Chelsea FC have confirmed the appointment of former Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel as their new manager replacing their record goalscorer, Frank Lampard who was sacked on Monday after 18 months in charge following a run of five defeats in their last eight Premier League games.
Tuchel, who is well known for his attention to details and having an input in every aspect of a club,has joined the Premier League club on an 18-month contract with the option of another year, the west London club announced.
“It is never easy to change the head coach in the middle of the season but we are very happy to secure one of Europe’s best coaches in Thomas Tuchel. There is still much to play for and much to achieve, this season and beyond. We welcome Thomas to the club.”
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said
The 47-year-old has moved to the Stamford Bridge following a two-and-a-half year spell at French champions Paris Saint-Germain, which came to an end last month after back-to-back league titles and guiding them to last season’s UEFA Champions League final.He joined PSG in 2018, replacing Unai Emery.
It is also important to note that Tuchel spent seven seasons coaching in the Bundesliga, first with Mainz, where he built a reputation as a forward-thinking tactician operating on a small budget after taking over from Jurgen Klopp and guided them to a fifth-place Bundesliga finish in 2010-11 that enabled them to qualify for the Europa League.
At the end of the 2014-15 campaign, Tuchel replaced Jurgen Klopp again when he left Dortmund and won his first managerial silverware by leading the club to German Cup success in 2017.
Tuchel emerged as Chelsea’s first choice partly due to his availability after he was sacked by Paris Saint-Germain in December and also because of the club’s belief that he could be the man to get the best out of a clutch of young talent from the Bundesliga that failed to click under Lampard.Chief among those will be Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, in whom nearly $170 million was invested last summer.
“I would like to thank Chelsea FC for their confidence in me and my staff,we all have the greatest respect for Frank Lampard’s work and the legacy he created at Chelsea.At the same time, I cannot wait to meet my new team and compete in the most exciting league in football. I’m grateful to be part of the Chelsea family — it feels amazing!”
Tuchel, who met the players at Chelsea’s Cobham training headquarters, said in a statement
He is the 14th managerial appointment made by Chelsea since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the west London outfit in 2003, including Jose Mourinho’s two spells.
He has also made history by becoming the first German to manage Chelsea and at Chelsea, he will be reunited with Christian Pulisic and Thiago Silva who he coached during his spells in Dortmund and Paris respectively.
As a manager, Tuchel won a DFB-Pokal during his time at the Westfalenstadion and along with his two Ligue 1 titles at PSG and also led the French side to their first-ever Champions League final last season, where they lost to Bayern Munich.
Tuchel will be in the dugout for tomorrow’s Chelsea Premier League game against Wolves.
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