The faltering season opens • The shaky relationship with professional manager Leonardo • The interview with a German newspaper that he tried to prevent his publication • And Mauricio Pochettino, who previously stated that he "dreams of coaching PSG" and became the intended replacement • The day after the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel
Photography:
Reuters
"Tuchel, it's over," cried the headline of the French "Lakip" yesterday (Thursday), who described the dismissal of the PSG coach as surprising.
And really, seemingly, there is something unexpected about them.
The German coach was sacked at the end of a 0: 4 victory over Strasbourg, with his team just a point away from leading Lille, and after securing promotion to the last 16 of the Champions League from first place at a not-so-simple home that included Manchester United and RB Leipzig.
All of these, plus two championships, a trophy, a League Cup and two-and-a-half Champions League runners-up indicated that Tuchel might complete his contract, which is due to end in July 2021. But yesterday PSG dropped the bomb - and sent the German home for Christmas.
Although this decision seems capricious and does not depend on the results, there are quite a few reasons behind it that make sense.
The first, the professional, is the opening of the bad season in the French league.
PSG went on a short holiday break when it was ranked third in the table and already lost four games and lost points in six.
Beyond that, she lost most of the points against rivals from the top - Lyon, Monaco, Marseille, Lance and Lille - and it created the impression that for the first time in four years there is a chance she will lose the title.
Of course Tuchel could have fixed it in the second half of the season, but it seems that his relationship with the management, especially with the professional manager Leonardo, would not have allowed a proper work environment as there is a great deal of tension between the German and Brazilian around the previous transfer window.
Tuchel then complained to the media about PSG's procurement policy, and Leonardo responded forcefully: "I did not understand and did not like Tuchel's things," said the Brazilian, "the club did not like it either, and we will find a way to deal with it."
The matter was taken care of.
Only two and a half weeks ago, a large article was published in "Lakip" describing a significant improvement in the relationship between Tuchel and Leonardo, but a few hours before the game against Strasbourg, an article was published in Germany that broke the camel's back.
As part of an innocent project on German coaches in Europe, the newspaper "Sport1" published an interview with Tuchel in which he expressed regret that his achievements were not valued enough and said that the role of coach at PSG was more political than professional.
The German coach understood the damage and tried to explain that things were taken out of context, but apparently it was too late.
"Check the video, I laughed in German, the translation is incorrect. A journalist is not allowed to do such things," said Tuchel, who at one point even tried to prevent the interview from being published.
The interview was published and certainly did damage, but according to reports in France the decision to fire Tuchel was made even before he fell in front of the cunning interviewer.
According to these reports, there is no choice but to conclude that there is another reason for the dismissal, and to find out, one must go back to 2011.
This is not the first time the French champion has fired a coach at Christmas and when he does a fairly reasonable job.
Nine years ago, during the cool Christmas days, Antoine Comboara received a dismissal notice even though his team was in first place in the table.
The Qatari owners, who took over the club at the beginning of that season, made it clear then: When there is an opportunity, they jump on it.
And that opportunity was called Carlo Ancelotti, who had just been available and came to give some glamor and prestige to the new project.
PSG may have won the esteemed Italian coach, but lost the championship that season to Montpellier.
This precedent only reinforces the feeling that Tuchel was fired mainly because there was another, better, and available option - Mauricio Pochettino.
According to all reports, the 48-year-old Argentine has agreed his terms by 2023, and he will soon join with two of his aides.
Pochettino just closed a year out of business.
In November he was fired from Tottenham, and since then his name has been mentioned as a candidate with quite a few clubs.
PSG chose him because of his great achievements with the Roosters and perhaps also because he played for the club between 2001 and 2003, and it seems that he chose her because he did not have many choices left.
Manchester United are out of the episode, the talk of Newcastle has not matured after the club's sale deal exploded, does not look like Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane are heading for a break, so the French champions are the best option for him.
In an interview with a French channel in 2016, Pochettino said: "I would love to coach PSG one day, it's one of my dreams. I follow the team and watch all its games."
If so, the Argentine surely knows that Tuchel was fired after achieving the best points average in the history of the French league and after reaching the Champions League final.
And that Onai Emery was also "okay" and fired, and Laurent Blanc won the titles and did not go on, just like Ancelotti.
In fact Pochettino, who has never won a title, will reach the only place in the world that is not impressed by them.
