, but was ultimately let go by the club after five years. This is not to say that he was not a success however, as he guided Stuttgart’s under-19’s side to the title in his final season. The reason commonly cited for this departure was instead his personality – the beginning of a common trend in the budding coach’s career.
From here Tuchel returned to FC Augsburg, the same side that had released him as a youth player 13 years prior. This began a four year association with the club, beginning as a coordinator before being promoted to head coach of the reserve side. During his initial position Tuchel was able to convince the club to allow him to complete his UEFA pro licence. A swift six months in Cologne later and Tuchel was fully qualified with the highest badge a coach can hold. Described as ‘a very good student’ Tuchel kicked on in the 2007-08 season as he guided FC Augsburg II to a very respectable fourth place finish. He had, however, already gained a reputation for his conduct. Regularly reprimanded for his outbursts towards referees, Tuchel was showing a fiery side to his otherwise calculated and studious approach.
Frustrated by the gap between his tactical concepts and the level of players at his disposal he hopped ship to Mainz 05, initially as the under-19’s coach. Having sought inspiration from the path already travelled by former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, Tuchel seized this opportunity. Ironically playing Borussia Dortmund in their deciding match for the 2008-09 title, Klopp watched on. Klopp has been quoted as saying of the game: ‘there were 10 better players for Dortmund but they lost against one better team’. Mainz were beginning to take note of the starlet in their ranks. The next season he was offered command of the first team.
Tuchel was not short of admirers by this point but chose to stay loyal to Mainz. The club admired his attention to detail and unwavering mannerisms that had him chastised previously. The implementation of high pressing and quick counter-attacks aimed to squeeze every last drop out of the squad at his disposal in a Bundesliga not shy of superior talent. Newly promoted that season, Mainz seemingly had a different tactical plan for each opponent – a credit to Tuchel’s studious and obsessive nature. The 2010/11 season saw them start the season in scintillating fashion as they recorded seven straight victories – including a victory against Bayern Munich. But it was perhaps away from the pitch where Tuchel was most innovative.
Constantly in pursuit of knowledge and a tactical edge, Tuchel and his staff became aware of a football blog known as ‘Spielverlagerung’ and subsequently asked to meet with the two young contributors. They were Rene Maric and Martin Rafelt, both of whom were then tasked with occasional scouting reports on upcoming opponents for Tuchel’s men. This was certainly not in convention with how a typical manager would act. Both have since gone onto successful careers in their own right.
Much like his Bayern counterpart Pep Guardiola however, Tuchel soon left for a sabbatical in 2014 after five successful years of punching above his weight. Having rebuilt the side on numerous occasions due to larger clubs swooping for stars such as Andre Schurrle and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Tuchel found himself either unable or unwilling to go through another overhaul to garner the same results. During this period a friendship blossomed between him and Guardiola, both sharing an insatiable appetite for knowledge on the game. Even more in keeping with the Spaniard Tuchel could not stay away from management for long.
Tuchel then arrived at Borussia Dortmund just in time for Guardiola’s final season with the German giants to great acclaim. He had big shoes to fill in the shape of the departing Jurgen Klopp and yet his side lived up to expectations. Although finishing some 10 points behind Bayern his side earned plaudits for breathtaking attacking football. His transfer policy favoured bringing in more understated players such as Roman Burki and Julian Weigl which were felt to be able to contribute to the club for years to come. They outscored the eventual champions with goals aplenty from Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and a rejuvenated Shinji Kagawa. Despite these positives it was to be another season as the nearly-men for Dortmund. Their second place finish in the league was compounded by a crushing penalty defeat to Bayern in the DFB Pokal final. A late Dejan Lovren goal for Liverpool killed any European aspirations they may have had at the quarter-final stage of the Europa League as well. For his exploits Tuchel was awarded Bundesliga manager of the year.
His second season at Dortmund was more complicated. A 3rd place finish in the Bundesliga was no disgrace, yet finishing with 14 less points and 18 points off the champions (guess who that was) was not a positive forecast. The acquisitions of Mikel Merino, Ousmane Dembele and Alexander Isak have all certainly been vindicated since, yet they would be without their defensive talisman Mats Hummels, as his departure to title rivals Bayern Munich was one of a mass exodus of talent. It was far from all doom and gloom however, as Tuchel managed to go one better in the Pokal. Despite a perhaps fortuitous run up until the semi-finals, it was there that Tuchel would show down with the ever present thorn in his side: Bayern Munich. On this occasion Dortmund triumphed 3-2 in a dramatic game. They would go on to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 in the final for Tuchel’s first taste of silverware.
