From premier league best of the month, to Germany's best of the year, to UEFA's best of the season... In 2021, Tuchel ushered in the transformation of his coaching career at Chelsea, officially becoming a "master". Playing in the Champions League final for two consecutive seasons may just be a brilliant starting point for him.
If not in the green field, Tuchel, who is thin, with a high hairline and a penchant for black knitwear, looks more like an architect or anthropology professor.
Conceited, arrogant, lonely, but also pragmatic, calm and warm. Such a confrontation occurred six months before the German manager entered Stamford Bridge. In the new season, Tuchel not only won the European championship again, but also won the "UEFA Best Coach" award, overwhelming the European Championship champion manager. With the unexpected reversal, to achieve a win-win situation between individuals and teams and players, Tuchel's silent transformation has added more points of view to the new season of the Premier League and Champions League competition.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-center-line" > a master of sabotage</h1>
In 2017, Tuchel, who was idle at the time, appeared at the Etihad Stadium in casual clothes, staring intently at the manchester City match against Tottenham. Like regular fans, he will cheer for the "Blue Moon" mercury rushing attack, and his mind will return to the days when he spent all night in his youth studying Guardiola's coaching DVD (Barca). "After re-watching those discs, I realized that the game could still be played like this." After the game, the German went into the dressing room and talked to Guardiola for a long time, just as the two used salt cans and pepper bottles in the bar to carry out tactical deductions until the night was silent.
Like Guardiola, Tuchel is a paradoxically talented coach, a talented tactical researcher, and a football scientist. He used to dig into the subtleties of the game, a character who pushed players to the limit, and even beyond the limit. Klezi, who worked with Tuchel in Mainz, said of the former manager: "He can 'dissect' opponents and has 'X-ray' vision. His game plans are always successful. ”
As a high-caliber student at the "German Coach Whampoa Military Academy" Heinsweiler Academy, Tuchel never easily spoke to the media about tactical design, and the only thing that could be revealed to the outside world was "my style is no style" that hung on his lips in the early years. Every game he has a new twist, preemptively "without thinking", especially on the offensive end.
In the first three rounds of the new Premier League, Chelsea's six goals were completed by six players, and if the European Super Cup is added, as many as 7 people have established a goal account - the former, middle and back third-tier players have participated in the goal. This is in stark contrast to Tuchel's takeover of the "Blues" at the beginning of the single goal is extremely difficult to break through two, relying more on "random guns and birds" and opponent gifts. Chelsea achieved multi-point firing thanks to Tuchel's ingenuity in training.
After moving to Chelsea, the German coach continued the "alien training ground" that was familiar to the Mainz era. In order to suppress the inertia of the wingers who intend to cross as soon as they reach the bottom line, Tuchel simply cut off the four corners of the training ground, and the wingers had to come to the middle more to seek short pass cooperation.
In order to simulate the concentration of balls in the game, Tuchel often framed the training ground as diamonds, circles, and even triangles, in order to allow players to remain calm and rational in limited areas and when encountering targeted defenses of opponents, and make optimal choices.
These training rules, which seem to appear only in football games, have been interpreted by Tuchel to have a solid game effect. Last season's Champions League final, Mount's long pass from behind his back to the ball was a typical "narrow diamond-shaped diagonal", and at that moment, the Blues ignored City's well-known defensive line and broke through the combination of Stones and Ruben Díaz in the most concise way. In addition to Havertz's goal, Werner has also been given similar opportunities several times, proving that the Blues' move was not a whim.
The first goal against Arsenal in the second round of the new Premier League was also the same: Mateo Kovacic, Rees James and Lukaku were connected from the front of the big penalty area, and the two-foot quick pass and the forward insertion route of the "little monster" formed a perfect right triangle.
Tuchel did not settle for the efficient counterattack of last season, but always pursued the perfect offensive. His two compatriots, Werner and Havertz, are both counter-attacking highs, and in order to avoid being held hostage, the German insists that the club sign back to Lukaku, who was not good enough for the Blues' last career and is no longer young. Since teaching, Tuchel has never worked with a top center; but compared to Guardiola, who has been "looking for a gun" for many years but has never dared to jump out of his comfort zone, Tu Shuai's boldness is really admirable.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-center-line" > defensive master</h1>
Since his debut, Tuchel has always presented himself as an idealist, but this did not prevent Germans from practicing Machiavellianism at certain times. Although the trajectory of development overlaps with Klopp's and is always seen as a spiritual disciple of "Uncle Scum", Tuchel is more risk-averse and more inclined to reclaim possession and control the rhythm rather than try to create chaos. Tuchel is not a pure "inheritance" of Klopp, but rather a branch of contemporary German football tactical philosophy. In the third round of the Premier League, "Red and Blue War", Tuchel's control of the game process in an extremely bad situation is impressive.
