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Paris St-Germain has fired German coach Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel took over the Ligue 1 team in June 2018, winning two league titles, the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue de France.
They also reached the final of the Champions League for the first time last season, losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
Currently, PSG is third in Ligue 1, one point behind leaders Lyon, while also qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League, where they will meet Barcelona.
Tuchel’s firing came hours after the 47-year-old took over Wednesday’s 4-0 home win over Strasbourg.
The victory moved the reigning champions one point from both second-ranked Lyon and Lille as the Ligue 1 season heads into a two-week winter break.
Former Borussia Dortmund manager Tuchel’s contract expired at the end of this season.
He joined the Parisian club in May 2018 with an initial two-year contract after replacing Spaniard Unai Emery, agreeing to a one-year extension in May 2019.
Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has been regularly linked to the PSG position in recent months.
The 48-year-old Argentine, who played for PSG between 2001-2003, has been out of work since leaving Spurs in November 2019.
Analysis
John Bennett of BBC World Service Sport
Since PSG lost the Champions League final 1-0 to Bayern Munich in August, it has been a difficult time for Tuchel on and off the pitch.
Towards the end of the summer transfer window, he had a public fight with the club’s athletic director, Leonardo, over recruiting.
And earlier this week, he gave an interview to a German television channel in which he said that he felt more like “a sports politician or a sports minister than a coach” during his first season at the club.
Tuchel claimed the quotes had been taken out of context and said “they may have been translated incorrectly,” but again hinted at problems behind the scenes.
The players seemed to respond well to him, but to the outside world, other relationships at the club didn’t seem so comfortable.
It reminded me of the comments Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke once made about Tuchel: “Thomas is a difficult person, but a fantastic coach.”
Meanwhile, on the pitch, the team have not dominated the French league as usual, losing four games to find themselves in third place at Christmas behind Lille and Lyon.
And although they did win their Champions League group, disappointing defeats by Manchester United and RB Leipzig added to the pressure.
His time at PSG may be over, but Tuchel’s reputation as a coach means he will be in demand for the weeks and months to come. There is no doubt that one day he will manage it in the Premier League.
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