Tag: Thomas tuchel

Kai Havertz has an idea where it all went wrong for Chelsea this season

Havertz said the club sacked his compatriot Thomas Tuchel “out of nowhere”

Kai Havertz has said that Chelsea’s season started to head south after the club’s decision to sack Thomas Tuchel “out of nowhere.”

Tuchel was sacked in September after the Blues lost three of their first seven matches of the season. Though it wasn’t an ideal start, what has followed has been nothing short of disastrous.

Tuchel’s replacement Graham Potter lasted just seven months before he was sacked in April. Potter’s replacement, caretaker boss Frank Lampard, has done even worse, losing all five of his matches in charge so far.

Chelsea’s struggles have come amidst a season in which the club has invested heavily in the transfer market, spending hundreds of millions on the likes of Enzo Fernández, Benoît Badiashile, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and João Félix, among others.

With Chelsea in 12th place and playing out the string before the offseason mercifully arrives, Havertz spoke to Sky Germany about the club’s issues in 2022-23.

“Everything that could go wrong went wrong for us this year. The season actually started relatively quietly even though we had a change of ownership, which was a big change for the whole club,” he said.

“And then Thomas Tuchel was fired, which of course always makes a big difference in a team like this when you’ve been successful with a coach and then he gets fired out of nowhere. We got a lot of new players over the winter who first have to settle in with us in order to be able to show their quality.

“Of course it’s easy to find excuses. I’m not blaming everything on something. At the end of the day, we’re all professional footballers and we have to win football games.

“Now we have our backs to the wall and aren’t doing very well in the table. We just have to do as well as possible from the last six games.”

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Bayern showed up for Der Klassiker. Dortmund, not so much.

Dortmund’s wheels fell off after an unfathomable error from Gregor Kobel

Saturday’s Der Klassiker was supposed to be a truly big match. Borussia Dortmund has been giving Bayern Munich — who have won the last 10 Bundesliga titles — their first real race for first in years, and kicked today’s game off with a one-point lead atop the table.

Unfortunately for Dortmund, that was not even remotely reflected in an absolute nightmare of a game for them. Their former coach Thomas Tuchel’s new club capitalized on an astounding early error from from Gregor Kobel, going up 3-0 by the 23rd minute. The 4-2 final scoreline in Bayern’s favor flattered Dortmund in the end.

At home and under their own sort of pressure — very few teams would have fired Julian Nagelsmann while in a title race and having a perfect record in the Champions League — Bayern were in charge, but it still took one of the strangest errors the Bundesliga has seen in years to hand them a lead.

Dayot Upamecano, 11 yards inside his own half, saw a run from Leroy Sané in behind, and decided to try to play him behind. Sadly, the ball was overhit, skipping by Sané before the winger could get a touch. It happens, we know how this goes: ball rolls on, goalkeeper collects inside the box.

Kobel, apparently not being able to see that Sané was a good five yards from getting a touch, opted instead to charge out of his box and take an awkward swing at a clearance. That’s a bad choice, but it gets even worse when you see that his attempt to kick the ball included completely missing it.

Upamecano, therefore, got himself a goal from around 70 yards, while Kobel looked completely crestfallen at his involvement one of the strangest goals anywhere in the world.

From there, Dortmund completely unraveled. Thomas Müller struck for a five-minute brace, first touching Matthijs de Ligt’s header from a corner past Kobel in the 18th minute, and then tapping in a rebound after Kobel spilled Sané’s powerful shot from distance.

The halftime break didn’t fix much for Dortmund. In the 50th minute, Sané slashed inside against a hesitant defense before slipping a pass through several players that found Kingsley Coman for an emphatic finish.

Dortmund finally showed up for the game sometime around the hour mark, and the final score on the day will possibly obscure just how shambolic they were in the first 60 minutes. Emre Can buried a 72nd minute penalty, and Donyell Malen’s 90th minute goal made the loss look a little more like a normal road loss rather than a disaster.

The win takes Bayern two points ahead of Dortmund in the table, but the psychological side of things may end up making this a decisive result for both teams.

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Bayern Munich chose chaos

Bayern don’t fit the profile of a club that would make a rash decision like this late in the season

Bayern Munich is having a pretty typical Bayern Munich season.

Yes, they are not leading the Bundesliga, but trail Borussia Dortmund by just a point and would overtake them with a win in Der Klassiker on April 1. Their +45 goal differential is nearly double the next best team, suggesting they have, despite their position in the table, been the best team in the Bundesliga this season.

