Sunday May 30th 2021
Coach celebrates a wild cabin party
Tuchel mutates into Klopp and disenchants Guardiola
Chelsea FC climbs to Europe’s football summit. In the duel of tactical tinkerers, Thomas Tuchel proves to be a spoilsport for Pep Guardiola again. The German coach digs deep into his bag of tricks, also uses Jürgen Klopp – and receives a new contract on the field.
At the preliminary career summit, Thomas Tuchel got really sentimental. At the moment of the Champions League victory with Chelsea, the German coach felt like he was “in a movie” and wanted to share all his happiness with his family. “When I think about it, I start to cry. I know how happy they are, for them it is now,” said the 47-year-old football teacher, visibly agitated. His parents, wife Sissi and their two daughters watched at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto as Tuchel won his first international title as a coach. “That’s the best, to be honest,” enthused the Chelsea coach.
The 1-0 (1-0) against Manchester City also served as Tuchel’s masterpiece after losing 1-0 with Paris Saint-Germain in the final against FC Bayern a year ago. He lost his job in Paris shortly before Christmas Eve, and six months later he led Chelsea to Europe’s football throne. After Jürgen Klopp with FC Liverpool in 2019 and Munich’s Hansi Flick in 2020, he is the third German winning coach in the Champions League in a row. “A very large part” had Tuchel in the upswing of the “Blues”, assured defender Antonio Rüdiger hoarsely from the jubilation.
As ninth in the Premier League, Tuchel took over Chelsea at the end of January (contract for 18 months with an option for a further year) and lifted it to fourth place by the end of the season. The Londoners lost the FA Cup final against Leicester City, but they were the winners in the biggest game of the season. After the final in Porto, Tuchel already indicated a possible contract extension. “I’m not 100 percent sure, maybe I already have a new contract, my manager said something,” said the well-disposed German trainer during the press conference. Tuchel said he spoke to club owner Roman Abramowitsch on the lawn of the Estádio do Dragão. “I think that was the best moment for a first meeting. From now on it can only get worse.” The former Bundesliga coach announced further talks with the Russian. “I’m looking forward to it. I can assure him that I’ll stay hungry and want the next title,” said Tuchel.
Tuchel mutates into Klopp
For the Chelsea coach it was the third win in the third game of the season against the champions from Manchester. “We felt it yesterday, we felt it the day before yesterday. We are the stone in Man City’s shoe,” said Tuchel. His first path after winning the title led him to city coach Pep Guardiola, whom he admires and with whom he once debated tactics for hours in a Munich restaurant with salt and pepper shakers.
Perhaps because of his respect for tinkerer Tuchel, Guardiola had chosen a formation in the first Champions League final for Man City that should prove to be wrong. “I don’t know who he wanted to prove something to. Even such a trainer should learn: Shoemaker, stick to your last,” complained Sky expert Lothar Matthäus. Instead of using the tactic that was so successful recently in the league, with which the defensive was strengthened and İlkay Gündoğan became the central figure, Guardiola unsettled his team with new stylistic elements. “I definitely wanted to win the game with this line-up, the players knew exactly what to do,” said the Spaniard. But his team seemed overwhelmed by Guardiola’s ideas and hardly had a real chance to score. “We lacked inspiration,” admitted Guardiola.
Tuchel opposed the English champions with a strong midfield capable of running and fighting, which had its strengths in switching. Rüdiger, who was strong as a bear, was waiting in the back; Again and again the blues overplayed the chains of Man City in the build-up of the game in order to avoid the aggressive pressing of the sky blues and ball losses. The asphyxiation football typical of Guardiola could not develop in this way. On the sidelines, Tuchel even mutated into a motivator à la Jürgen Klopp or Diego Simeone and repeatedly whipped the fans with wild gesticulations. The Chelsea coach had rarely been seen so emotionally and positively aggressive, even in the dressing room after the triumph he literally freaked out and even cheered and kissed his shoes. Klopp has long been considered a permanent conqueror of Guardolia, a title that Tuchel has now stolen from him.
“We’ll be coming back”
Before the big cheers after the final whistle, Tuchel took time for Guardiola. The German team manager gently held the Catalan’s bearded face in both hands and comforted his friend, whom he had coldly coached again.
While Chelsea patron Roman Abramowitsch was able to post the Champions League on the credit side for the second time after the triumph of Munich in 2012, the billion-dollar project Manchester City, which was funded from Abu Dhabi, continued to fail. Guardiola missed the triumph in the premier class in the Cityzens for the fifth year after three unsuccessful attempts with FC Bayern. “We’ll be back,” assured the 50-year-old defiantly.
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