Thomas Tuchel: Abrasive but effective / Photo: Michaela STACHE - AFP/File
Thomas Tuchel: Abrasive but effective
Named England coach on Wednesday, German Thomas Tuchel will return to the country where he achieved his greatest triumph.
He brings with him a record of success in knockout competitions, not least the 2021 Champions League win as Chelsea manager, but also messy early exits.
Tuchel outwitted Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side to achieve European glory, and has lifted trophies at every club bar Mainz, who he took into European competition for the first time.
But he has an abrasive edge which has not always endeared him to his employers.
Tuchel has said he felt at home in England and during his time at Bayern Munich, the 51-year-old spoke highly of the English game.
In January 2024, he told reporters he "felt more appreciated in England" -- and was pushed out the door at Bayern just a month later.
That he agreed to stay until the season's end, taking Bayern to within moments of a Champions League final before rejecting calls to stay on, only solidified his reputation.
- Rangnick influence -
Born in 1973, Tuchel played under his coach father Rudolf at hometown club TSV Krumbach before moving to nearby Augsburg.
The rangy, 1.9-metre tall defender failed to break into the first team and ended up at Ulm, where he played under Ralf Rangnick.
While his playing career ended at the age of 24 due to a knee injury, his experience under Rangnick -- widely considered the godfather of modern German football -- had a profound impact.
Speaking in 2021, Tuchel said Rangnick was "one of the main figures to convince me to try coaching", describing him as "an elite coach" and praising his tactical impact on German football.
Tuchel became a youth coach at Stuttgart in 2000, winning the German championship with an under-19s side which included future World Cup winner Sami Khedira.
In his early career, Tuchel was often compared to former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, another coach influenced by Rangnick.
Like Klopp before him, Tuchel started his top-flight coaching career at Mainz. Tuchel took over at Borussia Dortmund when Klopp left.
Dortmund's points tally of 78 in 2015-16, in Tuchel's first season, remains their best since Klopp's departure and the 2017 German Cup triumph is just their second piece of major silverware in the past decade.
But while Klopp remained an influence, a former protege, Julian Nagelsmann, likely had an indirect role in Tuchel's decision.
Like Tuchel, Nagelsmann was wanted by several clubs but instead took to international coaching, turning Germany around and improving his reputation in the process.
Tuchel had coached Nagelsmann in Augsburg's second team and encouraged the then 20-year-old into management after he too endured a career-ending injury.
- Success, but short tenures -
Tuchel's time at Dortmund provided an insight into what he would become known for during his career: consistent success but also a tendency to put noses out of joint during short tenures.
He was sacked as Dortmund manager just three days after winning the German Cup amid reports Tuchel had fallen out with the club's hierarchy.
A decade since he left, Tuchel's record of 183 games at Mainz still remains his most at any club. He managed 107 in Dortmund, 127 in Paris, 100 at Chelsea and just 61 at Bayern.
Tuchel remains the only coach to have taken cash-rich PSG to the Champions League final, winning the competition a year later as Chelsea manager.
Despite already agreeing to leave the club, Tuchel took Bayern to within minutes of a Champions League final at Wembley before a trademark late Real Madrid flurry.
And although the Bayern brass have since been critical of Tuchel, fans last year launched a petition to keep him at the club.
Ch.Anderson--EWJ
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