It’s been a year now since Chelsea appointed Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea head coach. It was the culmination of a dramatic 24 hours in Chelsea history.
I’ll never forget where I was when the news of Frank Lampard’s sacking broke on 25th Jan 2021. It was the height of the winter lockdown and as a key worker I had to go into work one day per week, to a largely empty office space. I was at my desk in an empty room when I saw the Matt Law tweet ‘Frank Lampard expected to be sacked by Chelsea’. This was Matt Law, not some random ITK. It was over. He was gone.
Like many Chelsea fans I was in pure shock, I couldn’t concentrate, lost track of time, all the feelings came up. Anger, despair, frustration, bitterness, all at once. It was like a bereavement for my Chelsea fans.
Chelsea desperately needed a lift, not just on the pitch but off it. We needed a boost, a reason to hope, to believe again.
Although we didn’t know it at the time, Lampard’s replacement would be “exactly what we needed“.
It became clear within about half an hour of the sacking who Frank Lampard’s successor would be. German coach Thomas Tuchel, formerly of PSG, Bourissia Dortmund and other clubs, was coming to take over as head coach.
His appointment was delayed 24 hours to deal with the sacking and getting him through COVID regulations. But on the evening of 26th January Tuchel was confirmed as the new head coach. He took training under the floodlights at Cobham, his only training session before his first game, at home to Wolves.
There were doubts about Tuchel when he arrived. Despite his impressive record with Dortmund and PSG in particular, people were aware of his history of falling out with senior management and directors of football at both of those clubs. Many saw him as a temperamental character, another Conte fall out waiting to happen.
However, his first press conference dispelled these concerns very rapidly. Tuchel came across as charming, friendly, even funny. His comments in his opening press conference about the length of his contract, acknowledging publicly how Chelsea work and the expectations, gave the impression of a man who had learned from his past. The cheeky smile and clever sense of humour made him instantly likeable.
The most important moment of that press conference, for me and many others, was his acknowledgment of Frank Lampard, his place in Chelsea and football history, and Tuchel’s deep and genuine respect for his legacy at Chelsea as player and manager. That was a big moment for me in forming trust and respect for this new manager. Although his first game had ended 0-0, PR wise he’d made a perfect start.
On the pitch his influence was immediate. Chelsea immediately looked to have a clear tactical and philosophical identity, playing a 3-4-2-1 formation designed to maximise the squad at his disposal. It wasn’t long before he got his first win, a 2-0 win at home to Burnley. The defence, which had been a consistent problem for months, now looked organised and strong, with players previously on the outside under Lampard such as Jorginho and Antonio Rudiger, beginning to shine. Chelsea started to put a run together and steadily climbed the table, also progressing in the FA Cup. There were impressive away wins against Spurs and Liverpool which saw us at one point sitting in third place in the league.
But where we saw Tuchel’s influence most was in the Champions League. We’d been drawn against Atletico Madrid, who would eventually go on to win La Liga, in great run of form. Despite the impressive start by Tuchel we still were outsiders before the tie, but put in a superb performance over the two legs to win 3-0 on aggregate. Although we didn’t know then where it would lead.
As the season went on, Chelsea began to look like a team transformed. Bar what seemed an aberration in losing 5-2 to West Brom, Chelsea built up strong momentum, were putting in consistently good performances and keeping clean sheets. Almost every player seemed to go to a new level. Edouard Mendy in goal was a colossus, Jorginho and Kante playing incredibly in midfield and the likes of Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell and Reece James all improving and contributing.
By the time we played Real Madrid in the Champions League semi final, there was a confidence, a spirit and a belief both in the team and the fanbase which many had not felt for years. Thomas Tuchel was tactically outsmarting every top manager he faced, beating Man City, Liverpool, Spurs and a good West Ham team in the league. Chelsea didn’t just beat Real in the semis, we battered them. It was a comprehensive defeat, the 3-1 scoreline arguably flattered Madrid.