In Europe, however, Tuchel and Dortmund would experience a more defining moment away from the pitch. Having made incredibly positive inroads in Tuchel’s premier foray into the Champions League – including topping a group featuring eventual champions Real Madrid – spirits were high going into a first leg quarter-final matchup with AS Monaco. Whilst on route to the stadium in their team coach three roadside pipe bombs were detonated. There were no casualties, yet an escorting police officer and defender Marc Bartra were transported to hospital. Controversially the game was rescheduled for just the following day. Dortmund would go on to lose the game 3-2 and the overall tie 6-3 on aggregate.
In stoic fashion Tuchel has gone on record downplaying the impact of the event on himself. He has mentioned that upon informing his family of his safety and returning home he simply sat down and watched Barcelona take on Juventus in the other european fixture billed for that evening. Speaking of his family’s reaction he said: ‘They were quite freaked out and I came home a little bit like a robot, not talking too much about it’. Perhaps a quintessentially macho or even German reaction to such an event, it may paint the picture of a man so caught up in focus for his craft that he struggled to take in what had happened to him and his team.
Despite the Pokal heroics and valiant effort in Europe against such traumatic adversity Tuchel was let go just three days after earning his first silverware. It would appear that once more his prickly nature has bested him. His relationship with the club’s CEO by this point was hanging by a thread due to transfer policy. Tuchel was unhappy with the decision to sell so many key players in the preceding summer window and was similarly thwarted in his attempts to clear out perceived deadwood at the club. Tuchel was also very unhappy with the club’s cooperation in playing the game against Monaco the day after the bomb incident. Whilst the latter is certainly an understandable gripe, the former perhaps shows a need to be in sole control of a club – or maybe just a dislike for board interactions.
Another year away from management was on the menu for Tuchel who eventually took the reins of Paris Saint-Germain in 2018. Success in the French capital is difficult to define in the modern day, but bringing in Kylian Mbappe for £166 million was hardly a bad start. Being able to reconcile two stars in Mbappe and Neymar into the same team was Tuchel’s brightest success in his first term as PSG waltzed to the title by a 16-point margin. A second round Champions League exit and a final defeat in the Coupe de France were certainly below par, however. Of course Tuchel would have his gripes with the board here too as he bemoaned the inability to effectively recruit in the full-back department, although in truth the signing of Mbappe called for a certain amount of book-balancing.
The second season for Tuchel was near perfection. Marred by the Covid-19 pandemic, Tuchel completed a domestic quadruple. Losing only three domestic games all season PSG won the league title with a whopping 2.52 PPG (points per game). Ever since the Parisian’s ascension to Europe’s elite however, the true barometer for success lay in continental competition.
For the second time in his career Tuchel topped a Champions League group with Real Madrid in. A 2-0 home victory over his former employers Dortmund saw them edge out the second round 3-2 on aggregate until a five month gap followed due to the pandemic. Tuchel would then squeeze past Atalanta in the quarters in dramatic fashion, needing a 90th and 93rd minute goal to face RB Leipzig in the semi-final. A routine 3-0 victory would set up a date with an old foe: Bayern Munich.
A bizarre final followed due to the lack of any fans in Lisbon. If not for this fact it would have been a forgettable final as PSG and Tuchel’s first Champions League final ended in disappointment. Kingsley Coman’s 59th minute goal was enough for Bayern to once more haunt Tuchel.
Despite falling just short in Europe’s premier competition one would be forgiven for thinking that Tuchel’s performance would have pleased the higher-ups in Paris. Once again, however, personal disagreements came between the German and his job. The similarly abrasive Leonardo – then PSG sporting director – had a tenuous relationship with Tuchel to put it lightly. Tuchel publicly described the role as more akin to a politician than a coach; as Leonardo retorted that Tuchel should show more respect to those above him. On top of the previous disagreements over transfer policy Tuchel was disappointed in the club’s lack of action in signing a centre half, instead opting to sign defensive midfielder Danilo Pereira. Tuchel had been accused of protesting this by playing the Portuguese international in an unfamiliar central defensive role. These differences were too irreconcilable as Tuchel was relinquished of his power on Christmas eve of 2020.
