If one section of England’s support will be confident Thomas Tuchel can deliver success at the World Cup this summer, it will be Chelsea fans. Tuchel starred during his time as Blues manager.
Chelsea’s last major trophy came thanks to the tactical genius of England’s manager, beating Man City against all odds in the 2021 Champions League final. Tuchel had only been in the job for six months.
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He lasted little over 18 months as Chelsea manager, winning 60 of his 100 matches in charge of the Blues. BlueCo, inexperienced in their role as owners, sacked Tuchel shortly into 2022-23 after a few losses.
It is a decision that now, four years into their ownership, BlueCo will probably admit was a mistake. It was a mistake in Martin Keown’s eyes, but that sacking may not have seen Tuchel become England manager.
Thomas Tuchel shares moment he knew he wanted England job
Euro 2020 was played a summer later thanks to Covid, and it saw England reach the final as they took apart the likes of Croatia, Germany and Denmark on their way to the final under boss Gareth Southgate.
At the time, Tuchel was Chelsea manager, fresh from winning the Champions League. He tells England’s Building the Dream series that he told his agent he would be open to managing England five years ago.
“When I was at Chelsea, and it was Euro 2021, all the matches at Wembley did something to the country and around London. I remember calling my agent and saying, I cannot believe what is going on,” he said.
“People are so excited for the National Team. When England was playing, everyone was up for England; I was not used to that; it was nice to see. I even said then, it would be a dream to be the National coach.
“It would be amazing. He replied, ‘Check your passport’ [he laughs], ‘you have a German passport, my friend, that will not happen’. But I am very happy that he was wrong, and that we proved him wrong.”
Thomas Tuchel is Chelsea’s best manager since Maurizio Sarri
Many will argue that Tuchel was better for Chelsea than Sarri was, who secured a Europa League trophy while in charge at Stamford Bridge. But in terms of win rate, Sarri just edges Tuchel out, with 62%.
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Tuchel won 60% exactly of his games at Chelsea. Since the German’s stint, no manager has been able to reach that kind of win rate in West London, with Enzo Maresca coming the closest at a rate of 59.8%.
Liam Rosenior, Calum McFarlane and Graham Potter have all been below 50%. Mauricio Pochettino was slightly better at 51%. There is no doubt Chelsea were wrong to sack Tuchel back in September 2022.
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