Chelsea’s newest manager faces the most successful in their history on Wednesday. And while Thomas Tuchel downplayed the contest between present against past, the prospect of facing Jose Mourinho would have long seemed a meeting of different worlds.
Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004, famously pronouncing himself a “Special One” after winning the Champions League with Porto.
Tuchel was a youth-team coach at Stuttgart then. Now the German has the more recent experience of success, winning two league titles since Mourinho’s last and reaching August’s Champions League final with Paris Saint-Germain.
Tuchel’s pressing game feels very contemporary whereas Mourinho’s more cautious approach can feel more anachronistic. The newcomer was keen to avoid a comparison, however.
“I strongly believe that it's Tottenham against Chelsea, not me against Jose,” he said.
“Honestly, when I started my career he was so far away, like the moon from the earth, so he could not be a role model at all. I was coaching in an academy and was then promoted to first-league football, from there on I just enjoyed every day.”
Mourinho turned 58 this week and if questions about his decline have abounded in recent years, they have increased after successive demoralising defeats, Tuchel remained diplomatic.
“I have no doubts he is one of the best managers in the world,” he said. “Jose is a winner and I want to implement the same in my teams.”
That tactfulness extended to the subject of Dele Alli, a player exiled by Mourinho, who Tuchel had wanted to take to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer but who he was reluctant to discuss.
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It is a first managerial meeting and shapes up to be a clash of philosophies. “Everything is allowed,” Tuchel continued. “There are many ways to succeed. I think it is very clear he stands for. He builds competitive and strong teams.”
It may be a game of shifting loyalties. Mourinho was once disliked by Chelsea fans in his Manchester United days. Tuchel had an allegiance to Spurs as a child, but was keen to stress it was only a loose one.
“As a boy, once or twice I was pretending to be Tottenham in the garden, it was to show off more in front of my friends. I didn’t even know Tottenham was in London,” he explained. “It was just a fancy name and a team we could see on TV for a few minutes. There is no doubt I arrive in blue and am proud to coach in blue.”
Tuchel may be without one of his compatriots, with a training-ground injury rendering Kai Havertz a doubt. Another presents a different issue. Timo Werner has a solitary goal in his last 17 games. Tuchel is trying to rebuild his confidence but realises scoring is the best recipe for recovery.
“With every player, we try to create a bond,” he said.
“Every guy is different: some need you to be close, some need to you be more alone, some need to be pushed hard, some need a hug. It is our responsibility to create moments to bring out his best. In the end, the last 10, 15, 20 percent only comes back when he scores. This is like every striker in the world. Nothing helps as much as they find the net in important games. He is not looking for excuses. He is working hard.”
Mason Mount, one of the stars of Sunday’s win over Burnley, could be preferred to Werner. An ally of Frank Lampard’s has an admirer in Tuchel. “He has everything that is needed to reach higher and higher levels,” he said. “I don’t know where his limits are.” The same may be said of Tuchel’s Chelsea.
