Thomas Tuchel is the new coach at Bayern Munich. The 49-year-old is well versed in dealing with stars from Europe and maintains a good relationship. Only with the club authorities does he always offend.
Perhaps Gianluigi, nicknamed “Gigi” Buffon, remembered that he always opened his cigarettes in the toilet in the catacombs of his former club Paris St Germain had left. And his coach at the time, Thomas Tuchel, always and very subtly ignored that. The coach of the living Italian goalkeeper legend, who at the age of 45 still plays in Serie B at Parma Calcio, really didn’t want to forbid this personal pleasure (anymore).
How should Tuchel make rules about health and sporting lifestyle to such a highly decorated player who was already in his fifth decade? “I’ve only met a few people who are so intelligent”Buffon said appreciatively just a few days ago: “I’ve rarely experienced something like this: He shows empathy, comes across as believable and sends out positive energy. Beautiful.” Apparently, Tuchel was able to deal very well with the special characteristics of his top players, as long as the sporting performance was right.
Now the German football coach should not only ensure this positive attitude to life but also sporting titles at FC Bayern Munich. The 49-year-old will succeed Julian Nagelsmann and will lead training for the first time on Monday.
Praise from Neymar and Dembele
Thomas Tuchel is not only generally regarded in public as a coach who is anything but easy to handle. “Thomas is a difficult person”, Borussia Dortmund’s managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke once called after Tuchel’s time at BVB. However, this personal criticism very rarely comes from the top stars in Tuchel’s teams, on the contrary.
“Thomas Tuchel is my favorite coach”, once said Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembelé about the football teacher. The Frenchman really blossomed at BVB under Tuchel and was then transferred to FC Barcelona for 150 million euros – where he was hardly able to repeat his performances from Dortmund.
Neymar was also full of praise for Tuchel in 2019. ‘”It’s a friendship, but at the same time a great mutual respect. I’ve developed a great affection for him since we first spoke.”the Brazilian superstar said of his former Paris coach, who was almost always able to push the French star ensemble to peak performance.
Trouble with Zorc and PSG managers
But of course, Tuchel kept getting in the way, even sometimes with individual players if they didn’t act the way he wanted. He is strict on this issue and has little room for manoeuvre. Above all, however, there was always stress when the respective club authorities wanted to interfere with his work. Tuchel always had his own mind, especially when it came to player commitments. Former BVB manager Michael Zorc felt the belligerence and intransigence just as much as ex-PSG sports directors Antero Henrique and Leonardo.
Tuchel only got along really well with a superior during his time at Chelsea FCwhere he immediately with the club the Champions League could win. Tuchel harmonized splendidly with the football specialist Marina Granovskaia, who had to leave the club last summer due to her closeness to the Russian ex-club owner Roman Abramowitsch.
However, the new American owners, an investor group led by US billionaire Todd Boehly, who had joined in May 2022, wanted to have a say in the team’s personnel. The following September and an unsuccessful start to the season, the two parties then parted ways – almost inevitably.
Tuchel’s sensitivity required
Those responsible for the club at FC Bayern should be hoping for exactly this (player) handling and sensitivity from Tuchel towards his new professionals in the next few weeks, as described by Buffon, Neymar and Dembelé.
Recently, a gap that could no longer be bridged had apparently arisen between the Munich professionals and Nagelsmann. Above all, the new FCB coach must succeed in creating unity in the team again and creating a spirit of optimism.
Wherever Tuchel trains, he pays attention to the individual skills of his players and the specific problems of his team. Then he adjusts his formation. Even Watzke, who turned to the coach with heartfelt rejection, never expressed any doubt that Tuchel was acting at the highest level in terms of tactics and footballing skills. “But he’s a fantastic coach“added the BVB managing director after rating Tuchel on a personal level.