Thomas Tuchel to Chelsea: The view from Germany and France

Chelsea have officially sacked Frank Lampard as their manager, with Thomas Tuchel primed to come in and take over at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues are down in ninth, 11 points off Premier League leaders Manchester United and have won just four of their last 11 games in all competitions. The toothless defeat at Leicester is thought to have been the final straw for Chelsea's head honchos, with the 3-1 FA Cup victory over Championship outfit Luton not enough the save Lampard from the chop.

There are a few options out there, with former Juventus and Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri previously linked, but Tuchel's appointment as Chelsea's next manager is thought to be a matter of when, not if.

The 47-year-old has had previous spells at Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain and won silverware with both clubs, but will he be a good fit at Chelsea?

We've got the view from Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, thanks to 90min's very own Alexis Amsellem and Oscar Nolte respectively. Take it away, chaps...

What tactics and formation does Thomas Tuchel use?

PSG

Alexis: He never succeeded to establish a clear and consistent tactic at PSG. He used so many different schemes - 4-3-3 with a nine, 4-3-3 with Neymar as a false nine, 3-5-2, 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1. Ultimately, you couldn't define what PSG's style was when he was manager.

He would change from one sequence to another, like using a 4-4-2 in the Champions League group phase before switching to a 4-3-3 in the quarter final. Changing and adapting his tactics to the opponent was actually the only consistency.

That said, he helped PSG to important wins over Liverpool in 2018 and Dortmund, Atalanta and RB Leizpig in 2020.

BVB

Oscar: During his time at BVB he loved having the ball. His midfielders were passing machines with high technical ball skills.

He's an acribic worker. He met Pep Guardiola in a restaurant in Munich and they talked about tactics for hours. They used pepper and salt sticks to show systems and tactics. His duels with Pep in the Bundesliga were always at a high tactical level.

Will Thomas Tuchel give Chelsea's youth players a chance?

Alexis: Almost like no other coach before him, he gave chances to a lot of Parisian youngsters, such as Christopher Nkunku and Moussa Diaby, who are now performing well in Bundesliga, and Tanguy Kouassi, who has signed for Bayern Munich.

I'm sure he will act similarly at Chelsea seeing the talents that he'll manage there.

BVB

Oscar: At Mainz, Dortmund and PSG he loved working with young guys and gave them a lot of chances. Most German coaches are absolutely skilled working with young guys and Tuchel is as well.

He is a great mentor and he will give the Chelsea youngsters many chances for sure. I can imagine that he wouldn’t have let Fikayo Tomori leave had he been in charge. 

What went wrong at PSG and Dortmund?

PSG

Alexis: At PSG, his relationships with his directors, firstly Antero Henrique and then Leonardo, were very problematic. He disagreed on several cases and didn't feel listened on transfer decisions, but he was given a bunch of players he requested such as Gueye, Diallo, Choupo-Moting and Kehrer.

Moreover, Leonardo said that the lack of "style" and consistency of his team was problematic at the end.

BVB

Oscar: Tuchel is a man with high ambitions and a perfectionist, and he wants to be in charge. Compare that to Pep, who is a 'difficult character‘ as well, but a great coach and man.

Tuchel stepped into Jürgen Klopp's footsteps at Dortmund and since he left BVB the club has failed to play on the level they were at before. The reason BVB sacked Tuchel is super complicated: after a terrorist attack on the bus, Tuchel refused to play against Monaco in the Champions League the next day.

But the management said that they will play - it was the quarterfinal in the Champions League, so there was a lot of money on the table and Tuchel raged about the decision from the board. The differences were so big that Dortmund sacked Tuchel and declared that he is too difficult to work with. I think they did Tuchel really dirty.

Given the reports of his difficult personality, is he a good fit for Chelsea?

Oscar: It’s bulls**t to use the 'difficult character‘ angle to question his fit with Chelsea or any club.

Tuchel is not a puppet, he wants to be in charge. If this is the profile the Chelsea board is searching for, Tuchel will be a great fit.