Image cred: Daily Star
Thursday | September 8, 2022
No one could have predicted the dismissal of the enviable high caliber manager that Thomas Tuchel is just a few games from the beginning of the 2022/2023 season in England.
The shock exing of the Chelsea Football Club manager follows his 1-0 loss away to the lowly rated Dinamo Zagreb in the European Champions League in Croatia Tuesday night.
Not long ago Tuchel was praised for his heroism upon inheriting an unfancied Chelsea team, propelling it to the European Champions League trophy.
Soon after that triumphant conquest he became the darling of the Londoners. He had transformed them into world superpowers again.
Image cred: Arise News
He would go on to lift the UEFA Supercup and FIFA (Federation of International Football Association) Club World Cup last season. Furthermore, he finished 3rd in the Premiership League. Such is the German manager and his no-holds-barred approach to the global game.
Image cred: The Independent
He had achieved this barely a season upon his arrival at the London club in Jan. 2021, needless to say that he had to contend with the players he found after their former captain Frank Lampard, then manager, was shown the door.
But that was not good enough for the new shareholders of the club. They booted him out. Tuchel exits with Chelsea lying 6th of the Premier League after six games. He won three, drew one and lost two games. Hardly the staff sufficient for firing a globally respected manager; and his Chelsea record is there and crystal clear to see.
For their part, they acknowledged his contribution to the annals of The Blues. Chelsea remarked on their media statement issued Sept. 7, 2022 on Wednesday that:
“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“.
Adding that they will not say no more concerning this dismissal until a new manager is recruited.
It is not clear why the club parted ways with Thomas Tuchel. What has been evident is that Chelsea had their own problems towards the end of the 2021/2022 campaign.
There was uncertainty about Chelsea’s future a few months ago when the old owner Roman Ibrahamovich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom government for his closer ties with the Kremlin. Russia had fallen out of favour with most European countries as a result of its invasion of Ukraine in March this year.
Ibrahamovich put the club on the market after trying to absolve himself of his duties and relinquishing authority. The new owners emerged in May this year in the form of Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital consortium and bought the club.
From the surface, it appears the 49 years old Tuchel was given a blank cheque to acquire the players he wanted to bring into the club. Again, there were players whose stay was not guaranteed due to contractual issues, demand and redundancy.
Among the players who left are Antonio Rüdiger (to Real Madrid FC in Spain), Romelu Lukaku (on loan to Inter Milan FC in Italy) and Timo Werner (to RB Leipzig in Germany).
According to Skysports, Chelsea spent in excess of £278 million during this season’s transfer window. The Blues staggering bill brought to inter alia:
- Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli FC,
- Wesley Fofana from Leicester City FC,
- Raheem Sterling from Manchester City FC),
- Marc Cucurella from Brighton & Hove Albion FC, and
- Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang from Barcelona FC.
Thomas Tuchel’s sacking means that he will be able to manage the players he sought after and the club support led and bought them for his vision.
Speaking on BT Sport, ex-Manchester United FC and England international Rio Ferdinand opined that Tuchel is one of the top managers at this level and certainly needed more time to get the new players to blend with the ones who were retained at the club.
Despite his success and dismissals after his 100th game where he won 60, drew 24 and lost 16 matches, he was embroiled in a scuffle with the current Tottenham Hotspur FC manager Antonio Conte.
Image cred: NDTV Sports
It happened in a post-match handshake three weeks ago that apparently saw Tuchel tighten his grip on Conte’s knuckles and suddenly things went haywire.
The tense conflict was diffused but both managers were fined by the Football Association (FA) for their uncough conduct that ensured after the match.
In the meantime though, the current technical team at Chelsea will ensure that the club is ready for the matches ahead, the club statement confirmed.