Thomas Tuchel (; born 29 August 1973) is a German professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

manager and former player who last managed

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. Born in Krumbach, Tuchel retired at age 25 after a chronic knee cartilage injury; in 2000, he began his coaching career as a youth coach at

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...

, and in 2009, after a one-year period at

FC Augsburg II FC Augsburg II is the reserve team of the German association football club FC Augsburg from the city of Augsburg, Bavaria, whose first team play in the Bundesliga. The team, which has never played above the fourth tier, had its greatest succe ...

, he was hired by

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the t ...

. He departed Mainz in 2014 and was appointed at fellow

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...

club

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

in 2015, where he won the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

before being dismissed in 2017. He was hired by French club

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

in 2018, where he won two league titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to its first

UEFA Champions League final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European ...

before being dismissed in 2020. Tuchel was appointed by Chelsea in 2021 and won the Champions League in his debut season. He was dismissed as manager in September 2022.

Playing career

Born in Krumbach,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

, Tuchel starred as a member of local club, the TSV Krumbach, coached by his father Rudolf. Tuchel moved to the academy at

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded ...

in 1988, however, he never appeared for the first team, being released when he turned 19. There, coach Heiner Schuhmann's evaluation of Tuchel during his tenure at Augsburg noted he "was a passionate player who gave his all on the pitch, but had few friends among his teammates because he was exacting and demanding". After he was released, Tuchel signed for

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

side

Stuttgarter Kickers Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers. History In its early years the club had a decent local squad that played in the Südk ...

in 1992. Tuchel played eight games during the 1992–93 season. After the 1993–94 season, he was dropped from Kickers' first team, and joined Regionalliga Süd side

SSV Ulm SSV Ulm 1846 is a German football club from Ulm, Baden-Württemberg. The modern-day football department, officially playing as SSV Ulm 1846 Fussball, was formed on 9 March 2009 when the department separated from SSV Ulm 1846. The club's great ...

, coached by Hermann Badstuber, the father of

Holger Badstuber Holger Felix Badstuber (born 13 March 1989) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or left-back. Badstuber made his debut in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich in the 2009–10 season, at the age of 19. He played ne ...

, whom Tuchel would later manage at youth level. Playing as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

, he played for SSV Ulm until being forced to retire in 1998, at the age of 24, after suffering a knee cartilage injury.

Coaching career

Early career

Tuchel began his coaching career in 2000, hired by

Ralf Rangnick Ralf Rangnick (; born 29 June 1958) is a German professional football coach, executive and former player who is currently the manager of the Austria national team. Rangnick began his coaching career in 1983, succeeding his career as a player, a ...

as youth team coach at

, where he aided in the development of future first team players, namely

Mario Gómez Mario Gómez García (; born 10 July 1985) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. He represented the Germany national team over a period of 11 years between 2007 and 2018. Gómez began his professional career with ...

and Holger Badstuber. He coached the under-19 side of the club to the

Under 19 Bundesliga The Under 19 Bundesliga (German: ''A-Junioren Bundesliga'') is the highest level in German Under 19 football. It was created in 2003 and is divided in three divisions (Nord/Nordost, West und Süd/Südwest) with 14 teams each. The winner of each d ...

title in the 2004–05 campaign. He left after that season, as the club tired of his personality and chose not to renew his contract. In 2005, Tuchel returned to Augsburg, with club sporting director Andreas Rettig noting the club's admiration of Tuchel's tactical discipline led to him being appointed youth team coordinator. He was hired despite lacking a

UEFA Pro Licence UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are is ...

, which he gained in a six-and-a-half month course in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

under

Erich Rutemöller Erich Rutemöller (born 8 February 1945) is a German retired football manager and player. Coaching career Rutemöller has headed 1. FC Köln, Hansa Rostock and Bonner SC during his coaching career. He was an assistant coach for the Germany nati ...

. Tuchel held the position as coordinator for three years, transitioning into management after accepting the position as first team coach at

for the 2007–08 season. With Augsburg II, he coached a team which included

Julian Nagelsmann Julian Nagelsmann (born 23 July 1987) is a German professional football manager and former football player who is the head coach of Bayern Munich. Prior to managing Bayern, he managed 1899 Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig. Known for his versatility wi ...

, himself an injury-prone defender, who transitioned to a coaching career after Tuchel instructed him to scout for the club in 2008. Tuchel also garnered a reputation for his combustibility towards referees during games, often receiving fines from the

Bavarian Football Association The Bavarian Football Association (german: Bayerischer Fussball-Verband), the ''BFV'', is one of 21 regional organisations of the German Football Association, the ''DFB'', and covers the state of Bavaria. At the end of the 2007–08

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

, Tuchel's Augsburg II finished fourth.

Mainz 05

Tuchel's time as the coach of Augsburg II impressed many top-level German clubs, and he went on to be appointed by

club

in 2009. Having signed an initial two-year contract, he was promoted into the role after acting as a youth coach at Mainz for the previous 12 months, during which he had won the Under 19 Bundesliga with the under-19 side. According to club executive

Christian Heidel Christian Heidel (born 2 June 1963) is a German football executive who works for 1. FSV Mainz 05, FSV Mainz 05 and previously worked for FC Schalke 04, Schalke 04. Career 1. FSV Mainz 05 (1992–2016) Heidel became Mainz 05's manager in 1992 an ...

, Tuchel's perfectionism, going as far as to analyze pitch maintenance prior to a game against

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a numbe ...

, contributed to his eventual appointment. ThomasTuchel2014 (cropped)

The composition of the squad was seen in Tuchel's tactical approach at Mainz, as despite possessing technically inferior players, he instructed them to utilize long distribution and focus on pressing off the ball, typically overloading one portion of the opposition half in order to create less space to generate counter-attacking opportunities, as relentless high-pressure would create chances by dispossessing or forcing errors from the opposition. An initial disciplinarian, Tuchel reportedly forbid his players to leave the canteen while others were still eating, deeming it ill-mannered. His tactics of pressing and positional play led Mainz to a ninth-placed finish in his first season as manager. In the following campaign, Tuchel's Mainz enjoyed a perfect start to the season, winning seven games in their first seven, including an away victory over

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. This coincided with Tuchel's employ of René Marić and Martin Rafelt, founders of the tactics blog ''Spielverlagerung'', to compile occasional scouting reports on Mainz's opponents. Tuchel eventually led the team to a fifth-placed finish as the club improved by 11 points to qualify for the third-qualifying round of the

2011–12 UEFA Europa League The 2011–12 UEFA Europa League was the third season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 41st edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 30 June 2011 with t ...