After this, and beating Man City in the league, we had a crazy week which lost us the FA Cup final and almost saw us throw away a top four place – but ironically, two Gareth Bale goals ensured we made top four. Minds were already in Porto.
We went to Porto for the Champions League final as second favourites to newly crowned Premier League champions Man City. We’d beaten them in the league and cup, but this was the biggest final in club football, their first CL final, almost no one outside the club expected us to win. Tuchel and Thiago Silva had both lost the final the previous year with PSG, both seemed determined for this to be different.
And it was. A strong performance, solid defensively, with a strong mentality and one clinical finish from Kai Havertz, won the Champions League for the second time in Chelsea history. Thomas Tuchel had, in just 6 months, cemented himself as a Chelsea legend. There was already talk of him potentially becoming our most successful coach ever. Many of us had resolved after Lampard’s departure to never get emotionally attached to a head coach again. Tuchel had dispelled those hopes within just 5 months in charge. We were European Champions.
Tuchel’s first full season began with another trophy, the European Supercup, thanks to a penalty shootout win where goalkeeper and former record signing Kepa Arrizabalaga, another player much improved and revitalised under Tuchel’s management, was the hero in a penalty shootout win over Villarreal. A day or two later striker Romelu Lukaku arrived from Inter for a club record £97.5m. He was seen as the missing piece, and for many a serious title challenge looked on.
Up until November 2021 this looked possible, despite injuries to Lukaku and another much improved player, Mateo Kovacic. With Reece James and Ben Chilwell playing at an absolute world class level at wing back, our defence as impregnable as ever and the perceived depth in our squad, many felt we could win the league for the first time since 2017. We were top, playing well, and beating everything in front of us, peaking with a 4-0 home win against Juventus in the Champions League group stage game at the Bridge.
But in that game Ben Chilwell picked up an ACL injury ruling him out for the season, there were nearly double digit COVID cases and several injuries, which added to incredible fixture congestion led to some poor form in the last 6 weeks.
Then there was the fallout from the Lukaku interview with Sky Italia, which could have easily undermined Tuchel as player power had undermined other managers in the past. But Tuchel managed this perfectly, and emerged with the squad and the board even more behind him as ever. Showing again one of the hallmarks of his tenure, world class man management and squad management.
No one can doubt the huge impact Thomas Tuchel has had already on Chelsea Football Club. Chelsea have an average of 2 points per PL game, making us 2nd or 3rd in league form over the last 12 months. We’ve been hugely successful in the Champions League and are establishing ourselves as a force in Europe again. 5 academy players have made debuts, including the likes of Trevoh Chalobah, Lewis Bate and Lewis Hall, who all made impressions, Chalobah becoming a full part of the first team squad and impressing. He’s taken us to four cup finals, including the SuperCup and upcoming league cup final, and he has already delivered the biggest trophy of all.
Tuchel has shown in many interviews and in his passion on the touchline he really understands the Chelsea DNA and feels the club. He’s loving Chelsea life and there’s no question he’s hungry for success and trophies. His eyes are open as to how this club works with managers. He’s proven beyond doubt in the last 12 months he’s a world class manager, and has so far managed to navigate the eggshells other managers have fallen over.
There’s no question Thomas Tuchel is one of the most talented coaches ever to manage Chelsea Football Club. It remains to be seen how long he is here, but lets’ hope his is a long reign, because if he is, there’s every chance he could become our greatest and most successful manager ever. It’s really up to Chelsea. Surely they know the talent they have in their hands – this is an opportunity they can’t let go. Chelsea need to back Tuchel, that is without question the clubs best and quickest route back to dominance and league titles.
Following Frank Lampard was a mammoth task, but yet Thomas Tuchel appears to have won the hearts of all Chelsea fans. I’ve not seen a manager unite the fanbase in the way Tuchel has for a long time. Every Chelsea fan wants him to succeed and supports him fully. It’s important now the club do the same, because as his now famous chant says, he’s got exactly what we need.
So happy anniversary Thomas Tuchel, here’s to many more to come.
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Written by The Score (@TheScore01)
Edited by Tom Coley (@tomcoley49)
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