Bayern have won eight of eight Champions League games to reach the quarterfinal, and are also in the last eight of the German cup. Pretty normal stuff from Germany’s only real power over the last decade.

None of that, however, stopped the Bavarians from sacking head coach Julian Nagelsmann on Friday, and replacing him with Thomas Tuchel.

Why? According to CEO Oliver Kahn, Bayern have dipped since the World Cup.

“After the World Cup we have played less successfully and less attractively,” Kahn said in a club announcement. “The big fluctuations in performance have cast doubt on our goals for this season, but also our goals for the future. That is why we have acted now.”

There were reportedly other reasons that Bayern didn’t spell out in their announcement.

The Athletic added: “Nagelsmann didn’t so much lose the dressing room as never really connect with it in the first place.”

Still, making a change at this juncture of a season that is still well on track has to qualify as a risk — but perhaps less so when Bayern had Tuchel available.

The Athletic said Tuchel told Bayern he would not wait until the offseason to take the job. Having lost out on Tuchel in 2018, when he chose PSG instead, Bayern were not prepared to let history repeat itself.

Nagelsmann, still just 35, will land on his feet after a mostly-successful stint that nearly lasted two seasons. But the manner of his exit will sting. Bayern may feel it was necessary, but the squad will have to respond to Tuchel quickly in order for the decision not to feel like a knee-jerk one.

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Christian Pulisic looking forward to ‘fresh start’ at Chelsea under Graham Potter

Pulisic is ready to prove he merits more playing time

Christian Pulisic is looking forward to the Graham Potter era at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking to media on Tuesday after the U.S. men’s national team’s scoreless draw with Saudi Arabia, Pulisic said he’s excited about what’s to come at Chelsea after the club dismissed Thomas Tuchel, replacing him by hiring Potter away from Brighton.

Tuchel appeared to have reduced Pulisic’s role within the Chelsea squad. The USMNT captain had started just one game in the 2022-23 season, and had spent some time making late-game cameos as a makeshift wingback rather than in a more natural, attacking position. While Tuchel did get Pulisic into every Chelsea match, he played just 177 minutes spread across eight appearances before the coaching change.

“I’m feeling good going back, honestly,” said Pulisic. “I have a fresh start now, and I’m excited to play for the new manager. So, really just looking forward to it, and now I just have to prove myself, as everyone does, and as I’ve done before.”

No big issue with USMNT substitution

Pulisic didn’t give the impression of being particularly happy when he was subbed off after 75 minutes against Saudi Arabia. That appearance — coming days after a training-ground knock kept him out of the USMNT’s loss to Japan — was Pulisic’s longest stint in a competitive game since June 15, when he played the full 90 for the USMNT in their 1-1 Nations League draw with El Salvador.

However, according to the Pennsylvania native, there’s no issue between him and Gregg Berhalter.

“No,” said Pulisic when asked directly if he had a problem with being pulled out of the match. “I always want to be in the game. I was just trying to get off the field, trying to score goals, and trying to win the game. But it’s good to get some minutes in, and I feel healthy.”

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Christian Pulisic said he was ‘dumbfounded’ by Thomas Tuchel’s managerial decision in new book

Who let him write a book?!

The 2022 Premier League season has gotten off to just about the worst imaginable start for USMNT star and Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic. And if it wasn’t for Chelsea’s firing of manager Thomas Tuchel two weeks ago, the drama could have just reached astonishing levels.

While Pulisic is currently with the USMNT ahead of a couple pre-World Cup friendlies, an excerpt from his upcoming book — hilariously named, Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far — was made public on Tuesday, and it painted a clear picture of the 24-year-old’s less-than-ideal relationship with Tuchel.

The excerpt specifically focuses on Chelsea’s Champions League-winning campaign and the second leg against Real Madrid. In the first leg, Pulisic had scored arguably his biggest goal with the Blues. And according to Pulisic, Tuchel assured him that he was going to be rested in the weekend’s Fulham match in order to start him in the second leg against Madrid.

But when Pulisic checked the lineup for that second leg, he was on the bench in favor of Kai Havertz. Pulisic, as you might have guessed, was not pleased.

There’s certainly an argument to be made that Tuchel’s management worked in that situation, as a pissed-off Pulisic came on as a sub and iced the game with an incredible assist to Mason Mount.

Still, it’s never great to mislead a player, and that sort of management from Tuchel ultimately led to disagreements with several Chelsea attacking players (Lukaku, Werner, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech to name a few) … and his eventual ouster.

