At 35, Jan-Henrick Gruszecki, supporter of Borussia since the age of 6 when he saw his first match on TV, is also a historian of the club. He delivers three anecdotes which say a lot, according to him, over the two years spent by Thomas Tuchel in Dortmund which he finds, this Tuesday evening (9 pm), in the 8th finals first leg of the Champions League with PSG.
"The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Thomas Tuchel is anger," he says. Before him, Jürgen Klopp was very successful. Sportingly but also in his way of seducing people. He was the emotional leader of the club. When Tuchel arrived, he never wanted to be identified with the club. Borussia is a very - sometimes too - emotional club. Tuchel never wanted this emotion. He stayed very cold. No doubt as opposed to Klopp. "
1. A failed presentation
"When it was presented at his press conference, the president came to see me: Jani, you have to talk to Tuchel and tell him the story of the club . I had published a book on the history of the stadium in particular and a film on the foundation of the club. I went to see him with the book and the DVD to say: welcome to Dortmund! And he replied: no, I'm not interested in these kinds of things, these emotions. I'm just responsible for what's going on in the field. The Yellow Wall, all that, doesn't interest me. I’m a soccer coach . I said to myself: wow, oh my god! ... I answered: yes but there with this incredible audience, this chance to have the support of a twelfth man ... He said to me: n on, I do not want not play twelve. Football is 11 against 11. It started like this between us ... "
2. A missed birthday
“In 2016, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our first European title, the 1996 Cup Cup victory. Everyone was there: all the players, the staff, the management, the former supporters, the sponsors… And, who was not there? I think you guessed ... Everyone said to himself: this guy does not want to be part of Borussia Dortmund. "
3. A badly sent SMS
“Borussia sports director Michael Zorc, who is a club legend, and Tuchel have started to hate each other. One day, Tuchel wanted to send an SMS to his manager and friend Olaf Meinking where he said all the bad things he thought of Zorc. But he was wrong and he sent it to ... Zorc! Their relationship was over. No one at the club wanted to work with him. Even the caretaker! In the end, everyone hated him and went to see the CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke saying: he destroys the culture of the club, we must change immediately . In fact, Tuchel never wanted to be part of the history of this club. "