. Only four Bundesliga sides scored more goals than Mainz in the 2010–11 campaign, who had scored 52 goals in total. Of those goals, fifteen had been scored by rising star André Schürrle, and ten by

Sami Allagui Sami Allagui (born 28 May 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his career in Germany. At international level, he represented the Tunisia national team. Club career Allagui was awarded a three-year ...

, who was a key part of Tuchel's pressing machine. Mainz fell to a thirteenth-placed finish the following season, having notably lost Schürrle to

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

in the summer. Allagui's lack of form added to Mainz's issues in attack, although new signing

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting Jean-Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (born 23 March 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Bayern Munich. Born in Germany, he plays for the Cameroon national team. Choupo-Moting began his career with Hamburger SV, making ...

was able to score ten goals, and midfielder

Julian Baumgartlinger Julian Jakob Baumgartlinger (born 2 January 1988) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for German club FC Augsburg and the Austria national team. Career Growing up in the Austrian market town of Mattsee, Baumgartlin ...

's organization and discipline helped the team and "marked him out" as a future club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Mainz suffered an early exit in the Europa League, and ended the season with 39 points, the lowest total during Tuchel's spell at the club. In the 2012–13 season, Mainz would go on to repeat their thirteenth-placed finish from the season prior. Despite a poor start and end to the season, there were significantly fewer struggles than in the previous campaign, and the team finished six points below seventh place.

Ádám Szalai Ádám Csaba Szalai (born 9 December 1987) is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He spent most of his career in Germany, signing in 2004 with VfB Stuttgart and going on to represent Mainz 05, Schalke 04, 1899 Hoffenhe ...

, who netted thirteen times, solved the goal-scoring issues up front, while Nicolai Müller and

Andreas Ivanschitz Andreas Ivanschitz ( hr, Ivančić; born 15 October 1983) is an Austrian retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. During the career, Ivanschitz played for Rapid Wien, Red Bull Salzburg, Panathinaikos, 1.FSV Mainz 05, Levante ...

scored eight and seven goals respectively. Mainz was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the

. In what would turn out to be his final season with the club, Tuchel led Mainz to a seventh-place finish, qualifying for the group stages of the

2014–15 UEFA Europa League The 2014–15 UEFA Europa League was the 44th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the sixth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2015 UEFA Europa League Final was ...

. At the beginning of the season, he had brought in Japanese forward

Shinji Okazaki is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Belgian club Sint-Truiden. Internationally, he is currently the top active Japan national team goalscorer and third all-time in team history with 50 goa ...

. Deployed in a central striking role, he went on to have a prolific season, scoring 15 goals in the Bundesliga, a record for a Japanese player. Despite approaches by

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

and Bayer Leverkusen for his services in the latter-half of the 2013–14 season, Tuchel remained at Mainz until the end of the campaign. However, in May 2014, he asked to be released from his contract, later stating that he "couldn't see how

he team He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

could reinvent tselfonce more the coming summer." Tuchel explained that he had already made the decision to leave Mainz at the end of the season in autumn of 2013. Mainz initially refused to release him from his contract, but on 11 May 2014, he was allowed to step down. Tuchel concluded his Mainz career with a record of 72 wins, 46 draws, and 64 losses, from 182 games, with a win percentage of 39.56%.

Borussia Dortmund

In April 2015, coach

Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world. Klopp spent most of his playing ...

announced that he would leave

following the 2014–15 season. Dortmund, inquiring over the availability of various coaches, quickly decided on Tuchel, eager to incorporate a similar press-based footballing philosophy made a club trademark under Klopp. Shortly thereafter, Tuchel's appointment as the club's new head coach for the following season occurred on 19 April 2015. Signing a three-year deal effective from 1 July, he returned to coaching after over a year without a club. Both Klopp and Tuchel completed the same path of moving from Mainz to Dortmund. Joining at the beginning of the summer window, Tuchel was eager to avoid speculation and off-the-pitch distractions. He addressed the issue of star players who were in a dilemma between staying and leaving, rapidly convincing them that Dortmund could meet their ambitions. After securing the futures of several important players, Tuchel identified targets that could help the squad compete and "bridge the gap at the top". Dortmund and Tuchel's approach was to build upon Klopp's foundations, keeping the team's core with shrewd additions. This policy resulted in the acquisitions of Roman Bürki and

Julian Weigl Julian Weigl (born 8 September 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, on loan from Benfica. He also represents the Germany national team. Club career 1860 M ...

, players who were not considered stars, but had potential to be so, while

Gonzalo Castro Gonzalo Castro Randón (born 11 June 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is also a former Germany international. Club career Bayer Leverkusen Born in Wuppertal to Spanish parents, he began his ca ...

joined the club for €11 million. Weigl was frequently utilized by Tuchel behind two

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

s in a 4–1–4–1 formation, and along with the other two midfielders, he would work the ball until Dortmund could force an overload in space out wide, attacking with rapidity from there. Tuchel also utilized a 4–2–3–1 formation at Dortmund; players like

Shinji Kagawa Shinji Kagawa ( ja, 香川真司 ''Kagawa Shinji'' ; born 17 March 1989) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Belgian First Division A club Sint-Truiden and the Japan national team. He is widely regarded as one o ...

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Henrikh Mkhitaryan ( hy, Հենրիխ Մխիթարյան, ; born 21 January 1989) is an Armenian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for club Inter Milan. Mkhitaryan won four Armenian Premier League title ...

