71 Facts About Thomas Tuchel

Widely regarded as a forward-thinking tactical innovator, Tuchel is considered one of the best managers in the world.

Thomas Tuchel began his coaching career in 2000 as a youth coach at VfB Stuttgart.

Thomas Tuchel was appointed at Borussia Dortmund in 2015 and won the DFB-Pokal before being dismissed in 2017.

Thomas Tuchel was hired by Paris Saint-Germain in 2018 and won two league titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to its first UEFA Champions League final.

Thomas Tuchel became head coach at Chelsea in 2021 and won the Champions League in his debut season, being named The Best FIFA Football Coach.

Thomas Tuchel won the UEFA Super Cup and Chelsea's first FIFA Club World Cup.

Thomas Tuchel signed with Bayern Munich in 2023 and won the Bundesliga before being dismissed in 2024.

Thomas Tuchel began his role as England head coach in January 2025.

Thomas Tuchel moved to the FC Augsburg academy in 1988 he never appeared for the first team, being released at age 19.

Thomas Tuchel began his coaching career in 2000, hired by Ralf Rangnick as youth team coach at VfB Stuttgart, where he aided in player development; Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber became club regulars under him.

Thomas Tuchel left after that season, with the club opting not to renew his contract, citing his abrasive coaching style and demeanour.

In 2005, Thomas Tuchel returned to Augsburg, with club sporting director Andreas Rettig noting the club's admiration of Thomas Tuchel's tactical discipline led to him being appointed youth team coordinator.

Thomas Tuchel was hired despite lacking a UEFA Pro Licence, which he gained in a six-and-a-half month course in Cologne under Erich Rutemoller.

Thomas Tuchel garnered a reputation for his combustibility towards referees during games, often receiving fines from the Bavarian Football Association as a result.

An initial disciplinarian, Thomas Tuchel reportedly forbade his players to leave the canteen while others were still eating, deeming it ill-mannered.

Thomas Tuchel's tactics based on pressing and positional play led Mainz to a ninth-placed finish in his first season as manager.

Mainz suffered an early exit in the Europa League, and ended the season with 39 points, the lowest total during Thomas Tuchel's spell at the club.

Thomas Tuchel explained that he had already made the decision to leave Mainz at the end of the season in autumn of 2013.

Thomas Tuchel addressed the issue of star players who were in a dilemma between staying and leaving, rapidly convincing them that Dortmund could meet their ambitions.

Dortmund and Thomas Tuchel's approach was to build upon Klopp's foundations, keeping the team's core with shrewd additions.

Dortmund finished second in the Bundesliga, securing UEFA Champions League football Thomas Tuchel was criticised at the season's end for missing the club's 50th anniversary of their 1966 European Cup Winners' Cup victory.

Thomas Tuchel publicly criticised 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.

In February 2020, Jan-Henrik Gruszecki, a former ultra who became a consultant to the Dortmund board, claimed Thomas Tuchel mistakenly sent an angry text message about sporting director Michael Zorc that was meant to go to Thomas Tuchel's agent, Oliver Meinking.

Thomas Tuchel reportedly expressed discontent over transfer activity, with Watzke sanctioning the departures of Hummels, Gundogan, and Mkhitaryan, despite guarantees they would not leave.

Thomas Tuchel aimed to sign defender Omer Toprak 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 Thomas Tuchel.

In May 2018, Thomas Tuchel signed a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain, replacing Unai Emery.

In January 2019, Thomas Tuchel was eliminated from his first competition at PSG, falling to Guingamp on 9 January, in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue.

Notably, the latter game contained controversy, as Thomas Tuchel was seen to be in a heated conversation with Mbappe following his substitution.

Thomas 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 and the highest average of points per game.

On 26 January 2021, Thomas Tuchel signed an 18-month contract with Premier League club Chelsea, replacing Frank Lampard.

Thomas Tuchel became the first German to be appointed as head coach of the club.

Thomas Tuchel previously interviewed to become Chelsea coach in June 2016, with the club eventually appointing Antonio Conte.

Thomas Tuchel took charge of his first match the following day, a goalless draw at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers, a match that set the record for most possession and passes completed for a manager's first Premier League game.

Thomas Tuchel signed Saul Niguez on a season-long loan from Atletico Madrid on deadline day.

Thomas Tuchel, who was reluctantly the face of the club amidst off-field turmoil, was praised by Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian for being "a voice of calm and reason throughout the most unsettling period in Chelsea's history".

Thomas Tuchel then reaffirmed his commitment to the club, despite interest from Manchester United and Barcelona, although renewing player contracts was made difficult due to the restrictions, with the deals for Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen running out at the season's end.

The FA stated that Thomas 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".

