ANDY DILLON
Thomas Tuchel has all the ingredients to become a classic England manager – tactical nous, drive and a tangled love life
His preferred tactical approach could be the missing link
THOMAS TUCHEL possesses all the ingredients to become a classic England manager.
Tactical nous, drive, energy, experience - a tangled love life.
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Chelsea’s colourful former boss has been leading a settled life in Munich of late.
Far enough away from ex-wife Sissi but close enough to see his two daughters.
Walking his dog in the streets in the east of Germany’s most fashionable city, residing in the posh Bogenhausen area. Living relatively quietly with his Brazilian girlfriend.
Yet having told close associates only a week or so ago that he was not yet ready to return to coaching after leaving behind an unflattering year at Bayern Munich in the summer, he has found the England job impossible to resist.
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And English football should welcome back the most explosive, dynamic, charismatic and impossibly tall and gangly coach to have lit up the Premier League.
Tuchel, 51, won the Champions League with Chelsea just four months after getting the job in January 2021.
Opponents Man City had Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden, Sergio Aguero. Chelsea had Timo Werner.
You can rabbit on as much as you like about tactical flexibility and systems, And they do play a part.
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But in those early days under the irascible German, Chelsea’s ambitious squad was hooked up to a daddy long legs with one spindly limb stuck in an electric socket.
A dressing room that included Antonio Rudgier, Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Cesar Azpilicueta and Reece James responded to Tuchel’s powerful touch and won the biggest trophy in club competition when they barely even knew their new head coach.
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The following season they clinched the Club World Cup and completed the set with the one prize missing from the Chelsea trophy cabinet.
And when the s*** hit the fan just 12 days after, on February 24, 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Tuchel stood tall during an international crisis that threatened to drive Chelsea out of business.
The curious spin-off from the war in Eastern Europe sent Tuchel’s Russian employer Roman Abramovich into hiding, triggering an emergency fire sale of every fixture and fitting at Stamford Bridge.
While the top brass hid from public view and scarpered into the shadows at its height, Tuchel faced question after question about everything except football as Chelsea went into meltdown and faced liquidation.
It’s one thing dragging off an underperforming striker at half time, the decisive leadership he displayed during those anxious months should never be underestimated.
Hopefully it was noticed at the Football Association as they sought a coach to pick up the baton from Gareth Southgate’s methodical, reasoned approach.
Tuchel is a vastly different personality to the man who led England quietly but assuredly to the brink of World Cups and European Championships.
An excitable nature can make him hard to handle for those seeking calm and who like to impose their way on a manager they view very much as an underling.
Tuchel clashed with his bosses at Paris St.Germain, he could not work with the American-led ownership who assumed control of Chelsea in 2022.
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His hilarious shoving match with equally combustible Tottenham manager Antonio Conte is the stuff of legend. All arms and legs with a startling height advantage in favour of Tuchel after a feisty London derby.
Tuchel’s antics in the dugout are a spectator sport in their own right.
There followed a £35,000 fine and a touchline ban. Not long after came the sack from Chelsea following an unedifying Champions League group game defeat at Dinamo Zagreb.
Tuchel was too headstrong for the new owners who seemed to be looking for an excuse to give him the boot and took their chance when it came.
But international football differs greatly to that at club level. With no transfers to worry about, there can be no arguments over signings. That should take a large sting out of Tuchel’s working relationship at The FA.
At Chelsea he was admired for doing simple things like greeting every member of staff at the training ground. Standard behaviour but all too often ignored at the top level.
Working as a glass collector in a Stuttgart bar while studying business administration at university has kept him grounded.
His approach to tactics was viewed by many as refreshing as the mojitos he used to make and a sign of his inner confidence.
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While mainly favouring a back three, he is not nailed to that philosophy.
He is respected for having the intelligence to take stock of his squad and write a team sheet around that instead of shoehorning the players to fit in with his ideas.
Often it was a 3-4-3 formation. Tuchel talked often of the ‘double sixes’ - two holding midfielders.
At Stamford Bridge that was generally Jorginho and N’Golo Kante.
With England it could be Declan Rice and Angel Gomes, allowing Jude Bellingham to push forwards and further strengthen the team’s strongest area in attack. Or it could be something completely different. That’s a strength.
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Tuchel was only at Chelsea for a year and a half. Sacked after a 100 day review by Chelsea’s owners who didn’t fancy his style.
But he retains a deep love for England after a brief time here, telling an English journalist just a few months back that he couldn’t wait to return and experience the joy and fun of a press conference with the English media again.
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