, and the deep-dropping

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang (born 18 June 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Chelsea. He is renowned for his pace, finishing, and off-ball movement. Born in France, he is a former ...

would make overloads in pockets of space in-between the lines. Weigl would sit back in front of the defence, while the other central midfielder, which was

İlkay Gündoğan İlkay Gündoğan (born 24 October 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the Germany national team. Gündoğan came through VfL Bochum's youth academy. In 2008, he began playing for t ...

when fit, pushed up forward. Although unbeaten in his first fourteen matches at Borussia Dortmund, Tuchel and his team ended trophyless in the 2015–16 season, despite an appearance in the 2016 DFB-Pokal Final, in which they lost to Bayern Munich on penalties. The team also suffered elimination at the quarter-final stage of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

at the hands of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, who were now coached by Klopp. However, the campaign was notable for further promotions of youth talent, with American teenager Christian Pulisic largely starring during the latter stages of the season. Dortmund scored 82 goals in the 2015–16 Bundesliga, a club record, and the team's average league possession of 61% and an average pass accuracy of 85% were significant improvements from the team's counterpressing days with Klopp. Their point total of 78 was also the second highest in club history, and would have secured a league title in all but three of the previous 52 seasons. Dortmund finished second in the Bundesliga, securing

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

football.

In preparation for the following campaign, Dortmund spent heavily on player purchases, spending a total of €109.75 million in the

transfer market The transfer market is the arena in which football players are available for transfer to clubs. The transfer market consists of a list of players available for transfer, and also the money moving between clubs as they contest to purchase and sell ...

; the club was looking to find replacements for important players Mats Hummels, Gündoğan, and Mkhitaryan.

Ousmane Dembélé Masour Ousmane Dembélé (born 15 May 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the France national team. Dembélé began his career at Rennes before joining Borussia Dortmund in 2016. He ...

Marc Bartra Marc Bartra Aregall (, ; born 15 January 1991) is a Spanish professional association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor and the Catalonia national football team, Catalonia national team. He started h ...

, Emre Mor,

Mario Götze Mario Götze (born 3 June 1992) is a German professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the Germany national team. Although his favoured position is that of a playmaker, Götze has also played as a false ni ...

and

Raphaël Guerreiro Raphaël Adelino José Guerreiro (; born 22 December 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as left-back or as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Portugal national team. He began his career at Caen, signing in 2 ...

were notably brought in for a total sum of €64 million. Guerreiro, signed following his successful time at

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

, was shifted from left-back to midfield by Tuchel. Dortmund went on to return the final of the DFB-Pokal, where Tuchel won his first ever major honor as a coach, as well as the club's first trophy in five years, as they beat

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

2–1, with goals from both Dembélé and Aubameyang. The team finished the season third in the Bundesliga, and was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. Despite the victory, the DFB-Pokal was to be Tuchel's only honour with the club, as he was dismissed three days later on 30 May 2017. His tenure as first-team coach was marred with controversy, with a strained relationship with the club's hierarchy, notably CEO

Hans-Joachim Watzke Hans-Joachim "Aki" Watzke (born 21 June 1959, Marsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German businessman and football official. He is the CEO of Borussia Dortmund. Background Watzke watched his first games at the Rote Erde as a child, and has b ...

, who described Tuchel as a "difficult person". Tuchel publicly criticized Watzke after he agreed to UEFA's demand that the club play their Champions League quarter-final first leg match against Monaco on 12 April 2017, one day after the team's bus being bombed. He also reportedly expressed discontent over transfer activity, with Watzke sanctioning the departures of Hummels, Gündoğan, and Mkhitaryan, despite guarantees they would not leave. Tuchel also maintained fractured relations with club stalwarts

Roman Weidenfeller Roman Weidenfeller (born 6 August 1980) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Bundesliga clubs 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Borussia Dortmund, as well as the German national team. Weidenfeller spent 16 seasons ...

Neven Subotić Neven Subotić (; Serbian Cyrillic: Heвeн Cубoтић; born 10 December 1988) is a Serbian retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Subotić made his professional debut in 2007 for 1. FSV Mainz 05. In the following year, ...

, and

Jakub Błaszczykowski Jakub Błaszczykowski (; born 14 December 1985), also known as Kuba, is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Wisła Kraków, businessman and Wisła Kraków's part owner. He started his professional football at Wisła Krakó ...

, and aimed to replace the trio, which Watzke disagreed with. Tuchel aimed to sign defender

Ömer Toprak Ömer Toprak (born 21 July 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Süper Lig club Antalyaspor. Born in Germany, he formerly played for the Turkey national team. Club career Toprak began his career with TSB Ravensbu ...

in 2016, a move allegedly blocked by Watzke and chief scout Sven Mislintat, the latter of whom was effectively banished from the training ground after an argument with Tuchel. Moreover, the club also chased midfielder Óliver Torres behind Tuchel's back in 2017. Tuchel left Dortmund with a record of 68 wins, 23 draws, and 17 defeats in 108 games, with a win percentage of 62.96%.

Paris Saint-Germain

In May 2018, Tuchel signed a two-year contract with

(PSG), replacing

Unai Emery Unai Emery Etxegoien (born 3 November 1971) is a Spanish football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Aston Villa. After a career spent playing mostly in Spain's Segunda División, Emery transitioned into coa ...

. He rejected Bayern Munich to join the club. Tuchel's first move in the transfer market was the permanent signing of Monaco forward Kylian Mbappé for a fee of €180m on 1 July. To offset this large acquisition, and to adhere to UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations, Tuchel sanctioned the departure of several players, including first-team players

Yuri Berchiche Yuri Berchiche Izeta (born 10 February 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao. He began his senior career at Tottenham Hotspur without making a first-team appearance, being loaned t ...

and

Javier Pastore Javier Matías Pastore (; born 20 June 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Qatar SC. Pastore began his club career with Talleres and then Huracán in his native Argentina before moving to Se ...

, as well as promising youngster

Gonçalo Guedes Gonçalo Manuel Ganchinho Guedes (; born 29 November 1996) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Primeira Liga club Benfica, on loan from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the Portugal national team. ...

