Analyzing Thomas Tuchel’s next destination
A little over a year after arriving at Bayern Munich, Thomas Tuchel will be leaving his role as head coach once the current season ends.
Such has been Bayer Leverkusen’s European dominion that three consecutive defeats for Bayern, marred with an uncharacteristic seven goals conceded and just two scored, has resulted in Tuchel and the club mutually agreeing to part ways.
The club floundering eight points adrift of league leaders Leverkusen doesn’t happen to be the only reason for the decision, as Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen cited a ‘sporting realignment’ as the reason behind Tuchel’s early departure.
Dreesen remarked “Both parties agreed to ‘mutually end our collaboration’ following an open, good conversation. Our goal is to carry out a sporting realignment with a new coach for the 2024-25 season.”
Also read: Pressure Continues To Mount For Bayern Munich
As per Fabrizio Romano, the relationship between Bayern Munich’s board and the former Chelsea boss was fractured after a pair of deals – for Joao Palhinha and Trevoh Chalobah – fell through prior to deadline day.
Unfortunately for the German, it’s not the first time his ideas have differed from those governing administrative decisions.
In this listicle, we shall assess his next options and likely destinations for the 2024/25 season and onward.
West Ham United
West Ham’s dramatic dip in form has turned the atmosphere at the London stadium sour. David Moyes, out of contract at the end of the season, lashed out at a disgruntled community of Hammers’ fans after his side fell to their third straight league defeat.
“I think it would be hard to say there have been many better times at West Ham. Maybe they [the fans] want something different. But I think they’d honestly have to say it’s been as good a time as they’ve had at the club regarding winning a trophy, their league positions. Maybe they’ve had managers who excite them more. But the one who is sitting here wins more,” he affirmed.
Moyes has clawed West Ham out from a relegation battle to being European champions. Not so long ago, they were in the Premier League top six and prior to that, they won their Europa League group with an impressive 15 points.
The odds of a new contract must have diminished marginally after the 2-0 loss at Nottingham Forest, and with plenty of managers expressing their interest in managing the East Londoners, it looks like the management could be testing their ambition.
It would be some acquisition if they could lure Tuchel. It would depend on their European qualification, one would assume.
The team is blooded with talent all around the pitch. And if Tuchel were to join, he could make them something bigger – something the West Ham fans haven’t dreamt of in a while.
Liverpool
Liverpool’s board of directors could turn their eye to Thomas Tuchel once Jurgen Klopp’s last dance is completed. They must already be mulling over their options; however, things change quickly in football and Tuchel’s availability certainly rings a few alarm bells.
The 50-year-old is one of the finest tacticians in the game. His ideologies have a share of similarities to Klopp’s. Both the Germans deploy counter-pressing at a high tempo, both effect fast transitions in their front line and interestingly, both have followed the same career path.
Tuchel replaced Klopp at Mainz, before replacing him at Borussia Dortmund. Could he soon take over the reins at Anfield?
Barcelona
In one of the more surprising decisions of the term, club legend Xavi announced that he will be leaving FC Barcelona when the 2023/24 season concludes.
And similar to Tuchel’s case, he will do so after lifting the domestic league last year. The La Liga holders have amassed 54 points from their 25 matches, currently eight behind Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid. They will also back themselves to upstage an out-of-sorts Napoli side in the second leg of the round-of-16 Champions League clash that ended 1-1 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Meanwhile, Hansi Flick is arguably the most sought-after coach in Europe at present, and has been linked with the Blaugrana job as soon as Xavi’s announcement came about.
An apparent merry-go-round could unfold with Flick returning to Bayern Munich and Tuchel switching alliances to Barcelona. Flick’s win percentage with Bayern was a staggering 81%.
Tuchel has tested his mettle in Germany, France, and England. Perhaps, a calling in Spain is in the cards.
German National Team
As talented as they are, the German national side have performed well below their standards in recent competitions.
They crashed out of the FIFA World Cup in the group stages and lost to England in the round-of-16 at Euro 2020 with a team that had the likes of Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos, and Joshua Kimmich starting the match.
As soon as Julian Nagelsmann was axed by Bayern Munich, the national team cashed in on his expertise in a bid to win the forthcoming European championships.
It is, however, a short deal set to expire once the tournament finishes. And if Germany don’t come close to lifting it, it could well be curtains for Nagelsmann and in turn, open the door for Tuchel.
The latter has experience with many players and staff in the team, a factor that will undoubtedly be considered if Nagelsmann’s deal isn’t extended.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Oleg Bkhambri. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.