There is something moving in looking at the modest terrain of the TSV Krumbach, set in the middle of the trees, on the heights of the native village of Thomas Tuchel (46 years old) and to think back to his destiny. This is where the current PSG coach who faces Dortmund in the knockout stages of the Champions League on Tuesday, fed his dream of becoming a professional footballer. There that the son of Gabriele and Rudolf imagined one day in the Bundesliga. In this small town of Bavaria of 13,000 souls, Thomas Tuchel lived for a long time in a modest house with a garden filled with dwarfs and statuettes of all kinds.
To give life to his ambition, at 15, he chose Augsburg, 50 km from his home, where his father, who was his first trainer, drove him four to five times a week. Central defender, called to the German under-18 team, he thinks he's on the right track. A first professional contract - but few matches - in Stuttgart before leaving for Ulm in the 3rd division follows. Until that day in 1998 when everything collapses.
Injured in the knee, Thomas Tuchel must end his career after six seasons and 77 games. He is only 24 years old. Desperate, he worked for a time in a bakery in Ulm, resumed studies in business management while becoming a waiter, in the evening, at RadioBar in Stuttgart, a Mecca of the hip-hop scene.
As Markus Kaufmann tells in his biography "Thomas Tuchel, make Paris grow": the day of May 1999 when his former Ulm partners accede to the Bundesliga, Tuchel feels "insulted". "They live my dream! "He regrets. He leaves his bar and will never return. A coaching career awaits him. We found the witnesses of this rich journey which led him from Krumbach to Paris, from shadow to light.
"He was talented and ambitious"
Hans Komm, former sports teacher at Simpert-Kraemer high school in Krumbach
“You have to admit that Thomas was very good at sports, especially with a ball. He was gifted, but also ambitious. He always wanted to win. He was very focused on football. I remember a volleyball lesson, he started juggling the ball when it was prohibited. It was one of the rare moments when it was necessary, as a teacher, to raise the tone so that it stops. But, in general, he was always cheerful and he was not a picky student. He had great self-confidence, was proud of him. He never drank alcohol.
Football has always played a big part in his life. One day the kids went to the stadium but to have a few beers at the club house restaurant. But Thomas asked the teachers to open the doors of the room where the balloons were stored. While the others were seated drinking beer, he ran on the ground with his ball to the foot for half an hour.
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When I see Thomas Tuchel now and look back, I find that what he has managed to achieve is not really surprising. He always had the power to get where he wanted. When he is here, he visits his family and remains discreet. So we don't see it unfortunately. "
"He always wanted to understand"
Ralf Rangnick, coach on Ulm who then launched him as youth coach of VfB Stuttgart
“I only coached Thomas for six months because he had to stop his career in 1998 due to a knee injury. But even in such a short time I could see how interested he was in the why of each exercise. He always wanted to understand. At that time it was already clear to me that he had the genes to become a coach. He always asked questions that the others did not ask! Given his personality, it seemed clear that he could become a great coach. He is very intelligent. Really.
When he left Ulm, he studied in Stuttgart, we didn't see each other anymore. But I knew he was frustrated, which is understandable. I imagine what a 24 year old young man can feel when he realizes that he will never be able to play again… A few months later, I asked him if he wanted to join Stuttgart as coach of the youth teams. It was the start of his second career. But I wouldn't take credit for his success, because he was so talented that I don't see what could have prevented him from becoming one of the best coaches in the world. "
"Montaigne brought us together"
Kurt Idrizovic, the bookseller in Augsburg
“We met in 2007 when he was coach of the reserve team. The bookstore and the club had joined forces for a joint project to help schoolchildren read. Thomas' goal was also to offer his players a social bond with the outside world. Thomas is an avid reader. He read a lot. He came here several times to buy new books: novels, thrillers, current affairs books, politics, philosophy ... This is how we got to know each other. The friendship is still there. It has developed over the years. He discussed all matters of society. We understood each other very well and that's also why we liked to speak.
When he was in conflict with Mainz or Dortmund, we always called each other. It is very important because it allows us to find solutions, to move forward in life. We never broke contact. And then our passion for Michel de Montaigne brings us together! Last summer, we even ended up together for three days in Ibiza. When he is on TV, I don't see the sportsman first, but the person himself. And I say to myself: he's my friend. Augsburg is a founding place for his career and even his life, because he met his wife there. It all started here. "
"He's like a football teacher"
Henning Kunz, journalist at the "Allgemeine Zeitung" in Mainz
“I worked with him for five seasons. It all started in the summer of 2009, four days before the first match against Leverkusen, when former manager Christian Heidel decided that Jorn Andersen would no longer be a coach and that he would be replaced by Tuchel who had just won the championship with those under 19. It was a surprise but not that much because everyone knew his skills. He quickly acclimated. He developed the Mainz game enormously.
On the other hand, the press points were heavy, because he did not like working with the media. He wanted to stay 24 hours a day focused on football. However, he had set up a small discussion group every Tuesday. Talking football with him was always interesting because he could talk to you about everything since he knows… everything! To me, Thomas Tuchel is like a football teacher. After he left, he took a year off. I can understand it. It was a very intense period for him because he was 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in football. His wife had also pushed him to take a break. And he knew his next club would be a big one. A year later he signed in Dortmund. "
"He never wanted to be part of the history of Borussia"
Jan-Henrik Gruszecki, s upporter and historian of Borussia Dortmund
“The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Thomas Tuchel is anger. Borussia is a very emotional club, sometimes too much. But Tuchel never wanted this emotion. It was very cold. No doubt as opposed to Jürgen Klopp, his predecessor. During his presentation, the president asked me to go talk to him, because I had published a book on the history of the stadium and made a film on the foundation of the club.
I went to see him with the book and the DVD to say: hey, welcome to Dortmund! And he said , no, I'm not interested in that sort of thing. I'm just responsible for what's going on in the field. The Yellow Wall, all that, doesn't interest me. I thought to myself: wow, oh my God! I answered him: yes but it is a chance, this incredible public which plays the role of 12th man. He said: no, football is played at 11.
In 2016, for the 50th anniversary of our first European title, there was a big party with absolutely everyone. I let you guess who was not there ... Everyone said to himself: this guy does not want to be part of Borussia Dortmund . That's exactly it: he never wanted to be part of the club's history. "