Welcomed with fanfare by Chelsea but sacked just over a year later, Thomas Tuchel is returning to Germany as Bayern Munich’s new coach. The 49‑year‑old former Chelsea and Paris Saint‑Germain manager is one of Europe’s most sought‑after bosses, yet his career is not without controversy. He has a reputation as a brilliant tactician who is unafraid to overhaul his side constantly, but his résumé also includes a series of high‑profile dismissals: a bad‑tempered exit from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, an acrimonious parting from PSG in December 2020, and a tumultuous departure from Chelsea in September. Despite these setbacks, Tuchel has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to rebound and lead top‑flight clubs, and his appointment on Friday to replace Julian Nagelsmann at Bayern—Germany’s most successful club—underscores his continued employability.
“Tuchel is not interested in marketing, in his image. He is interested in his work; he just wants to be judged by his work and only that,” said Daniel Meuren, author of a biography on the German coach. On the field, the verdict is unanimous: every club Tuchel has managed has achieved results and played attractive football. He guided Chelsea to Champions League glory, won two French titles with PSG, and lifted the German Cup with Dortmund. Charismatic yet prickly, Tuchel admits he can be a challenging personality. “I wasn’t easy to deal with as a player,” he said in a 2009 interview.
A knee injury cut short Tuchel’s playing career as a defender at third‑division Ulm in 1998, prompting him to turn to coaching. He cut his teeth in the youth academies of VfB Stuttgart and Augsburg before his career took off at Mainz, where he was promoted from Under‑19 boss to first‑team head coach just two days before the start of the 2009‑10 season, despite having no Bundesliga experience. Like his role model, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, Tuchel is not afraid to switch formations or tactics two or three times during a game, making it difficult for opposing coaches to anticipate his moves. However, he is also unafraid of picking fights with club management.
After a bomb attack shocked Dortmund ahead of a Champions League semi‑final in Madrid, Tuchel lashed out at the club’s hierarchy for agreeing to play the match a day later rather than allowing players more time to recover. At Qatar‑owned PSG, his central issue was a strained relationship with sporting director Leonardo, who wanted to bring in his own people. Despite winning the Ligue 1 title in his first season and securing a domestic double in 2019/20, Tuchel was eventually pushed out after PSG lost narrowly to Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in Lisbon.
Given his record, Tuchel’s relationship with Bayern’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and outspoken chairman, former Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, will be closely scrutinised. The tension between Salihamidzic and former coach Hansi Flick ultimately led Flick to leave Bayern for the Germany national team in the summer of 2021.
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