But man, someone is giving Pulisic some terrible advice. The fact that he’s putting out a book so early in his career is a questionable decision in itself, and on top of that, he’s airing grievances related to the team he currently plays for. Just think: had Tuchel still been the manager when this excerpt came out, Pulisic might’ve never seen the field again with Chelsea.

There was literally no upside for Pulisic in putting that story out there during his active career — you know, save that for the post-career memoir after winning the 2026 World Cup. It won’t endear him to newly appointed manager Graham Potter, and it won’t have other managers looking too fondly on Pulisic in the transfer market.

Fans almost couldn’t believe that the excerpt was real.

Gregg Berhalter doesn’t seem too broken up about Thomas Tuchel being fired

The USMNT boss seems to be a card-carrying member of the #FreePulisic movement

Count Gregg Berhalter among the American observers who weren’t exactly devastated to see Thomas Tuchel sacked as Chelsea head coach.

Tuchel was let go on Wednesday with the season just a month old, with Chelsea moving quickly to replace him with Brighton head coach Graham Potter the next day.

U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic struggled for consistent playing time under Tuchel this season, starting just one game and often playing out of position at wingback when he did see the field.

With just two months remaining until the World Cup, it’s not surprising that the USMNT head coach appears to be looking forward to Pulisic getting the chance to impress a new head coach in London.

“I’m not happy a guy lost his job. But if this means more opportunity for Christian, then it’s positive because he’s a guy that’s proven that he can perform at that level,” Berhalter told the AP on Wednesday. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Pulisic is set to be on the roster for the USMNT’s final two World Cup tune-ups this month, as the U.S. faces Japan in Germany on September 23 and Saudi Arabia in Spain four days later.

Berhalter said he is close to settling on a roster for the World Cup, but there still could be a surprise or two.

“I’m sure there’s not going to be anything drastic, but there may be a couple of guys that pop up,” Berhalter said.

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Los números que deja Thomas Tuchel en el Chelsea tras ser despedido

En 100 partidos dirigidos, Thomas Tuchel ganó 60 de ellos, empató 24 duelos y perdió 16 partidos

Thomas Tuchel dejó de ser entrenador del Chelsea de manera sorpresiva tras caer en Champions League 1-0 ante el Dinamo Zagreb tras dos años y 100 partidos dirigiendo a los Blues.

El legado de Tuchel en Chelsea es histórico aunque el periodo fue muy corto, pues con el equipo de Londres conquistó la Champions League del 2020-2021 como su mayor carta de presentación.

“En nombre de todos en el Chelsea FC, el Club desea dejar constancia de su agradecimiento a Thomas y su personal por todos sus esfuerzos durante su tiempo con el Club. Thomas tendrá un lugar en la historia del Chelsea con razón después de ganar la Liga de Campeones, la Supercopa y la Copa Mundial de Clubes en su tiempo aquí”, indicó el comunicado oficial.

Los números de Tuchel con el Chelsea

Con el Chelsea Thomas Tuchel consiguió números fantásticos en sus primeras dos temporadas, una efectividad de 70 por ciento en las primeras campañas que para la actual bajó a 47 por ciento.

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Sin embargo será recordado por la Champions League conquistada, por haber ganado la Supercopa de Europa, el Mundial de Clubes y ser finalista de la FA Cup y la Copa de la Liga.

En 100 partidos dirigidos, Thomas Tuchel ganó 60 de ellos, empató 24 duelos y perdió 16 partidos, pero este último en Champions ante el Dinamo fue la gota que derramó el vaso de un equipo que ahora está en busca de técnico.

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With Tuchel gone, Boehly’s Chelsea housecleaning is complete

The last vestige of the Roman Abramovich era was sent packing on Wednesday

Chelsea sacked Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday, just a month into the season.

Though the Blues are off to a tough start this season, the decision had little to do with results. In the club’s statement announcing the move, Chelsea losing three of its first seven matches this season wasn’t even mentioned.

“As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition,” a statement said.

Tuchel has had notoriously tense relationships with management at previous clubs, and that appears to be no different here.

Part of that tension stemmed from new owner Todd Boehly and his co-owner Behdad Eghbali hollowing out Chelsea’s management structure immediately upon arrival.

Chairman Bruce Buck: gone. Director Marina Granovskaia: gone. Technical and performance advisor Petr Čech: also gone.