This time around Tuchel got straight back into management. Open in his desire not to take on a side mid-season the opening of the Chelsea role proved too good of a prospect to deny. Inheriting a squad underperforming in the league Tuchel implemented a more pragmatic approach than he had previously. Playing in a league with more competition across the table than his previous two jobs this approach worked as he set a record for a new Chelsea manager by going undefeated in his first 14 games. His pivot to a three defender system ensured defensive stability whilst possessing individuals capable of winning games by themselves.
Settling at a respectable fourth position in the Premier League Tuchel had fulfilled his league duty of securing Champions League football for the following season. It was in other competitions where he would leave his mark, however. Tuchel guided Chelsea to an FA cup final against Leicester City, only to lose 1-0 courtesy of a Youri Tielemans screamer. Two weeks later he had to pick his side up as he had guided them to a Champions League final – his second in consecutive seasons. This time he would be on the right side of the result, downing Manchester City 1-0 through a first half Kai Havertz strike. For all his rigorous and particular past playing attacking football, Tuchel had won European football’s greatest honour with a squad assembled by someone else playing defensively sound pragmatic football.
His second act at Stamford Bridge was always going to be a tough act to follow. Forays into the transfer market saw him able to make his own mark on the squad. The resigning of once academy prospect Romelu Lukaku for a club record fee raised eyebrows. Despite a strong start and the claiming of both the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup Chelsea slumped to 3rd in the league. Both domestic finals were reached to identical outcomes: penalty defeats to Liverpool. New signings flattered to deceive which was compounded by the seizure of the club as an asset from Russian owner Roman Abramovich due to UK government sanctions.
Tuchel once more found himself in the awkward position of spokesperson in a tumultuous time for his employer. He was praised by many for his calm and measured media statements although distanced himself from the politics at play. He cut a figure that was focused on his job and unbothered by the outside noise – no matter how loud.
His third season was short-lived. Sanctions on the club had been lifted as Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali became new sitting chairmen. His now infamous spat with then Tottenham boss Antonio Conte earned him strict repercussions from the FA alongside further sanctions for comments made to officials during the 2-2 draw. Results slipped into September, and so the new board saw it fit to dismiss Tuchel.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were yet again issues behind the scenes. Boehly described Tuchel as a ‘nightmare’ to work alongside whilst the ostracisation of several big names due to a bloated squad earned Tuchel few admirers in the dressing room. Despite this Tuchel spoke very fondly of his time in England – the beginning of his love affair with the English game.
His most recent employment was with Bayern Munich. A dramatic final day saw him claim a league title with the side so often his nemesis in his first season, yet an unprecedented season from Bayer Leverkusen saw them fail to repeat the feat last term. Interestingly, he has taken a liking to English players, bringing in Harry Kane and more surprisingly, Eric Dier. By the announcement of his departure long before the season’s end there were once more rumours of dressing room discontent and public criticism of his man-management methods.
So how does this bode for him in the England hot seat? Long believed to be the poisoned chalice of all poisoned chalices in football management he certainly appears to be a difference in approach to Gareth Southgate. Arguably similar in pragmatism, where Southgate looked to inspire and uplift Tuchel will likely instil a more disciplinarian approach. The cynic would argue that we’ve been there already with Fabio Capello to no reprieve, but Tuchel’s knockout CV outweighs this risk. Debates over the inclusion of individuals such as Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold and their ‘shoehorning’ into the XI would be quelled fairly swiftly. This is not a man to be swayed by the media – and if there’s one job in world football that requires thick skin: it’s the England job.
Tuchel’s footballing journey represents a man true to his principles. Perhaps a job with less constant interaction with internal politics will suit a man that routinely comes to blows with executives. He will certainly have to grapple with the controversy of being a German in this job, but his prior exposure to English media should stand him in good stead.
Will he be the man to finally break the English curse as the trophy drought approaches 60 years? Only time will tell. In a job where it seems the only options are superstardom or villainy he looks a likely candidate for either.
One thing is for certain with Tuchel at the helm: it won’t be dull.
