There is a story behind the success and achievement of Thomas Tuchel, the winner of the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Final this season.
Thomas Tuchel was born on 29 August, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany. Tuchel starred as a member of local club, TSV Krumbach, coached by his father Rudolf. Tuchel moved to the academy at FC Augsburg in 1988, however, he never appeared for the first team, being released soon after he turned 19. He was quickly granted the opportunity to play in the Bundesliga for Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
Thomas was a passionate player [who] was exacting and demanding, which didn’t go down well with some of his teammates.
He played eight games during the 1992–93 season. After the 1993–94 season, he was dropped from Kickers’ first team, and joined Regionalliga Süd side SSV Ulm, coached by Hermann Badstuber, the father of Holger Badstuber, whom Tuchel would later manage at youth level. Playing as a central defender, Tuchel made 69 appearances for SSV Ulm until being forced to retire in 1998, at age 25, after suffering a knee cartilage injury.
He graduated from Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University with a degree in business administration, and worked as a bartender at the Radio Bar in Stuttgart while a student.
He married his wife, Sissi, in 2009. The couple have two daughters. He is a polyglot, speaking English, French, and Italian in addition to his native German.
He describes himself as an “imperfect vegetarian” and consumes minimal amounts of alcohol. He considers himself an avid reader, namely of crime thriller novels and books about architecture and design, and is also a fan of tennis, rock music, and hip hop.
Coaching Career
Tuchel began his coaching career in 2000,hired by Ralf Rangnick as youth team coach at VfB Stuttgart, where he aided in the development of future first team players, namely Mario Gómez and Holger Badstuber.
In 2005, Tuchel returned to Augsburg, with club sporting director Andreas Rettig noting the club’s admiration of Tuchel’s tactical discipline led him to being appointed youth team co-ordinator.
Tuchel’s time as the coach of Augsburg II impressed many top-level German clubs, and he moved to Bundesliga club Mainz 05 in 2009.
Tuchel officially assumed the role as the club’s new head coach on 19 April 2015, returning to the game after over a year out of management, signing a three-year deal.
In May 2018, Tuchel signed a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), replacing Unai Emery. He reportedly rejected Bayern Munich to join the club.
On 26 January 2021, Tuchel signed an 18-month contract (with the option for an extra year) with English Premier League side Chelsea, replacing Frank Lampard. He is the first German to be appointed as head coach of the club. Although expressing a desire to not come in mid-season so as to have a pre-season with his new team,Tuchel accepted the position after Ralf Rangnick rejected the proposal of interim head coach.