Facing Real Madrid and Manchester City in the Champions League last season, the "Turs Blues" have demonstrated the pressure of not needing the ball to stand unbeaten, while at Anfield, the difficulty has escalated, playing one less person in the second half, and the full possession rate has been compressed to 1/3. In the face of difficulties, Chelsea did not collapse as they did at the beginning of last season, but limited the possibility of the "Reds" to create excellent opportunities. The Blues generals, who have experienced many times of defeating the strong with the weak, have formed a "muscle memory" that is not panicked in a difficult situation.
For fans who have set a stereotype of Chelsea based on the score alone, Tuchel's defensive system is nothing more than a new "bus"; but in fact, Tuchel's defensive position is more like a two-pointed, elastic "box". In addition to the frontal defence of the three centre-backs, the two wing-backs can both follow the opposing wingers and provide adduction protection. The double back, while recovering the dense middle road, is also given the freedom to advance the counterattack with the ball, and effectively echoes with the wing to ensure the movement of the defensive line is synchronized and elastic. Goalkeeper Mendy, who has a clear picture of the situation on the pitch, said: "Under Tuchel, 11 players have to move together, land together, defend together. Because of teamwork, we've become stronger and made me feel extra safe. ”
In the eyes of industry insiders, Tuchel not only regained the defensive essence of the Blues in the Mourinho era, but also injected a sense of responsibility into the soul of each subordinate. Last season, Tuchel and Lampard each coached 30 games, with Chelsea conceding just 16 goals under the German and 31 for the "magic lamp". Newton, who played for the Blues for 10 years and has been on the coaching staff several times since retiring, said Tuchel's transformation of the defence was key to his success.
"Frank (Lampard) always wanted to be on the front lines, whether it was playing or coaching, but in the end, he and the team were punished. What Thomas (Tuchel) has done is to raise the defense back to the level it should be and put players who were once unfavored back on the starting line-up. The team found confidence and wisdom in its most struggling moments, Thomas's instructions were clear and concise, and the players knew what the manager wanted them to do. In a word, he grabbed the bull's horn. ”
Although Tuchel's strategy is based on the defense, his style of play is not conservative, and the players' active running, co-defense and substitution make the Blues, who do not have much possession, always look interesting. Verner can't be the "No. 9", but as the first barrier of defense is absolutely competent; the triangle of Cantai, Mount and Havertz is the most reliable bearing for Chelsea from defense to attack, especially the French midfielder's opportunity to break the ball and advance quickly, which is almost the biggest nightmare of the Blues opponents; Jorginho, who has always had zero data in the Sarri era and was almost idle in the Lampard era, has become the best in Europe who can do everything.
The iron barrel array in the "madman" era is tough, but only the forest is seen, not the trees; Tuchel's "iron box tactics" make the Blues players who work together feel the art of defense and achieve personal value.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-center-line" > emotional master</h1>
Harsh, brutal, cold, before last season's Champions League final, "neutral fans" had no exception to Tuchel's stereotype. Tuchel, who threw himself into the coaching position early, is indeed overzealous and almost crazy. Just after coaching Dortmund, the vegetarian "crossed the line" and gave white bread, industrial sugar and carbonated drinks all "×"; and even earlier in Mainz, goalkeeper Heinz Müller called his coach a "dictator", and there were also codes in the dressing room that dared not speak. Tuchel's two coaching experiences for Bundesliga teams have ended in embattled and rebellious. At Mainz, players complain that he "doesn't forgive others and deals with personal grudges"; at Dortmund, CEO Wattsk's evaluation represents the player's voice - "He has excellent coaching ability, but it is difficult to get along with, and he never wants to be a part of the team's history." ”
In fact, the grumpy Tuchel also has a warm side to his subordinates. Learning that Groskroytz's old wounds had not healed, Tuchel immediately introduced him to his trusted Spanish doctor; Mkhitaryan was deeply suspicious of himself, and the German coach gave the Armenians a decompression book called "The Inner Game of Tennis". Tuchel has also offered to let the players set aside a fixed time slot every week, completely drop social media, and relax in the meditation room. After coaching Paris, the more authentic Germans also learned to turn a blind eye. "As long as Mbappe is professional and good enough from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., that's enough, and as for whether he plays social media or not, I don't care."