. After also generating profits through the sales of other bit-part players, the club signed free agent goalkeeper

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...

on 6 July. A month later, the team signed German defender Thilo Kehrer for €37m, and PSG concluded their activity in the summer transfer market by signing Spanish left-back

Juan Bernat Juan Bernat Velasco (; born 1 March 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. He began his career at Valencia, featuring in three La Liga campaigns for the club. He moved to Bayer ...

for €15m on deadline day, while also reuniting Tuchel with former player Choupo-Moting. Despite these acquisitions, Tuchel publicly lamented the club's inability to improve at both full-back areas. Tuchel's first match in charge also yielded his first honor at the club, as PSG defeated Monaco 4–0 to win the

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. His ...

on 4 August. He also saw victory in his first league game, as the club defeated Caen 3–0 eight days later. After enjoying a brief unbeaten record, Tuchel suffered his first defeat in Paris on 18 September, losing 3–2 away to Liverpool in a Champions League group stage game. However, by November, Tuchel would break the record for the most wins to start to a domestic league season, as he registered twelve straight victories. The record was later extended to include two additional victories, prior to the club ending its 100% start to the season on 2 December, after PSG drew 2–2 away to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

. Tuchel then guided Paris Saint-Germain to top spot in the club's Champions League group, with a 4–1 win over

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

on 12 December. By securing victory over Nantes on 22 December, Tuchel also broke the record for most points by Christmas in Ligue 1, with 47 after 17 games. In January 2019, Tuchel was eliminated from his first competition at PSG, falling to

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Gui ...

on 9 January, in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue. However, he would defeat the same opposition by a margin of 9–0 ten days later in the league, the biggest home win in PSG's history. Prior to deadline day, on 29 January, the club delved into the winter transfer market to sign Argentine midfielder

Leandro Paredes Leandro Daniel Paredes (; born 29 June 1994) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Juventus, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and the Argentina national team. He was part of the خط� ...

for a rumored fee of €40m. However, these transfers failed to progress the club in Europe, as PSG crashed out of the Champions League in the first knockout round against Manchester United. The club secured a 2–0 victory away from home in the first leg, but lost 3–1 at home, exiting the competition on

away goals The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

. With only the league and the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

to play for, PSG won the former on 21 April, six gameweeks before the end of the season, marking Tuchel's first league title victory as a coach. Six days later, Paris Saint-Germain lost the

2019 Coupe de France Final The 2019 Coupe de France Final was a football match between Rennes and Paris Saint-Germain to decide the winner of the 2018–19 Coupe de France, the 102nd season of the Coupe de France. Rennes won the cup, their first since 1971, after a penal ...

to Rennes on penalties, which occurred after a stretch of three consecutive league defeats: PSG's worst showing since 2012. After the season's end, Tuchel signed a one-year contract extension, scheduled to end in 2021. In his second transfer window, Tuchel strayed from recruiting stars, and instead, pushed for the recruitment of hardworking Spanish midfielders

Ander Herrera Ander Herrera Agüera (; born 14 August 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. He began his career at Real Zaragoza, before moving ...

and

Pablo Sarabia Pablo Sarabia García (; born 11 May 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Spain national team. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a right winger. After pl ...

, as well as youth prospect Mitchel Bakker. Meanwhile, the club let go of strong personalities in Buffon,

Dani Alves Daniel Alves da Silva (born 6 May 1983), known simply as Dani Alves (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Liga MX club UNAM and the Brazil national team. Widely considered one of the greatest full-backs of ...

, and

Adrien Rabiot Adrien Thibault Marie Rabiot (born 3 April 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Juventus and the France national team. Rabiot spent most of his career with Paris Saint-Germain, making his debut w ...

, and profited from the sales of several fringe players, including

Moussa Diaby Moussa Diaby (born 7 July 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the France national team. Club career Paris Saint-Germain Diaby is a product of the Paris Saint-Germain Youth Ac ...

, Timothy Weah, and

Grzegorz Krychowiak Grzegorz Krychowiak (; born 29 January 1990) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Saudi Arabian club Al-Shabab, on loan from Krasnodar, and the Poland national team. Beginning his senior career in France ...

. Additionally, the club signed central defender

Abdou Diallo Abdou-Lakhad Diallo (born 4 May 1996), known as Abdou Diallo, is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. Born in France, he plays for the Senegal nati ...

from Tuchel's old club Borussia Dortmund, combative midfielder

Idrissa Gueye Idrissa Gana Gueye (born 26 September 1989) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Everton and the Senegal national team. Starting his career at Diambars in his native Senegal, Gueye joined Frenc ...

, and completed the transfer of goalkeeper

Keylor Navas Keilor Antonio Navas Gamboa (born 15 December 1986), known as Keylor Navas, is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Costa Rica national team. He was named CONCACAF Men's G ...

, as well as a loan move for forward Mauro Icardi, on deadline day. With a number of additional sales, this marked the first transfer window since PSG's takeover by

Qatar Sports Investments Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) is a closed shareholding organization founded in 2005 and based in Doha, Qatar. Revenues generated from ventures of QSi are reinvested into Qatar's sport, leisure and entertainment sectors. QSi is led by Chairman N ...

in 2012 whereby the club has made profit in the transfer market. Tuchel & Mbappé PSG 2019

Tuchel began his second season at PSG by retaining the Trophée des Champions on 3 August 2019, in a 2–1 win over Rennes. He also won his first league game of the season, defeating Nîmes 3–0 at home. However, PSG lost 2–1 against Rennes in the club's second league game. In the club's first game in that season's UEFA Champions League, Tuchel received praise for his tactical setup as PSG defeated thirteen-time winners Real Madrid 3–0 at home; the victory occurred without recognized first-team players

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...

Edinson Cavani Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...

, and Mbappé. He later guided the team to qualification to the first knockout stage with two group games to spare, following a 1–0 win over Belgian club Club Brugge on 6 November. Just under three weeks later, Tuchel led the club to top spot in their group after securing a 2–2 draw against Real Madrid. The club then embarked on an unbeaten run, recording a number of high scoring victories; PSG scored six goals against Linas-Montlhéry and Saint-Étienne in the domestic cup competitions in January, while they scored five against Montpellier in the league. Notably, the latter game contained controversy, as Tuchel was seen to be in a heated conversation with Mbappé following his substitution. On 18 February, PSG sustained a 2–1 defeat against Tuchel's former club Dortmund in the first leg in the round of 16 in the Champions League. Under a month later, Tuchel guided the club to the last eight, overturning the deficit in a 2–0 victory at home in the second leg. This was the club's first game behind closed doors due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

; this was the reason the domestic league was canceled on 30 April, while their Champions League fixtures, the Coupe de France, and the Coupe de la Ligue finals were postponed. PSG returned to competitive football on 24 July, winning the Coupe de France after beating Saint-Étienne 1–0 in the final. The game was marred by Kylian Mbappé suffering an ankle sprain, which ruled him out for three weeks. On 31 July, PSG defeated

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

6–5 on penalties in the 2020 Coupe de la Ligue Final to complete a domestic treble. On 12 August, PSG scored two late goals to beat

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

2–1 in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, marking the club's first appearance in the semi-finals of the competition since the 1994–95 season. In the semi-final, PSG defeated

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bul ...

