THOMAS TUCHEL was talking new contracts with Chelsea just two weeks ago.
Now he is looking for a new job.
Back then he confirmed SunSport’s exclusive story that the club wanted him to commit to a new deal with a few simple words, then moved on to stress that the most important thing was the team.
When rudderless Manchester United made it plain they quite fancied Tuchel as their next manager towards the end of last season, the German was outspoken in his commitment to his employers.
He would not jump ship and was happy to stay loyal to the club that gave him a chance to manage in the Premier League and raise his profile beyond all previous measure.
On reflection, the uber-intellectual coach dubbed ‘The Professor’ looks naive at best, stupid at worst.
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That is because his sacking confirms there is no place for sentiment at Stamford Bridge and that loyalty will ultimately do for you.
Tuchel was not expecting to get the chop so few hours after his team’s collapse in Croatia.
He acknowledged relations with chairman Todd Boehly had been on the slide for some time.
But he did not realise that an opening group game 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb was the moment his boss had been waiting for.
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And he took the punch right between the eyes at the training ground just before 10am having only got back to England at around 4am.
He admitted to not seeing Tuesday’s hopeless performance from his players coming.
He should have seen what was coming next though.
All summer, there has been a steadily brewing discord between Tuchel and the new board of directors he reported to — but in particular Boehly.
Disagreement over Boehly’s desire to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United went Tuchel’s way and the plan was dropped.
That disagreement highlights the different philosophies of the two men about players.
Boehly clearly fancies razzmatazz and showbiz signings when it comes to players.
He loved being pictured with new arrivals and hanging around and shooting the breeze with them at the training ground.
Tuchel’s preference was for a new centre-half.
He got two in the end but despite a world record investment of £259.1million in the summer, Chelsea’s head coach was still not happy.
To the extent that after the recent embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Southampton, a message was sent to a Chelsea director containing extremely colourful language about the state of the squad.
The dithering over a deal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was another bone of contention.
At 33, Chelsea did not fancy handing out a three-year deal to a player many see as way past his prime. Understandably so.
There is a feeling that Tuchel has a blind spot for Aubameyang. That he is starstruck by the wayward striker’s glittering personality.
And that, having managed him seven years ago, he could bring back the 25-year-old Aubameyang.
Chelsea struck a compromise with Aubameyang.
A two-year contract with the option of a third to keep him on his toes.
He only made his Blues debut on Tuesday — seven games into the season and almost two months since striker Romelu Lukaku went back to Inter Milan.
Managerial sackings at Chelsea are as much a part of daily life as groin strains.
The joke is that the club uses non-drying paint to mark out the coach’s car park space at the training ground.
In Tuchel’s case the story is a fascinating one given the way the geeky-looking, 6ft 5in beanpole, managed to grow even more in stature while steering his club through the worst moments in their 117-year history.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Chelsea were unwillingly dragged into a war through Roman Abramovich’s links to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Government sanctions, a stranglehold on finances, an emergency takeover ordered by No 10. The very existence of one of our top clubs called into question.
While the hierarchy took the chance to cower in a bunker and hide from the public, Tuchel took on the role of leading statesman.
Cannot afford a plane to fly to Lille? “I’ll drive the bus,” he said.
He was also honest in admitting most rival clubs would be delighted to see his team failing.
There followed a series of Churchillian addresses during the height of the crisis and during which he landed the one trophy that had up to then eluded Chelsea — the Club World Cup.
This followed victory in the European Super Cup, a few months after winning the Champions League.
There is no doubt that Chelsea have fallen away in recent times and the team was an utter shambles against Zagreb.
Master tactician Tuchel was unable to plot a course past a side with one twelfth the budget of his.
Formations changed, baffling substitutions made, sulky fringe players dragged off the bench to try to save his neck and it failed.
Boehly and his cohort from US investors Clearlake Capital promised many things when their £4.25bn takeover was announced on May 22.
They were careful not to pledge public loyalty to the head coach.
Even so, you might have expected there to a bit of credit in the bank from the way Tuchel kept the ship afloat during stormy waters.
Had he signed that new two-year deal, Tuchel would have collected a substantial pay rise.
He will now walk away with a pay-off worth nearly £13m.
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Either way, he will not go short and the odds are that he will be back in management again soon.
And even the Professor may have learned a lesson about public loyalty.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
