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Thomas Tuchel can’t say he didn’t see it coming. The now-former Paris Saint-Germain manager – sources told ESPN that the German was relieved of his duties – had felt for some time that he was swimming against the current.
He knew Ligue 1 losses at home to Marseille and Lyon for the first time in more than a decade would count against him. I knew third place at the table at Christmas wasn’t looking good. He knew that even though he and his team showed great character to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League, it was not enough because of how poor they had been throughout the campaign.
– Sources: PSG ax Tuchel; Pochettino to take over
You may recall RMC Sport’s interview with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi right after the Manchester United win. When asked if it was Tuchel’s victory, Al-Khelaifi replied that the players had been incredible and displayed fantastic spirit. There was nothing for the manager, not a single word of praise or congratulations.
However it was not always so. Al-Khelaifi often hailed Tuchel as the best manager in the world, such as in September 2018 after winning his first five Ligue 1 matches, or two months later when his team beat Liverpool in the Champions League at the Parc des Princes.
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Things, of course, have changed. In the president’s eyes, Tuchel is no longer the right man for the job. In reality, he was never in favor of sports director Leonardo.
Tuchel was appointed by Leonardo’s predecessor, Antero Henrique, and the Brazilian never accepted the coach he inherited. The two fought many times, both privately and publicly, most recently in the summer, when they disagreed massively over the transfers. Tuchel wanted a center-back, specifically Chelsea’s German international Antonio Rudiger. Leonardo wanted a defensive midfielder, so he signed one in Danilo Pereira. To make a point, Tuchel played him as a central defender, which was childish and unnecessary. Once Leonardo told the media in October that Tuchel’s comments and attitude were detrimental to the club, it was clear that his days were numbered.
In the end, Tuchel walks away with the best winning percentage of any coach in Ligue 1 history (75.6%) and the highest average points per game (2.37, tied with Unai Emery). He led the club to its first Champions League final, last August, when on another night his team would have seized their opportunities and defeated Bayern Munich. But he’s still ready to be fired, according to ESPN sources, six months before his contract ends, which won’t cost the club too much.
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Tuchel’s biggest problem is that he never managed to give his PSG team a genuine identity. The style of play this season was poor; PSG was never convincing and there were no patterns or themes in their style of play. In fairness to him, he never had a chance to properly prepare for this campaign. There was no preseason due to the Champions League streak, and due to various injuries and positive COVID cases, he was never able to field his strongest team.
There’s also the added context that he never felt comfortable in the French capital. As Tuchel himself admitted on French television on Wednesday after his team’s 4-0 win against Strasbourg, “Paris is definitely a special club.” And he was getting tired of it. In an interview with German broadcaster Sport 1 just before the match against Strasbourg, he expressed his frustration.
“Here in Paris, the expectations are extreme, inside and outside the club,” Tuchel said. “We feel that recognition, especially in the league, is not the same as for Bayern, for example. It’s a bit lacking. They always say: ‘They have [Angel ]From Maria, [Kylian] Mbappé and Neymar; It is normal that they win in Bordeaux, it is not an achievement.
“Sometimes it is very easy to deal with this dressing room. Other times, it is a great challenge because a club like PSG has many influences, beyond the interests of the team. I love football, and in a club like [PSG]It’s not always about soccer. Some days, I think it could be that simple. It was just a substitution: why do you talk for two weeks? So I say to myself, ‘But I just want to be a coach.’
Thomas Tuchel never really fit into the high-pressure world of PSG. Aurelien Meunier – PSG / PSG via Getty Images
Clearly, there was fatigue in Tuchel, considering both the context in Paris and the particular energy at PSG. And he is right: it is not a club like many others. There are high expectations, relentless politics, and demanding fans, owners, and media. There are endless agendas to navigate, and everything must be done under a microscope. Tuchel was arguably not cut out for this kind of job, and he never seemed to find a way to deal with all of it.
Even the dressing room and key players weren’t so disappointed that he was fired. There was a time when he had the full support of his team, but he fell out with Mbappé last year and some of his very questionable tactical decisions caused him to lose a lot of credit.
Two weeks ago, Leonardo and Al-Khelaifi contacted Mauricio Pochettino, and that was the end for Tuchel.
With Pochettino, PSG has a very different animal. To begin with, and this could well be his greatest asset, the Argentine knows the club well. He played for PSG, was the captain of the club and built a strong relationship with the city, the club and the fans. He is much loved there, even if he was only there for two seasons (2001 to 2003). His ambition was always to return as a coach.
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Plus, you won’t have a (re) construction job to do like you did at Tottenham Hotspur. You will probably have less money available in Paris than your predecessors due to the economic climate, but you will have a great team at your disposal, two world-class superstars, some great youngsters and seasoned players like Di Maria.
He also has the players to fit his 4-2-3-1 formation. The 14-month hiatus he has had since being ejected from the Spurs has revitalized him. He was tired after five years of Sisyphean’s work in North London, culminating in the final Champions League loss to Liverpool.
In short, Pochettino ticks all the boxes for what PSG needs at the moment. He is a hard-working technician with a clear identity in terms of intensity and style, emphasizing back pressure and verticality with his teams. He speaks the three languages necessary to communicate with his dressing room (French, English and Spanish), and he also has a political side, capable of handling that scrutiny. He is more than just a coach and has a very different mentality than Tuchel.
Now, however, only the results will matter. Winning the league and doing well in the Champions League are the two main objectives. Pochettino, as a former Espanyol player and coach, will be eager to face Barcelona in Europe in February. And while the club is negotiating with Neymar and Mbappé to extend their contracts, they hope it is an advantage to have brought Pochettino so early and have no doubts about life after Tuchel.
The last time PSG replaced their coach at Christmas was in December 2011, when Antoine Kombouare was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti. Parisians They were leaders of the league but ended up losing the title to Montpellier. Pochettino will arrive with the third team, just one point behind Lille and Lyon. Will things work out this time?
Source: espn.co.uk
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