3–0 to reach their first ever

Champions League Final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European ...

, and their first European final since 1997. They would go onto lose the match by a single goal to Bayern Munich on 23 August. In his third transfer window, PSG released a number of players, including club stalwarts

Thiago Silva Thiago Emiliano da Silva (born 22 September 1984) is a Brazilian professional Association Football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and captains the Brazil national football team, Brazil national team. Con ...

and Cavani. Meanwhile, Mauro Icardi's loan was made permanent for €50 million, and the club supplemented this with the loan acquisitions of

Alessandro Florenzi Alessandro Florenzi (born 11 March 1991) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for club AC Milan and the Italy national team. Florenzi started his professional club career with Roma in 2011, but spent the 2011–12 ...

Danilo Pereira Danilo Luís Hélio Pereira (born 9 September 1991), known as Danilo Pereira (), is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Portugal national team. ...

, and Moise Kean. PSG began their league title defence with a 1–0 defeat to newly promoted

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

away on 10 September 2020; the club were missing newly-appointed captain

Marquinhos Marcos Aoás Corrêa (born 14 May 1994), known as Marquinhos, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, which he captains, and the Brazil national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can ...

, Icardi, Neymar, Mbappé, Navas, Paredes, and

Ángel Di María Ángel Fabián Di María (born 14 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for club Juventus and the Argentina national team. He can play as either a winger or attacking midfielder. Di María began his career with R ...

due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

protocols or for testing positive for COVID-19. The club went onto lose their second league game by the same scoreline in

Le Classique Le Classique (, The Classic) is the rivalry between French professional football clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille. The duo are the two most successful clubs in French football, and the only French teams to have won major Eur ...

, marking the first time PSG lost their opening two league games since the 1984–85 season. The game became infamous for its disciplinary issues, with 17 cards shown (the most in a single Ligue 1 game in the 21st century), while five were sent off following an injury-time brawl. Tuchel secured the club's first win of the league season by defeating

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

1–0 on 16 September, although the game was marred by another red card to PSG. This began a streak of 8 straight wins, before succumbing to a 3–2 away defeat to Monaco on 20 November; another game where PSG saw a red card. After only managing to secure 3 more league wins, and with PSG third in Ligue 1, behind Lyon and eventual winners Lille, Tuchel was dismissed on 24 December, despite placing top of their Champions League group. His firing occurred a day after beating Strasbourg 4–0, surprising many at the club, including assistant coach Zsolt Lőw. Tuchel's tenure at Paris Saint-Germain was marred by a fractured relationship with the club's hierarchy. In an interview with German television station Sport 1, he said he felt " ore likea politician in sport" than a coach. These comments, as well as his previous criticism over the club's transfer activity, were condemned by PSG's sporting director Leonardo, who said Tuchel "

ust UST or Ust may refer to: Organizations * UST (company), American digital technology company * Equatorial Guinea Workers' Union * Union of Trade Unions of Chad (Union des Syndicats du Tchad) * United States Television Manufacturing Corp. * UST Gr ...

respect the people above im, and labelled the comments as damaging for the club. Tuchel and Leonardo reportedly fell out over the signing of

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

Danilo Pereira, with the coach requesting a central defender; in response, Tuchel often fielded Pereira as a central defender. Tuchel departed Paris Saint-Germain with a record of 95 wins, 13 draws, and 19 defeats in 127 games, with the best win percentage in Ligue 1 history (75.6%) and the highest average of points per game (2.37, tied with his predecessor Emery). Before leaving Paris, Tuchel facilitated the medical expenses for his housemaid's child's heart surgery, and enabled her to return home to the Philippines by purchasing her family a property in the country.

Chelsea

On 26 January 2021, Tuchel signed an 18-month contract (with the option for an additional year) with

club

, replacing

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

. He became the first German to be appointed as head coach of the club. Although expressing a desire to not come in mid-season so as to have a

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

with his new team, Tuchel accepted the position after Ralf Rangnick rejected the proposal of interim head coach. Thomas Tuchel Chelsea

Tuchel took charge of his first match the following day, a goalless draw at home against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, a match that set the record for most possession (78.9%) and passes completed (820) for a manager's first Premier League game. Tuchel won his first game on 31 January, defeating

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

2–0 at home, and then won his first

London derby London Derbies are the various local football derbies between the teams in London, England. It specifically refers to individual matches between the teams, but can also be used to describe the general ongoing rivalry between the clubs and fans. ...

(and his first away game) by defeating

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

1–0 on 4 February. On 11 February, Tuchel guided Chelsea to the

quarter-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

with a 1–0 away win over EFL Championship side Barnsley, extending his unbeaten run to five games. This run was eventually extended to eight games after Chelsea defeated Atlético Madrid 1–0 away in the first leg of the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League, with

Olivier Giroud Olivier Jonathan Giroud (born 30 September 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the France national team. Regarded for his work-rate, strength, acrobatic strikes, shot power, consistent goal-s ...

scoring an overhead kick. This marked Tuchel's first European victory as Chelsea manager. On 8 March, Tuchel's unbeaten run extended to eleven games after a 2–0 home league win over Everton, becoming the first head coach in Premier League history to keep consecutive home clean sheets in their first five home matches. After a 2–0 home victory against Atlético Madrid in the second leg of the Round of 16 in the Champions League on 17 March, Tuchel extended his unbeaten run to 13 games, setting the record for the longest unbeaten run by a new head coach in Chelsea's history. This was considered to be due to the change to a three-man defence and partly attributed to a pragmatic approach to games; Tuchel's team took as many shots as Lampard's team per game (13.8 v 13.9), but created fewer chances, leading to 1.1 goals scored on average per game, compared to 2.1 under Lampard. He was then awarded his first

Premier League Manager of the Month The Premier League Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League manager each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to ...