Sources close to Thomas Tuchel claimed he disagreed with the club's transfer strategy and targets, such as not being involved in the loan signing of Zakaria and that he personally expressed interest in transfers for Matthijs de Ligt, Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong, and Presnel Kimpembe.

Sources connected with Chelsea claimed Thomas Tuchel was inconsistent regarding transfers, expressing both reluctance and support towards potential moves for Gabriel Jesus, Edson Alvarez, Romeo Lavia, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

On 24 March 2023, Thomas Tuchel was announced as head coach at Bayern Munich on a two-year deal, replacing his former player Julian Nagelsmann, who was dismissed.

Thomas Tuchel became the first German coach to reach that stage with three different clubs.

Thomas Tuchel broke up the previous season's midfield partnership of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka reportedly on the basis of a lack of defensive balance and wanted to recruit a specialist holding midfielder: a deal to sign Joao Palhinha collapsed on deadline day.

Thomas Tuchel was criticised by media outlets for his tactical decisions, who said his style of play was "predicated on individualism" instead of representing a collective effort.

Reports emerged detailing that Thomas Tuchel felt his cautious tactical approach to games was "because he felt he had to, not because he wanted to", with attempts to sideline or sell Goretzka or Kimmich being blocked by the club.

On 16 October 2024, Thomas Tuchel was announced as head coach of the England national team, with his appointment made on 1 January 2025; Thomas Tuchel signed his 18-month contract eight days prior.

Thomas Tuchel is the first German and third foreign head coach of England, after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

In February 2025, Justin Cochrane joined Thomas Tuchel's coaching staff and analyst James Melbourne joined from Chelsea.

Thomas Tuchel is known for his implementation of innovative training methods.

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

An initial disciplinarian, Thomas Tuchel implemented bans on eating refined carbohydrates, replacing it with wholemeal pasta and light sauces at his clubs.

Thomas Tuchel changed this approach after being appointed at PSG.

Thomas Tuchel used staggered recovery, such as lighter sessions after big games or rest days altogether.

Thomas Tuchel's footballing style is characterised by flexibility and pragmatism: speaking on his tactical setup in Ben Lyttleton's Edge: What Business Can Learn From Football, Tuchel said, "My [footballing] philosophy is an aesthetic one: "aesthetic" means [to] control the ball, the rhythm, to attack in every minute and to try to score as many goals as possible".

Thomas Tuchel is known as a tactical innovator and is often favorably compared to Pep Guardiola: the pair once discussed tactics together for over four hours.

Thomas Tuchel has been noted for using man-marking, tasking Herrera to do so on Thiago in the 2020 Champions League final.

At Chelsea, Thomas 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.

Thomas Tuchel used an advancing double pivot of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka to overload opposition spaces when building up to enable progression through the pitch thirds.

Thomas Tuchel said Tuchel succeeded in making "subtle [tactical] tweaks in crucial moments" to win games at Bayern.

Klopp, his contemporary, commenting on Thomas Tuchel's "exceptional" rise through the ranks remarked, "He's an outstanding coach and an outstanding manager".

Thomas Tuchel is known for his aptitude and positive response to new footballing trends and ideas: after leaving Mainz, Thomas Tuchel visited Matthew Benham, owner of then-Championship club Brentford, to learn about statistical models.

Thomas Tuchel sought out online tactical blogs instead of established coaches to inform his footballing ideas: he later hired Rene Maric of Spielverlagerung at Borussia Dortmund to compile scouting reports.

In November 2021, Barney Ronay wrote in The Guardian that "Thomas Tuchel's acuity, his tendency in pre- and post-match TV appearances to blurt out original thoughts, to riff on the spot, turning this thing around in his hand, seeing its edges" is a microcosm of his footballing approach.

Gonzalo Castro, who played under Thomas Tuchel, said, "[Thomas Tuchel] organises everything precisely, down to the last millimetre".

Thomas Tuchel was more interested in the finer details; his preparation for games was unparalleled.

In 2021, a video emerged depicting Thomas Tuchel berating Shawn Parker while coaching him at Mainz in 2014.

Thomas Tuchel's training sessions were outstanding, he was a visionary.

Thomas Tuchel attended Simpert-Kraemer-Gymnasium and devised tactical strategies in PE volleyball.

Thomas Tuchel graduated from Baden-Wurttemberg Cooperative State University with a degree in business administration, and worked as a bartender at the Radio Bar in Stuttgart while a student.

Thomas Tuchel married his wife Sissi, with whom he has two daughters, in 2009.

Thomas Tuchel is a polyglot, speaking German, French, English, Luxembourgish and Italian, and describes himself as an "imperfect vegetarian".

Thomas Tuchel considers himself an avid reader, namely of crime thriller novels and books about architecture and design, and is a fan of tennis, rock music, and hip hop.