With the club’s previous transfer leaders all having left, Tuchel was asked to take a more hands-on approach in the market. The German openly admitted he would prefer to simply coach the team.

“It’s not my favorite thing to do and in the long run the focus has to be on coaching because it is why I am here,” he said this summer. “But at the moment of course my help is needed and wanted and it is of course necessary that I step up and take the responsibility.”

Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

Boehly, a novice in the soccer transfer market, was serving as de-facto sporting director, an arrangement that also clearly didn’t sit well with Tuchel.

According to the Telegraph, the most striking example of this came when Boehly pushed Tuchel to sign Cristiano Ronaldo this summer.

The report says that Boehly was “reluctant to simply take no for an answer from Tuchel, who, according to sources, seemed exasperated at having to explain his reasons for not wanting the Portuguese.”

Though the tension between Boehly and Tuchel grew quickly, the American’s initial plan was to keep faith in his Champions League-winning manager.

Tuchel was backed in the market to the tune of over £250 million, including his former player at Borussia Dortmund Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

One week after Aubameyang arrived, though, Tuchel is gone.

In some ways, it’s not surprising that the last vestige of the Roman Abramovich era was sent packing by the club’s new ownership. But the club’s quick reversal on Tuchel will cause some whiplash among fans and players — particularly those personally recruited by the coach this summer.

Now the onus will be on Boehly to get his leadership hires right. The club won a whole lot of trophies under Abramovich and Chelsea’s fans are unlikely to give Boehly much leeway if that run of silverware starts to dry up.

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Despite Jesse Marsch’s wishes, Thomas Tuchel will be on the sideline for Leeds vs. Chelsea

The Leeds boss said he’d be “disappointed” if Tuchel were allowed on the sideline

Thomas Tuchel will be on the sideline for Chelsea’s match against Leeds on Sunday after the FA sanctioned the Blues manager with a suspended touchline ban for his altercation with Antonio Conte.

Tuchel and Conte were shown red cards for their clash after Chelsea’s draw with Tottenham last weekend, and the FA disciplined both managers on Friday.

Tuchel received a £35,000 fine and a one-game touchline ban, while Conte was fined £15,000 and did not receive a touchline ban.

The FA added in a statement: “These sanctions are subject to appeal, and Thomas Tuchel’s one match touchline ban has been suspended temporarily pending the independent Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for its decisions that will be made available in due course.”

That means that Tuchel will be on the sideline at Elland Road on Sunday as Chelsea takes on Jesse Marsch’s Leeds.

Tuchel’s presence may not sit well with Marsch, who was asked at a press conference on Friday if he was looking forward to his post-game handshake with the Chelsea boss.

The Leeds manager responded: “No, he won’t be there, right?”

When informed that, at the time, Tuchel’s presence was still an open question, Marsch responded: “Are they saying he might be able to be on the bench? That doesn’t seem right, does it? If you get a red card, you’re out a match.

“I would be disappointed if they allowed him to be on the bench. There’s a simple rule in football — whether it’s soccer or football, if you get a red card you can’t play the next match.”

But both managers will be on the sideline when Chelsea and Leeds meet, with both clubs having started their season with a win and a draw.

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Tuchel y Conte casi se van a los golpes en el Chelsea vs Tottenham

Se espera una sanción para ambos técnicos sin embargo las imágenes serán analizadas para determinar al responsable y el castigo que tengan los estrategas.

Muy caliente terminó el empate a dos entre Chelsea y Tottenham en el comienzo de la Premier League con un encontronazo entre los dos técnicos Thomas Tuchel y Antonio Conte quienes casi terminan a los golpes.

Tuchel tuvo una actitud muy retadora durante el juego con Conte y al finalizar el encuentro al darse la mano el técnico del Chelsea pareció no soltar a su rival y exigió que lo mirara a los ojos lo que comenzó una guerra de empujones.

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Ambos estrategas se fueron expulsados tras el incidente donde hasta las bancas se involucraron pues no es común ver a los técnicos de ambos equipos empujarse de esa manera.

Los ánimos entre ambos técnicos estuvieron muy calientes durante todo el juego e incluso Antonio Conte ya respondió a Thomas Tuchel en su cuenta de Instagram recordando el festejo del segundo gol del Chelsea y una frase muy provocadora.

“Menos mal que no te vi.. hacerte tropezar habría sido bien merecido..”, escribió Conte en una historia.

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Se espera una sanción para ambos técnicos sin embargo las imágenes serán analizadas para determinar al responsable y el castigo que tengan los estrategas.

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