in October. The unbeaten run concluded at 14 games, with a 5–2 home defeat against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

on 3 April. On 17 April, courtesy of a

Hakim Ziyech Hakim Ziyech ( ar, حكيم زياش; ber, ⵃⴰⴽⵉⵎ ⵣⵉⵢⴰⵛ; born 19 March 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Chelsea. Born in the Netherlands, he represent ...

goal, Tuchel led Chelsea to the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

, defeating league leaders Manchester City 1–0 in the semi-final; Chelsea would eventually lose the final 1–0 to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. Tuchel also guided Chelsea to the

following a 3–1 aggregate win over Real Madrid in the semi-finals, becoming the first coach to reach consecutive finals with two different clubs. He eventually led Chelsea to European glory with a 1–0 win over Manchester City in the final. Following this, Tuchel signed a contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2024. In his first transfer window at Chelsea to prepare for the 2021–22 season, the club signed experienced goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli on a free transfer from West London rivals Fulham on 28 July, thus marking Tuchel's first signing as Chelsea head coach. Tuchel also began incorporating academy player Trevoh Chalobah into the first team, and Chelsea then later re-signed

Romelu Lukaku Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli (; born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Inter Milan, on loan from club Chelsea, and the Belgium national team. Lukaku began his senior club career playing for Ander ...

for a club-record £97.5 million (€115 million). He also signed

Saúl Ñíguez Saúl Ñíguez Esclapez (born 21 November 1994), known as Saúl Ñíguez or simply Saúl, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team. After coming through Atlét ...

on a season-long loan from Atlético Madrid (which included an option to buy for £30 million) on deadline day. Chelsea began the season with an eight-game unbeaten streak, winning the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

, before suffering their first defeat of the season, against Manchester City, on 25 September. On 20 October, Chelsea recorded their highest scoring victory under Tuchel, a 4–0 home victory over

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

in the Champions League; this was bettered three days later following a 7–0 thumping of league strugglers

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

. The club then embarked on a 12 match unbeaten run in all competitions, which culminated in a 3–2 away loss against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

on 4 December. A month later, Tuchel led Chelsea to the

2022 EFL Cup Final The 2022 EFL Cup Final was the final of the 2021–22 EFL Cup. It was played between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 27 February 2022. The match saw no goals in the initial 90 minutes or the additional 30 minutes of ...

following a 3–0 aggregate semi-final victory over city rivals Tottenham Hotspur; Chelsea would go onto lose the final against

on penalties. On 12 February, after a 2–1 extra time win over

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

, Tuchel won the FIFA Club World Cup, Chelsea's first Club World Cup win. After a six game win streak in all competitions, Chelsea lost 4–1 at home to newly promoted Brentford on 2 April; the club then registered their highest scoring away win under Tuchel by winning 6–0 at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

a week later. However, on 12 April, Chelsea lost 5–4 on aggregate after extra time against Real Madrid and were knocked out of the Champions League, following which, Tuchel criticized several refereeing decisions, including a disallowed goal for Marcos Alonso and referee Szymon Marciniak's "smiling and laughing" with Real Madrid coach

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...

at the game's conclusion. Four days later, Tuchel led Chelsea to their second successive FA Cup Final with a 2–0 victory over

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. However, Chelsea went on to lose to Liverpool in the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

on penalties, repeating the outcome of that year's EFL Cup Final three months prior. To prepare for the 2022–23 season, Tuchel and Chelsea had spent over £250 million – the highest spend in that season's Premier League and a British record for spending in one transfer window – on

Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team. Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, S ...

Kalidou Koulibaly Kalidou Koulibaly (born 20 June 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Chelsea and the Senegal national team. Koulibaly began his professional club career with French team Metz in 2010, before mo ...

Gabriel Slonina Gabriel Pawel "Gaga" Slonina ( pl, Słonina; born May 15, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Chelsea and the United States national team. Club career Chicago Fire Born in Ad ...

, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, and

, as well as near club record outlays on

Marc Cucurella Marc Cucurella Saseta (born 22 July 1998) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Chelsea and the Spain national team. Cucurella made his senior club debut at Barcelona, but spent most of his time there in the ...

and Wesley Fofana. The club also secured the loan of Denis Zakaria on transfer deadline day on 31 August. Several first team players also departed, including

Antonio Rüdiger Antonio Rüdiger (born 3 March 1993) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and the Germany national football team, Germany national team. Rüdiger began ...

and Marcos Alonso, academy graduates

Andreas Christensen Andreas Bødtker Christensen (born 10 April 1996) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Barcelona and the Denmark national team. Christensen began his career at Skjold Birkerød and later joined Br ...

and Callum Hudson-Odoi (who left on loan), and former heavy money signings

Timo Werner Timo Werner (; born 6 March 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Germany national team. Werner began his senior club career in 2013 playing for VfB Stuttgart, becoming the clu ...

and

(who left on loan). The club began their league season with a 1–0 win over Everton on 6 August 2022. Eight days later, Tuchel was sent off after a 2–2 draw against

after an angry confrontation with

Antonio Conte Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later ...

at the end of the match. He was fined £35,000 and given a one-match touchline ban by the Football Association (FA) for improper conduct. Tuchel was subsequently handed an additional £20,000 fine after comments suggesting that referee Anthony Taylor should no longer referee Chelsea matches after he made some controversial decisions in the Tottenham game. The FA stated that Tuchel's comments had constituted improper conduct and that they "imply bias, question the integrity of the match referee, and bring the game into disrepute". On 7 September 2022, Tuchel was fired as the team's manager following the club's 1–0 away loss to

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

in their opening Champions League fixture the previous day (a match attended by new Chelsea chairmen

Todd Boehly Todd Boehly (born September 20, 1973) is an American businessman and investor. He is the co-founder, chairman, chief executive officer and controlling member of Eldridge Industries, a holding company headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is ...

and Behdad Eghbali); Chelsea also sustained league defeats against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

and

prior to the loss to Dinamo Zagreb. According to ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...

'', Tuchel was reportedly dissatisfied over his increased involvement in Chelsea's day-to-day transfer activity as a result of the dismissals of club director Marina Granovskaia and technical advisor

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as ...

