Thomas Tuchel has been appointed FC Bayern head coach. The 49-year-old has signed a contract with the German record champions until 30 June 2025. fcbayern.com profiles the new man in the Munich dugout.
Early end to playing career
Tuchel was born on 29 August 1973 in the Bavarian-Swabian town of Krumbach. He started his active football career with TSV Krumbach and moved to the FC Augsburg youth section in 1988. A defender by trade, he then played for Stuttgarter Kickers for two years (1992 to 1994) before joining regional league club SSV Ulm 1846, where he was coached by former FC Bayern reserves coach Rainer Ulrich and Ralf Rangnick, among others. In 1998, Tuchel announced an early to end his playing career due to a cartilage injury.
First steps as coach
In 2000, Tuchel then switched to the dugout and became a youth coach at VfB Stuttgart. In the 2004/05 season, he won the German championship as assistant coach with VfB's U19s, a team that included Sven Ulreich, Sami Khedira and current FCB U19 coach Danny Galm. Tuchel then returned to FC Augsburg as youth coach and head of the youth section (2005 to 2008) and obtained his DFB Pro Licence / UEFA Pro Level Licence, the highest-available coaching qualification, in 2006. His final grade was 1.4.
First-team boss at Mainz 05
In the summer of 2008, Tuchel became U19 coach at FSV Mainz 05 and immediately won the German championship at that age level with the Zerofivers’ youth team. He then took over the Mainz first team in August 2009 following their promotion to the Bundesliga. After keeping the team in the league in his first season, Mainz even managed to qualify for the Europa League in Tuchel’s second season. He coached FSV for a total of five years and established the club in the top flight, where they remain today.
DFB Cup winner with Borussia Dortmund
After a one-year break, Tuchel took over as Borussia Dortmund head coach in the summer of 2015. He led BVB to Champions League qualification twice and won the DFB Cup with the black and yellows in 2017. The club and coach parted company at that point.
Two Ligue 1 triumphs with PSG
Tuchel then became coach at Paris Saint-Germain for the 2018/19 season. In his first campaign, he won the French Super Cup and the Ligue 1 championship with the club from the French capital. The following year, he guided PSG to the domestic double of the championship and Coupe de France. At the Champions League knockout tournament in Lisbon, Tuchel led PSG to the final for the first time in the club's history, although they lost the match 1-0 to FC Bayern. In December 2020, Tuchel and PSG parted company.
Champions League triumph with Chelsea
A month later, at the end of January 2021, Tuchel took over Chelsea, who were only ninth in the Premier League at the time. In an outstanding first six months, he led the West London club to Champions League glory and to fourth place in the league. Tuchel also went on to win the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with the Blues, and was awarded the The Best FIFA Men’s Coach award in 2021 for his outstanding achievements. In September last year, Tuchel was released from his contract at Chelsea.
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