Christian Heidel laughs as he recalls a story that exemplifies Thomas Tuchel’s obsession with detail. “We were in Austria for a training camp and had a match against Olympiakos,” Mainz’s sporting director explains. “Thomas was staring intently at the lawn. He was measuring the height and sniffing the grass at the same time. He was so excited about this pitch that he asked me to send the groundskeeper to Mainz. The next day, the groundskeeper called and said, ‘I heard we’re going to talk about a contract.’ The deal did not go through, but it demonstrates how much of a perfectionist he is.”
Early Life
Tuchel grew up in the small Bavarian town of Krumbach and was the best footballer in his class, helping his team win the German Schools Championship in Berlin in 1987. After joining FC Augsburg in 1988, he appeared to be on the right track after starring for TSV Krumbach. However, problems were on the way. Tuchel was released by Augsburg in 1992 and struggled at Stuttgart Kickers. He joined SSV Ulm in 1994, and things looked up when Ralf Rangnick was appointed manager three years later.
Rangnick, known as the “Father of Modern German Football,” introduced Tuchel to positional play. Tuchel’s joy, however, was limited when Ulm were promoted to Bundesliga 2 in 1998 due to a chronic knee injury that forced him to retire at the age of 25. The man who will captain Chelsea in Saturday’s Champions League final against Manchester City had to scale back his ambitions while studying for a business administration degree and working as a bartender in Stuttgart.
It was never going to work out. Tuchel is a “footballaholic,” according to Heidel, and no one knows the game better than him. Andreas Rettig, Augsburg’s sporting director when Tuchel took over as Under-19s coach in 2005, describes Tuchel as a demanding individual who is “100% convinced” of his ideas.
Playing Career
Tuchel, who was born in Krumbach, Bavaria, played for the local club TSV Krumbach, which was coached by his father Rudolf Tuchel joined FC Augsburg’s academy in 1988, but he never made it to the first team, being released when he was 19. Tuchel was described as “a passionate player who gave his all on the pitch but had few friends among his teammates because he was exacting and demanding” by coach Heiner Schuhmann during his time at Augsburg. Tuchel signed with Stuttgarter Kickers in the 2. Bundesliga after being released.
During the 1992-93 season, Tuchel appeared in eight games. After the 1993-94 season, he was released by Kickers and joined Regionalliga Süd club SSV Ulm, coached by Hermann. During the 1992-93 season, Tuchel appeared in eight games. After leaving Kickers’ first team at the end of the 1993-94 season, he joined Regionalliga Süd side SSV Ulm, coached by Hermann Badstuber, the father of Holger Badstuber, whom Tuchel would later manage at youth level. He was a central defender for SSV Ulm until he was forced to retire in 1998, at the age of 24, due to a knee cartilage injury.
Coaching Career
Thomas Tuchel is a recent UCL trophy winner and one of the best managers in the world. View all of his managerial trophies and awards.
Augsburg II
Trophies: 0
Thomas Tuchel began his coaching career with VfB Stuttgart’s youth team in 2000 at the age of 27 before becoming the youth team coordinator in Augsburg in 2005. During the 2007/2008 season, he was appointed as the first team coach of Augsburg II. Julian Nagelsmann was an injury-prone defender on the Augsburg II team when Tuchel instructed him to become a club scout, which eventually led Julian to embrace coaching.
Mainz 05
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Trophies: 0
Tuchel’s performance as coach of Augsburg II drew the attention of several top-tier German clubs, paving the way for his move to Mainz 05 in 2009. He coached the youth team in Mainz for a year before signing a two-year contract to coach the senior team.
Borussia Dortmund
Thomas Tuchel Trophies: 1
Thomas Tuchel took over as coach of Borussia Dortmund in April 2015, replacing Jurgen Klopp on a three-year contract. Tuchel immediately began a revitalization project for the team, which was made simple by Dortmund’s financial strength. As a result, he signed Julian Weigl and Gonzalo Castro, both midfielders who previously played for 1860 Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. Tuchel experimented with different formations with the team, which helped the team transition to runner-up in the Bundesliga.
He started the 2016/2017 season with 11 straight victories. He led the team to the 2016 DFB-Pokal final, where they were defeated by Bayern Munich on penalties. The team was also eliminated from the UEFA Europa League following the quarter-final match against Liverpool. Tuchel developed a formidable defence after heavy investment in player acquisitions for 2017/2018, putting an end to the leak that had cost Dortmund in major competitions.
He was able to carry the team to the DFB-Pokal final, which he won after leading Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1. It was the team’s first major trophy in five years, and Tuchel’s first as a coach. Tuchel was fired three days after the team’s victory due to a squabble over his relationship with club owner Hans Joachim Watzke.
Paris Saint – Germain
Thomas Tuchel Trophies: 6
Thomas Tuchel took over as PSG coach in July 2018 and has since managed the club 127 times in all competitions, with 95 wins, 13 draws, and 19 defeats (337 goals scored, 103 conceded). His trophy collection includes two Ligue 1 titles in 2019 and 2020, the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue in 2020, two Trophées de Champions in 2018 and 2019, and leading Paris Saint-Germain to the club’s first Champions League final last August.
Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel Trophies: 2
Thomas Tuchel signed an 18-month contract with Chelsea as the club’s first German coach in January 2021, and he quickly made a strong impression by catapulting Chelsea from sixth to fourth in the league. The team won their first 13 games under his leadership, breaking the club’s record for the longest unbeaten streak by a new coach.
Tuchel led the team to the FA Cup final in April. Despite losing by a single goal, Chelsea management extended his contract until 2024. Tuchel’s record in Europe was even better, as he won the UEFA Champions League, defeating Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Manchester City to claim his first European title as a manager. Tuchel brought in an experienced goalkeeper, Marcus Bettinelli, as his first signing as Chelsea’s coach. Chelsea won the UEFA Super Cup in August after defeating Villarreal.
Thomas Tuchel’s Personal Titles
Titles and Awards: 3
In his coaching career, Thomas Tuchel has received some individual honours. Among these honours and recognitions are the 2015/2016 VBV Bundesliga coach of the season while with Borussia Dortmund and the Premier League manager of March 2021 after keeping a four-game clean sheet with maximum points. He was named German football manager of the year in 2021 after receiving 129 votes for his stellar performance with Chelsea.
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