(with whom Tuchel had a strong working relationship); Tuchel was said to have delegated his presence at recruitment meetings to his agent. Sources close to Tuchel claim he disagreed with the club's transfer strategy and targets, such as not being involved in the loan signing of Zakaria and personally expressing interest in moves for

Matthijs de Ligt Matthijs de Ligt (born 12 August 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Bayern Munich and the Netherlands national team. De Ligt made his debut for Ajax's senior team in September 2016 in a cup game again ...

Raphinha Raphael Dias Belloli (born 14 December 1996), known as Raphinha, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the Brazil national team. He began his career in with Avaí, but left for Portugues ...

Frenkie de Jong Frenkie de Jong (born 12 May 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. A versatile midfielder, he is known for his vision, passing, dribbling, technique, ...

, and Presnel Kimpembe. Sources connected with Chelsea claimed Tuchel was inconsistent regarding transfers, expressing both reluctance and support towards potential moves for

Gabriel Jesus Gabriel Fernando de Jesus (born 3 April 1997) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Arsenal and the Brazil national team. Jesus began his senior club career at Palmeiras, where he was voted Best Newcomer at ...

Edson Álvarez Edson Omar Álvarez Velázquez (; born 24 October 1997), also known as El Machín, is a Mexican professional footballer who plays for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Mexico national team. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he is also capable of playin ...

, Roméo Lavia, and

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

. Tuchel reportedly suffered a breakdown in communication with the owners after the defeat to Leeds on 21 August (after which, discussion arose to relieve Tuchel of his duties), and Boehly was said to have described Tuchel as a "nightmare" to deal with on recruitment to a Premier League executive. Tuchel had also fallen out with and isolated several first team players, such as

, Christian Pulisic, Werner, Lukaku, and Hudson-Odoi, from gametime; Tuchel also reportedly argued with Werner following a pre-season defeat to

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

on 20 July. On his departure, Tuchel wrote an open letter, detailing he did not anticipate leaving Chelsea "for many years", saying he felt "honoured to have been a part of heclub's history and the memories of the last 19 months will always have a special place in my heart". Tuchel departed Chelsea with a record of 60 wins, 24 draws, and 16 defeats in 100 games with a win percentage of 60%, the fourth highest win-rate by a Chelsea manager who managed at least 100 games, after

Jose Mourinho Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

(67.03%),

(65.09%), and

(61.09%). Tuchel was succeeded by

Graham Potter Graham Stephen Potter (born 20 May 1975) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of club Chelsea. In a 13-year playing career, Potter, who played as a left-back, made 307 appearances in the ...

Manager profile

Tactics

Tuchel is known for his tactical knowledge and flexibility as well as his implementation of innovative training methods. During his tenure at Mainz, Tuchel used

rondo The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period. Etymology The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round". Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...

s, cut the corners off the training pitch in an effort to improve passing and movement, and enforced his players to hold tennis balls during defensive drills to attempt to limit unnecessary fouling. A stringent analyst, he once paused a documentary on Pep Guardiola for two hours on the Mainz bus to study a graph which showed Barcelona's passing patterns. He also discussed tactics with Guardiola for four hours in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. Tuchel has borrowed training methods from other sports, including archery and kick-boxing; he once made the team spend close to a month training with a handball team. According to

Jan Kirchhoff Jan Tilman Kirchhoff (born 1 October 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. Club career Mainz 05 Born in Frankfurt, West Germany, Kirchhoff began his football career at SpVgg Ki ...

, Tuchel also emphasized psychological training, regularly sharing extracts from newspaper articles or books to his players to challenge their thinking. With Dortmund, Tuchel often used the 4–1–4–1 and 4–2–3–1 formations; with the former, he made his team force overloads in space out wide, while with the latter, he looked to create overloads in pockets of space in-between the lines of the opposition. At Paris Saint-Germain, Tuchel primarily played a

4–3–3 In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...

with plenty of flair to emphasize the attacking capabilities of wide forwards Neymar and Mbappé, although, used up to ten different formations while at the club. An initial disciplinarian, Tuchel implemented bans on eating refined carbohydrates, replacing it with wholemeal pasta and light sauces; he changed this approach after being appointed at PSG. During the 2018–19 season, the forward line, with Neymar and Mbappé flanking central target man Cavani, regularly dropped into the half-space or into wide areas. The team's full-backs would also push up alongside the midfield, in order to attain positional overloads, and players were encouraged to find space between the lines of defense and midfield to disorganize the opposition. Simultaneously, this would disrupt attempts to man-mark Neymar and Mbappé, and create space open behind the defensive line for the pair to run into. 2021-12-08 - FC Zenit Saint Petersburg v Chelsea F

2021-12-08 - FC Zenit Saint Petersburg v Chelsea F

The team's midfield would see the deepest defensive midfielder stick close to the central defenders, who would often be joined by another midfielder who can act as a deep-lying playmaker. These roles were occupied by Marquinhos and

Marco Verratti Marco Verratti (; born 5 November 1992) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Italy national team. He is often considered as one of the best midfielders in the wor ...

, respectively. The last remaining midfielder would push forward, to stagger attacks and disrupt defensive structure by overloading one side of the opponent's defensive area, setting an overload passing trap. During the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons, Di María and Paredes were commonly associated with this role. The team also heavily utilized '' Gegenpressing'', a tactic where, after losing possession of the ball, the team immediately attempts to wins it back, rather than regrouping. This ensures PSG corral the opponent onto one side, before switching play quickly to exploit the weaker side. Tuchel has also been noted for his use of man-marking, tasking Herrera to do so on

Thiago Thiago is the Portuguese equivalent of the names Jacob and James. It is the archaic spelling of the name Tiago, presently mostly used in Brazil; in Portugal, the modern spelling largely prevails. * Thiago (footballer, born September 1988), full ...

in the 2020 Champions League Final. In the 2018–19 season, following injuries to Neymar, Verratti, and Rabiot, Tuchel sometimes departed from the 4–3–3, to success. In a 4–1 home victory against Rennes in January 2019, PSG lined up in a 4–2–2–2 formation; in possession, one defensive midfielder would drop between the central defenders to create a back three, while the fullbacks pushed forward. This meant the other midfielder would act as a sweeping defensive presence, while the four forwards would stay high and wide, dropping in sporadically to create vertical passing options to break the defensive line. In defense, PSG would retreat to a 5–3–2 formation, and readjust to a

4–4–2 In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...

to ''gegenpress''. At Chelsea, Tuchel was known for making frequent player alterations in his early tenure; he made 39 changes to the starting lineup in 10 Premier League games between January and March 2021. He mostly preferred a 3–4–2–1, with ball progression largely coming from the wingbacks, a position mainly played by

Reece James Reece James may refer to: * Reece James (footballer, born 1993), English footballer born in Bacup, Lancashire * Reece James (footballer, born 1999), English footballer born in Redbridge, London See also * James Reece (disambiguation) * Rhys James ...

and

Ben Chilwell Benjamin James Chilwell (born 21 December 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Chelsea and the England national team. Beginning his career at Leicester City, Chilwell had a loan spell with Huddersfie ...

