Amongst all the team effort and triumph in winning the semi-final and the final of the FIFA Cup World Cup last week, there was the personal story of Thomas Tuchel and his initial managing of the team from far and then his late journey to be with them, eventual able to guide and enjoy the victory over Palmeiras first hand.
Having tested positive for Covid shortly before Chelsea took on Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup two weekends ago, Tuchel followed isolation rules that meant it was a close-run case whether he could make it out to Abu Dhabi in time for the final. In the aftermath of the 2-1 win, it was a quest he discussed…‘I was several times on my way to the airport and on my way back,’ he detailed. ‘When I was driving I was called back because a test was not negative, and finally I made it. I arrived for dinner with the team at 8.15 in the evening [on Friday] so no chance to be part of the last training.
‘I took the meetings on the match day and I tried do things as normal to prepare the team for the opponent.‘It was not nice to watch the semi-final in the office at the screen. As a coach you want to be on the sideline and I am happy now that all the effort from everybody who was so supportive was worth it and we managed to get the Cup.’Tuchel explained how he had followed the game against Al Hilal at Cobham on two big screens, one with a wider view of the whole pitch to give a better view of the tactical flow of the game and the other the usual TV coverage. He was in contact with the team and coaches at half time and in the second half was speaking with his assistant Benjamin Weber in the stand.‘We did the same in the cup game against Plymouth,’ said Tuchel, ‘but it’s not like I am constantly talking to them, it is more or less like every 10 or 15 minutes I give a little bit of input because you have a wider angle.
‘It is very strange because it is not just about coaching, it is also about the feeling from on the touchline so I also needed the input from the guys on the sideline. It’s not possible to coach only from the office because you need the closeness to the game and to the players.‘We were calm before this game.’ He added. ‘We tried to calm the team down and to tell them what a fantastic opportunity it is to play football and that every player in the world was jealous of us to play in the final and so many young boys out there dream to be one day in this final. We reminded ourselves that all of us have been this boy.‘It’s also a moment to enjoy the hard work and sacrifice we all put into this game.’
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