Thomas Tuchel · Biography

On 29 May 2021, at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, a Kai Havertz goal shortly before half-time gave Chelsea the Champions League against Manchester City (1-0). The man in charge of that side, Thomas Tuchel, had arrived in London 123 days earlier. Born on 29 August 1973 in Krumbach, Bavaria, Tuchel is a German coach who led Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich before taking over the England national team in January 2025.

A short playing career

He started out at TSV Krumbach, his hometown club, between 1979 and 1987, then moved to the FC Augsburg academy, where he stayed until 1992 without making a first-team appearance. That year he joined Stuttgarter Kickers, playing 8 matches and scoring once over two seasons. In 1995 he moved to SSV Ulm 1846, where he made 69 appearances as a defender and scored twice. A knee cartilage injury forced him to retire in 1998.

First coaching jobs in Stuttgart and Augsburg

His coaching career began in 2000 in the youth ranks of VfB Stuttgart. He spent five years there and led the under-19 side to the national youth Bundesliga title in 2004-05. In 2005 he returned to FC Augsburg as youth coordinator, and from 2007 to 2008 he coached the reserve team, FC Augsburg II.

Mainz 05: five Bundesliga seasons

On 3 August 2009 Mainz 05 handed him the first team. His spell lasted five seasons and 184 matches, with 72 wins, 46 draws and 66 defeats. In 2010-11 the club finished fifth in the league and qualified for the 2011-12 Europa League. In 2013-14 they came seventh and earned another place in the same competition. Tuchel left in May 2014 and spent a year away from the dugout.

Borussia Dortmund and the German Cup

Borussia Dortmund announced his appointment on 19 April 2015 as Jürgen Klopp’s successor. In his first season he reached the 2016 German Cup final, which was lost to Bayern Munich. A year later he was back in the final and won it: on 27 May 2017, in Berlin, Dortmund beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 with goals from Ousmane Dembélé and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It was his first trophy as a senior coach. Three days later the club announced his departure.

Paris Saint-Germain: domestic titles and a European final

PSG unveiled him on 14 May 2018. In Paris he won Ligue 1 in 2018-19 and 2019-20, the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue in 2020, and the Trophée des Champions in 2018 and 2019. In 2019-20 he took the club to its first Champions League final, played on 23 August 2020 and won 1-0 by Bayern Munich. PSG dismissed him in December 2020.

Chelsea: the 2021 Champions League

Chelsea hired him on 26 January 2021 to replace Frank Lampard, and four months later he won the 2021 Champions League in Porto. Next came the UEFA Super Cup, on 11 August 2021 at Windsor Park in Belfast, where Chelsea drew 1-1 with Villarreal and won 6-5 on penalties, and the Club World Cup, on 12 February 2022 in Abu Dhabi, where an extra-time Havertz penalty settled the final against Palmeiras (2-1). It was Chelsea’s first Club World Cup. The club sacked him on 7 September 2022 after 100 matches: 60 wins, 24 draws and 16 defeats.

Bayern Munich

On 24 March 2023 Bayern appointed him to replace Julian Nagelsmann. On 27 May 2023, on matchday 34, the team beat Cologne 2-1 and were crowned 2022-23 Bundesliga champions. In 2023-24 he reached the Champions League semi-finals. His time in Munich ended in May 2024 after 61 matches: 37 wins, 8 draws and 16 defeats.

England manager

The Football Association announced his appointment on 16 October 2024, and Tuchel took charge on 1 January 2025. His first game came on 21 March 2025 at Wembley, a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Albania with goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane. At the 2026 World Cup England won a group containing Croatia, Ghana and Panama, knocked out DR Congo in the round of 32 and Mexico in the round of 16, and beat Norway 2-1 in the quarter-finals with two goals from Jude Bellingham. In the semi-final on 15 July in Atlanta they lost 2-1 to Argentina after taking the lead. On 18 July 2026, in Miami Gardens, England beat France 6-4 in the third-place match, the country’s best World Cup finish since 1966.