, while also restoring the ostracized

to a first team regular, deploying him as a left centre-back in a back three, despite Rüdiger being right-footed. Sources close to Chelsea noted training sessions feature a light tone, with a wide range of drills including smaller footballs or using hands instead of feet in some games. He also used staggered recovery, such as lighter sessions after big games or rest days altogether. According to

, in days leading up to games, training intensity typically increases, with focus on possession over tactics, such as three v two passing drills.

Reception

Klopp, his contemporary, commenting on Tuchel's "exceptional" rise through the ranks remarked, "He's an outstanding coach and an outstanding manager". Guardiola also expressed his admiration for Tuchel's footballing philosophy, saying, "He's so creative. One of the few managers I learn from. Excellent in all departments. I enjoy watching his teams, the way he plays ndhis approach."

Nikolče Noveski Nikolče Noveski ( mk, Николче Новески; born 28 April 1979) is a Macedonian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He spent most of his career in Germany amassing over 300 league appearances with 1. FSV Mainz ...

, who played under Tuchel and Klopp, noted "Tuchel's anagementwas interested in fine details; his preparation for games is unparalleled. He is perfectionist, isn't afraid to challenge people and can be direct despite potential conflict". Writing for ''

'', Simon Johnson reported such tensions rose at Chelsea, especially with the club's attacking players, with "brutal" criticism for failing to carry out his tactics. This was echoed by

, who also played under Tuchel, and said, " uchelorganises everything precisely, down to the last millimetre." Speaking on his management style, Marcus Bettinelli noted Tuchel emphasizes personableness with playing and non-playing staff, saying, "...whether you're the chef, the bin man or gardener ou canfeel the atmosphere. He likes to ask how your family are, how you're doing. It's small things like that

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

help you feel comfortable". Sources close to Chelsea noted Tuchel's strong communication skills with players and light tone; to assimilate with the playing squad, Tuchel regularly organized external team outings and activities, including cooking them '' Weißwürste'' and

pretzels A pretzel (), from German pronunciation, standard german: Breze(l) ( and French / Alsatian: ''Bretzel'') is a type of baked bread made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical f ...

. Tuchel is also known as a fierce motivator. At Mainz, during a bike tour up a mountain, Tuchel buried the club badge, saying if the youth team reached the 2009 Under 19 Bundesliga final, he would retrieve it; according to under-19 player

Konstantin Fring Konstantin Fring (born 9 January 1990) is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder for side TSV Schott Mainz. With Rot-Weiss Essen Fring won the Lower Rhine Cup The Lower Rhine Cup (German: ''Niederrheinpokal'') is a German football club C ...

, "We all had goosebumps. We would have killed someone for him hen he retrieved it We wanted to win so much. And we did."

Personal life

As a child, Tuchel was a "huge" fan of football, and his first footballing idol was

Hans-Günter Bruns Hans-Günter Bruns (born 15 November 1954) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Overview Bruns was a typical German footballer. Powerfully built, technically good, strong in the tackle, an ...

. Tuchel attended Simpert-Kraemer- Gymnasium and devised tactical strategies in PE volleyball. He graduated from

Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University The Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (German: ''Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg'', DHBW) is an institution of higher education with several campuses throughout the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It offers dual-educat ...

with a degree in business administration, and worked as a bartender at the Radio Bar in Stuttgart while a student. Thomas married his wife Sissi in 2009, with whom he has two daughters. In April 2022, it was reported Sissi filed for divorce, citing

irreconcilable differences ''Irreconcilable Differences'' is a 1984 American comedy-drama film starring Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, and Drew Barrymore. The film was a minor box-office success, making over $12 million. For their performances, both Long and Barrymore were no ...

. Tuchel is a

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Eu ...

, speaking German, French, English, and Italian. He describes himself as an "imperfect

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

" and consumes minimal amounts of alcohol. Tuchel considers himself an avid reader, namely of

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

novels and books about architecture and design, and is also a fan of

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

, and hip hop.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

Borussia Dortmund *

: 2016–17; runner-up: 2015–16 Paris Saint-Germain * Ligue 1: 2018–19, 2019–20 *

: 2019–20; runner-up: 2018–19 * Coupe de la Ligue: 2019–20 *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

runner-up: 2019–20 Chelsea *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

* FIFA Club World Cup:

runner-up:

, 2021–22 * EFL Cup runner-up: 2021–22 Individual * VDV Bundesliga Coach of the Season: 2015–16 *

: March 2021, October 2021 *

German Football Manager of the Year The title Football Manager of the Year (''Trainer des Jahres'') has been awarded in Germany since 2002. The award is determined by a poll of German football journalists from the Association of German Sports Journalists (''Verband der Deutschen Spo ...

: 2021 * UEFA Men's Coach of the Year: 2020–21 * IFFHS Men's World's Best Club Coach: 2021 * The Best FIFA Football Coach: 2021

References

External links

* *
Profile at kickersarchiv.de
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuchel, Thomas 1973 births Living people People from Günzburg (district) Sportspeople from Swabia (Bavaria) Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University alumni Footballers from Bavaria German footballers Association football defenders FC Augsburg players Stuttgarter Kickers players SSV Ulm 1846 players 2. Bundesliga players German football managers 1. FSV Mainz 05 managers Borussia Dortmund managers Paris Saint-Germain F.C. managers Chelsea F.C. managers Bundesliga managers Ligue 1 managers Premier League managers UEFA Champions League winning managers German expatriate football managers German expatriate sportspeople in France German expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate football managers in France Expatriate football managers in England Association football coaches