Thomas Tuchel may be taking on his biggest managerial job yet, but he previously enjoyed a different career altogether.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss has been announced as England’s permanent successor to Gareth Southgate, and will officially step into the role in 2025.
Tuchel is set for his first taste of international managementGetty
And when Tuchel does take the reigns with the Three Lions, it will mark the latest chapter of an incredible coaching journey that at one point looked highly unlikely.
When a knee injury forced him to retire form football prematurely aged just 25 in 1998, the German was faced with a life away from the game, and chose to study economics.
Having emptied his savings account in a failed bid to come back from the injury, Tuchel found himself in need of a job.
And while the Radio Bar in Stuttgart where he ended up working may have felt like a fall from grace for a man who had represented Germany at under-18 level just years before, Tuchel refused to see it this way.
In fact, after working his way up from a glass collector to a barman charged with mixing cocktails, he began to imagine himself as something of a film star.
In a 2021 interview with the Telegraph, the coach joked that he had felt like the lead character in the 1988 hit film Cocktail, recalling: “Maybe not like Tom Cruise, but I felt like Tom Cruise.”
The job proved a valuable experience for Tuchel after the crushing blow of having to give up on his footballing dream, as he detailed the circumstances that led him to the role.
The 51-year-old recounted: “I didn’t have a good insurance policy for my injury, so all of the money I saved until this moment was – it was not big money of course – spent on my rehabilitation because I tried to come back for more than half a year.
“I needed to accept it’s maybe impossible, so I was very, very disappointed and I started to study economics, because I had no other idea.
“And while studying, I wanted to earn some extra money and so I went to work in a bar like a normal student.”
Football is a short career – but that was especially true for TuchelX
Tuchel was previously the man pouring the pintsGetty
Known for his tactical nous and intense coaching style, just as key to his success as a manager is his ability to forge strong relationships with his players.
And Tuchel credited this time with helping him to develop in this aspect, as he rebuilt his self-belief and formed important friendships.
He reflected: “It was good and in the end it turned out like, many times in life, that I made some friends and I got my positive feedback, my reputation or whatever from just being the guy I am and they did not know that I played football.
“They simply did not know me and that was a very good experience.”
“Suddenly, I really felt more self-confident because I was absolutely sure that they liked me because of who I am and because of what we do here together behind the bar, to clean the place until 3am and to do all that.
“It was a completely different life, but it was a good life because it taught me a valuable lesson and let my self-confidence grow in a very positive way.”
This experience certainly did him no harm in the long run, who went on to begin his coaching career in youth football at Stuttgart and later Augsburg.
Tuchel was unveiled as the new England boss at Wembley on WednesdayGetty
After a five years at first club Mainz, succeeding Jurgen Klopp, Tuchel then took charge of Borussia Dortmund, leading them to DFB-Pokal glory in 2017.
Further success followed in Tuchel’s next role, as he lifted two Ligue 1 titles after being hired by Paris Saint-Germain in 2018, and guided them to a first ever Champions League final.
He became manager of Chelsea in 2021, where he recorded his biggest achievement to date, winning the Champions League in his debut season.
Following his dismissal by the Blues the following year, and a disappointing season in charge of Bayern Munich, Tuchel will now be hoping to prove his credentials as he looks to lead England to international glory for the first time since 1966.
