Thomas Tuchel, a manager more than capable of hacking it in the Premier League, can count himself unlucky to have been sacked by Paris Saint-Germain. The German was ruthlessly relieved of his managerial duties on Christmas Eve, and will reportedly be replaced at the Parc des Princes by former Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino.
BBC World Service Sport’s John Bennett claims there is “no doubt” Tuchel will one day manage in the Premier League. Here, we take a look at how the 47-year-old’s stock has remained so high despite his sacking, and why he appears a perfect fit for England’s top flight.
Thomas Tuchel: A Ready to go Premier League Manager
The German Boasts the Highest Ever Ligue 1 Win Percentage
When Tuchel looks back over his PSG tenure, he will be immensely proud of his 75.6% league win ratio. This is the highest in the division’s history. Granted, the club’s immeasurable financial muscle gives its managers an unfair advantage over the competition, but Tuchel’s record is certainly not to be sniffed at.
For starters, it beats that of his predecessor Unai Emery. It also exceeds the record of Carlo Ancelotti, who was held in high esteem throughout his two-year tenure in the French capital.
It is worth noting that both men have since taken on top jobs in the Premier League, with contrasting degrees of success. Having already enhanced his credentials throughout a highly fruitful spell with Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga, Tuchel may already have one eye on following suit.
Language Barrier Issues Would Not Exist in the Premier League
Equally noteworthy is the reality that a considerable mastery of the English language is a necessary component of success in the English game. Once more, Unai Emery is a case in point in this regard. The Spaniard’s post-match interviews became a source of ridicule as his Arsenal tenure began to turn sour.
Privately, Emery believes that his limited English was a key reason as to why he failed to achieve his goals in North London. Before being named manager at La Liga outfit Villarreal, Emery even continued to take English lessons in case another Premier League opening presented itself.
A second high-profile example is that of former Watford boss Walter Mazzarri, whose use of a translator at all times – including in first-team training – was seen as a contributing factor in the Italian’s demise at the club.
Others may well point to Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa as living proof that a high level of English is not all that important if one is to thrive in the Premier League. In Bielsa’s case, however, the Argentine speaks to his players in English; an audible factor of his management style that is frequently picked up by pitch-side microphones at matches this season in the absence of crowds.
In any case, Thomas Tuchel would not experience any kind of linguistic difficulty ahead of a Premier League move, having already built up a high level of English fluency. This became evident in the aftermath of his PSG team’s defeat by Bayern Munich in last August’s Champions League final. Tuchel’s side created the better chances in the game. Had they taken them, the man himself would have become the first-ever manager to lead Les Parisiens to a European Cup triumph. The following four months would have passed very differently for him as a result.
As such, few would have begrudged Tuchel had he been unwilling to go beyond his basic post-match media duties. Instead, the German cut a class act and even obliged to an interview with the BT Sport cameras shortly after full-time. The dust had yet to even settle on his side’s narrow defeat at an empty Estádio da Luz in Portugal, but Tuchel still engaged openly and was in high spirits, offering his honest thoughts on the encounter. At one stage, he even shared a joke with the interviewer about the prospect of bringing Lionel Messi to an already star-studded PSG outfit in future.
Having fallen narrowly short on a night that could instead have heralded his greatest triumph, the way Thomas Tuchel conducted himself suggests he has the temperament to prosper in England if he wanted to. His historic PSG record suggests he also has the ability. The Premier League would be lucky to have him.
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