LONDON :A look at the career and playing style of German Thomas Tuchel, who was appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
WHERE IS TUCHEL FROM?
Tuchel was born in Krumbach, Germany on Aug. 29, 1973. He is the first German to manage the England national team and the third foreigner after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson (2001-06) and Italian Fabio Capello (2008-12).
Unlike Eriksson and Capello, Tuchel has prior experience of managing in England before taking charge of the national side.
PLAYING CAREER
Tuchel, a central defender, had a short-lived playing career, retiring at the age of 25 due to a knee injury. He never played top-tier football, lining up for Stuttgart Kickers in the German second division, and SSV Ulm in the fourth tier.
COACHING CAREER
Tuchel had his first taste of coaching at VfB Stuttgart, where worked as youth team coach.
He was a youth team coordinator at FC Augsburg. He took over as coach of the club’s reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
Tuchel had a spell as youth coach at Mainz 05 and in 2009 was promoted to first-team manager, taking over a side which had just won promotion to the Bundesliga.
Tuchel left after five seasons and took a one-year break before replacing Juergen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, where he won the German Cup in 2017, but was sacked three days later.
He spent another season out of work before his appointment at French club Paris St Germain, winning the Ligue 1 title in his first season and the domestic quadruple in his second.
He also led PSG to their first Champions League final, which they lost to Bayern Munich, but was sacked in December, 2020 with his side third in the league.
Tuchel took over as Chelsea manager a month later, leading the club to Champions League success in his first season, when they defeated Manchester City in the final. Chelsea also reached the FA Cup final.
The following season, Chelsea won the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, and were runners-up in the FA Cup and League Cup, losing both finals to Liverpool. Tuchel was sacked early the next season, in September 2022.
In March of the following year, Tuchel returned to Germany to take charge at Bayern Munich, winning the Bundesliga title on the final day. In February this year, Bayern announced he would leave the club at the end of the season.
Tuchel was named England head coach on Wednesday and will take charge in January.
TUCHEL’S TROPHIES
Borussia Dortmund: German Cup 2016-17
PSG: Ligue 1 2018-19, 2019-20
Coupe de France 2019-20
Coupe de la Ligue 2019-20
Trophee des Champions 2018, 2019
Chelsea: UEFA Champions League 2020-21
FIFA Club World Cup 2021
UEFA Super Cup 2021
Bayern Munich: Bundesliga 2022-23
TUCHEL’S MANAGERIAL STATS
Mainz 05 – Won 72 of 184 games, 39.13 per cent
Dortmund – Won 67 of 107 games, 62.62 per cent
PSG – Won 95 of 127 games, 74.80 per cent
Chelsea – Won 60 of 100 games, 60.00 per cent
Bayern – Won 37 of 61 games, 60.66 per cent
FORMATION AND STYLE OF PLAY
Tuchel is not a manager fixated on one particular formation. He played with a back three at Chelsea, but has used a four-man defence at most of his other clubs, from a 4-3-3 at PSG to a 4-2-3-1 at Bayern Munich.
He has proven himself to be tactically flexible, adjusting to the players at his disposal and formations in place when taking over a new job. Whichever formation Tuchel uses, he prefers a possession based buildup and an aggressive approach when without the ball.
Harry Kane, England’s captain, is very likely to be the main focus of Tuchel’s team when he takes charge. The German was instrumental is bringing Kane to Bayern and the pair forged a strong relationship at the club.
Tuchel prefers physicality in his midfield pairings, which could see Jude Bellingham play a deeper role alongside Declan Rice, but with plenty of opportunity to get forward.
The German has often disagreed with club owners when it comes to transfer strategy, but this will not be an issue as England coach.
(Writing by Trevor Stynes, Compiled by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Ed Osmond)
