Thomas Tuchel: The German Footballer & Chelsea Coach

Image: VI Images via Getty Images

Thomas Tuchel born 29 August
1973) is a German professional football coach and former player who is the head coach
of 
Premier
League
 club, Chelsea. Known for his tactical knowledge and style of
play, 
Thomas Tuchel coaching career has also been marked by
fractious relationships with his employers.

Born
in Krumbach, Thomas Tuchel’s playing career ended at age 25, resulting from a
chronic knee cartilage injury, and in 2000, he began his coaching career,
working for the youth teams at 
VfB Stuttgart for five years. In 2009, following a successful
one-year period at 
FC Augsburg II, he was hired by the newly promoted Bundesliga club Mainz 05.

Thomas Tuchel guided Mainz to
league stability during his five seasons at the club and gained plaudits for
his energetic, attacking football brand. He also cultivated a reputation for
his focus on promoting youth players. He departed Mainz in 2014 due to financial
disputes, and in 2015, he was appointed at fellow Bundesliga club 
Borussia Dortmund, where he won the DFB-Pokal before being dismissed in 2017.

Thomas Tuchel was hired at
French club Paris Saint-Germain in 2018, where he won two league titles,
including a domestic 
quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to
its first-ever 
UEFA
Champions League final
. However,
Tuchel was dismissed in 2020 and was then appointed by English club 
Chelsea in 2021

CLUB            

Appointed

In
Charge Until

Position

Matches

Chelsea

20/21(Jan
26, 2012)

Expected
Jun 30,2022

Manger

PSG

18/19(Jul 1, 2018)

20/21 (Dec 29, 2020)

Manger

127

BVB

15/16(Jul
1, 2015)

16/17
(May 30, 2017) 

Manger

107

1.FSV Mainz 05

09/10(Aug 3, 2009)

13/14 (May 10, 2014)

Manger

183

Mainz 05 U19

08/09
(Jul 1, 2008)

09/10
(Aug 3, 2009)

Manger

30

FC Augsburg II

06/07 (Jan 1, 2007) 

07/08 (Jun 30, 2008

Manger

FC Augsburg

05/06
(Jul 1, 2005) 

07/08
(Jun 30, 2008)

Academy
manager

FC Augsburg U19

05/06 (Jul 1, 2005) 

05/06 (Dec 31, 2006) 

Manger

Stuttgart U19

04/05
(Jul 1, 2004) 

04/05
(Jun 30, 2005) 

Assistant
Manager

Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browser
Disable in this text fieldRephraseRephrase current sentenceEdit in Ginger×

Thomas
Tuchel Chelsea contract

Thomas
Tuchel was appointed as head coach on 26 January 2021, moving to Stamford
Bridge following a two-and-a-half-year spell at French champions Paris
Saint-Germain, which came to an end the month before.

He
replaced Frank Lampard in the role and became the first German to manage
Chelsea.

He
won four major honors and reached the Champions League final during his time in
the French capital.

Before
that, Thomas Tuchel spent seven seasons coaching in the Bundesliga, first with
Mainz, where he led them into the Europa League, and then a successful period
with Borussia Dortmund, where he won the German Cup.

At
Chelsea, he is reunited with Christian Pulisic and Thiago Silva, who he coached
during his spells in Dortmund and Paris.


Thomas Tuchel already knows how to beat Real Madrid and guide Chelsea to the Champions League final.

Thomas Tuchel already has a statement victory over Real Madrid on his CV, and that will be important when the Blues take on the La Liga giants.


Thomas Tuchel isn’t like most coaches. He has proved that time and time again during his relatively short spell in charge of Chelsea.


The German’s willingness to give thoughtful, analytical and truly in-depth tactical responses to questions in press conferences is rare, as is his ability to dissect a match mere moments after it has ended.

 

That latter trait has been evident throughout Tuchel’s coaching career. And it’s not one shared by all coaches, even at the very top level.


It gives a window into the mind of the 47-year-old. Enables those watching at home – and when possible in the stands – to understand why certain choices were made, why certain results occurred.


Take, for example, one of the statement victories of Tuchel’s coaching career.

On September 18, 2019, he oversaw Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League, a result all the more impressive given NeymarKylian Mbappe, and Edinson Cavani were absent due to injury and suspension.


Angel Di Maria scored twice that night at the Parc des Princes while Thomas Meunier also struck. It wasn’t a scoreline that flattered the home side as Los Blancos didn’t muster a single shot on target.


“I’m very happy with the whole team because it was really  difficult,” 

Tuchel explained to RMC Sport shortly after the full-time whistle had been blown.


“We had a lot of chances, but there were also some stages for Real where we suffered. But we stayed structured, always tight, aggressive and compact. Really, it was a complete performance.”


That display is likely to remain in the memory of Tuchel. Given that Chelsea will need to overcome Real Madrid to reach this season’s Champions League final, that could well prove extremely useful.


The Blues will face Zinedine Zidane’s side in the last four of the competition. The first leg will be played on April 27, the second on May 5. The La Liga giants are favorites to progress.


That’s no surprise, given Real Madrid’s pedigree in the European Cup. The club has been crowned champions on 13 occasions. Of those successes, four have come in the last seven years. Zidane’s side has the know-how and experience needed to get the job done.


Yet on that September evening in 2019, none of that mattered. Tuchel largely nullified the threat posed by Real Madrid like few coaches in recent memory. And the tactical framework utilized will likely be replicated with Chelsea when the two sides meet.


First things first, Tuchel opted to match Real Madrid’s 4-3-3 with one of his own that night in Paris.


He is highly unlikely to do so when Chelsea takes on Los Blancos, given the success he has had with the 3-4-2-1 system deployed in most of the games he’s overseen at Chelsea.