Thomas Tuchel: What we know about the new England manager | UK news

Thomas Tuchel has signed a contract to become the next manager of the England men's national football team.

He is German an official unveiling was expected on Wednesday following Gareth Southgate's resignation following Euro 2024, and Lee Carsley has since taken over on an interim basis.

Tuchel he is probably best known in the UK for being the former manager of Chelsea. But his time in west London is only a small part of his story.

Growing up in Germany

The 51-year-old is only the third foreign manager in the history of the England men's national football team and the first German to take up the position.

He follows in the footsteps of the late Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Swede who managed England from 2001 to 2006, and the Italian Fabio Capello, who managed the Three Lions from 2007 to 2012.

Tuchel grew up in the 1970s in the small town of Krumbach in Bavaria West Germany and showed football talent from an early age.

Although he initially wanted to become a helicopter pilot, the young defender's skills distinguished him as the best player in his school – which helped him win the German School Championship in Berlin w 1987 r.

An injury ends his football career at the age of 20

Within a year, the teenager was employed by FC Augsburg in the youth academy of the Bundesliga team.

However, despite a promising start, he was released by the club at the age of 19, never making a first-team appearance.

Tuchel then signed with Stuttgarter Kickers, then in Bundesliga 2. He made only eight appearances before moving to SSV Ulm in Germany's third tier.

His career took off when a young man named Ralf Rangnick came along and later continued his career temporarily managed Manchester United – was appointed club manager.

Tuchel made a total of 68 appearances for the southwest German team and contributed to its promotion to Bundesliga 2.

However, his dreams were dealt another blow when, in 1998, a chronic knee injury forced him to retire early in his early 20s.

University studies

After leaving the field, Tuchel did not immediately move into management. Instead, he decided to go to university, where he studied business administration while working as a waiter in a bar to help pay the bills.

However, his love for football never left him, and his friendship with Rangnick, which continued after leaving SSV Ulm, helped him get back into the game.

At this point, Rangnick was Stuttgart's manager and Tuchel seemed to have recovered from his injury.

He managed to convince his former boss to give him a chance to play in the team's reserves.

However, frustratingly, his hopes were dashed once again when an old injury came back to haunt him and it became clear that the chronic cartilage damage was impossible to overcome.

The beginnings of a coaching career

Rangnick took pity on his friend and talked him into trying to become a trainer instead. Tuchel soon began working in the club's academy and eventually took over Stuttgart's under-14 team in 2000.

It quickly became clear that he was right for the role and he was promoted to head the under-19 team which led them to victory in the youth league in 2005.

After a rapid rise at the helm of several youth teams and less than a decade since he had been working in a bar, Tuchel was appointed first-team coach of Bundesliga side Mainz in August 2009.

Replacing Klopp

After taking over from the future manager of Liverpool Jurgen Klopp in Mainz, he helped the newly promoted team to an impressive ninth place in Germany's top division.

He then led the team to fifth place in the table and promotion to the Europa League in the 2011/2012 season.

From that point on, the only way was up.

In 2015, he was appointed to the top position at Borussia Dortmund, again taking over from Klopp.

Tuchel led the team to second place in the Bundesliga, just behind Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich.

In 2018, he left to join top French side Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), helping them win the Ligue 1 title in his first season.

The following year, he won the treble with PSG and led the club to their first Champions League final in 2020, where the team narrowly lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.

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Champions League success

Tuchel's success attracted a number of suitors and he eventually left PSG on Christmas Eve 2020 – before it was announced that he would replace Frank Lampard in the top job at Chelsea in January 2021.

Within a few months, he led the team to the Champions League final against Manchester City, which Chelsea won 1-0.

However, just six months into the next season, fans were shocked when… The west London owners fired Tuchel.

This followed behind-the-scenes disagreements and a disappointing defeat in Chelsea's Champions League opener against Dinamo Zagreb.

Tuchel soon returned to his native Germany, taking over the reins of Bayern Munich in March 2023.

During his time at the club, he managed Harry Kane following the English striker's move from Spurs.

Tuchel left Bayern in June this year as part of a “sporting overhaul” at the club and has been out of work since.

Personal life

Tuchel has two children from his relationship with his ex-wife Sisi. The couple divorced in 2022 after 13 years together.

In 2021, he told Sky Sports that his favorite music was Simply Red, Jay-Z and Abba.

He also speaks several languages, including English, French, German and “a little” Italian.

Tuchel said his favorite player of all time is former Borussia Mönchengladbach striker Hans-Gunter Bruns, his childhood “idol”.