After coming to Chelsea, Tuchel was not satisfied with playing a pure tactical designer, from business to life, he gave his subordinates great attention. At the beginning of his tenure, Tuchel had yelled at his compatriot Verner on the spot in the game, but he also apologized for the first time after the game. "It's not humiliation or reprimand, it's just a little more direct. Compared to 10 years ago, my temper is much smaller now. ”
Tuchel was always immersed in the game and often sweated profusely. He kept putting pressure on the fourth official, on the referee, on the bench... "No one on the sidelines can run!" But now, I'm much calmer, which is necessary, after all, yelling on the sidelines is not necessarily the best way. But when you are too invested, it is more difficult to control. ”
In order to avoid frequent "head-on", Tuchel often communicates with assistant coach Jort Loew at the first time; before training, before lunch, the Germans often talk and laugh with the disciples, temporarily putting the football aside. Under the guidance and help of Tuchel, Danish defender Christensen has changed from a marginal man who is soft and frequently made mistakes to a defender with higher concentration and greater stability; Kepa, who has been sentenced to "death" by two managers in succession and has a clumsy ex-record, has always been entrusted by the German coach with heavy responsibilities, and has made a miracle in the European Super Cup in the summer.
Tuchel's "reinvention" is more reflected in the marginal people of Lampard's time. As soon as he took office, the Germans transformed Hedsen-Odoi into a wingback and achieved good results; Marcos Alonso, who was obviously short and getting older, also ushered in the second spring under the Germans. Of course, in the past six months, there have also been players who have been "snubbed" by Tuchel, compared to Tammy Abraham and Giroud, who have transferred to Serie A in the summer, such as Chilwell, who are amazingly valuable... But for them, the Germans show more self-blame and guilt.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-center-line" > correction master</h1>
After Tuchel won the first big ear cup of his coaching career, the English media circle that "must kill everything" has already come to the god-making movement. Next, the German can continue to harvest the championship with magnificent imagination and rigorous execution, but his "Achilles heel" is also well known. Before the Germans, Conte, Sarri and Lampard were all cathartic in front of the media after falling out with the top and were immediately questioned. How can Tuchel avoid hitting the same wall for the fourth time?
Character determines destiny, and the roots of Tuchel's perfectionists have made him a loser in both Dort and Grand Paris. In the "BVB" era, he continued to give Watsk and Zork a stinky face and kicked chief scout Milinstadt out of the training ground; in the "PSG" era, he and Leonardo quarreled almost everything, and the last time he decided to stay lasted only two minutes. "I don't know if I need to do better, I just simply like football, but in a club like this, obviously it's not just football!"
Wherever you go, noisy everywhere. In terms of high emotional intelligence, Tuchel is an absolute "straight Boy", and his obedience is rooted in the frustrated and cold youth. After bidding farewell to his career as a player at the age of 24 due to a serious knee injury, Tuchel picked up college textbooks again, began to study business administration, and went to bars to work as a bartender and subsidize his family in his spare time. "I'm actually an introvert and not very good at communicating with people, but in a bar, you have to ask 'what do you want to drink'? Night shift after night, let me slowly build up self-confidence. Luckily, my boss and customers didn't know I was a professional player. ”
Fragile dreams and humble beginnings make Tuchel always take the most drastic way to fight back against doubts, and management is his imaginary enemy who always stands in the clouds. The continuous "eight-character discord", although there are very different positions, more often than not, is the accidental injury caused by excessive prevention. "I naively thought that after I won four trophies and reached the Champions League final, people would stop criticizing me..."
Just turned 48, Tuchel's coaching career has been too rich, and after coming to Chelsea, he is also gradually correcting his self-bending and learning to use self-deprecation to resolve embarrassment. On the night of the Champions League showdown, Abramovich appeared in Porto to witness his team's second visit to Europe, and Tuchel cleverly said "he is finally willing to come to see me" to relieve the Russians who were grounded by Britain. CEO Granovskaya, who has strained relations with multiple Chelsea managers, also has a different attitude towardS Tuchel than others - after the contract extension is signed, the two even take a group photo in front of the Big Ear Cup.
Not long ago, Tuchel's evaluation of Lampard further reflected the warm side of his personality.
"The first time I spoke to the Chelsea board, I told them: 'Are you sure you want me to replace Lampard?' Fans may not like the decision and perhaps Lampard should be given more time...' I say this for Chelsea and Lampard. Lampard represents everything Chelsea has to offer: hard work, aggression, responsibility. He hardly misses games, is the perfect team player, a true legend. His lead in the Champions League group stage was outstanding, and it was a bit unlucky for him to leave class. I would like to reiterate: after coming to Chelsea, I did not think to weaken Lampard's influence, but just moved on top of him. ”
Look, Tuchel has learned to "rainbow fart", what other successes, is Chelsea fans afraid to look forward to?
This article is written by Yang Jian