I plucked Thomas Tuchel out of his job working in a bar in Stuttgart before he became England boss, reveals Man Utd flop

A MANCHESTER UNITED flop has revealed how he plucked England boss Thomas Tuchel out of his job working in a bar in Stuttgart.

Champions League winner Tuchel, 51, is preparing for his first match in the Three Lions dugout against Albania at Wembley tonight.

The ex-Chelsea gaffer could unleash a new formation after handing out some big call-ups, with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford involved again.

And Tuchel has already excited fans by insisting England will play to win, not to avoid losing — unlike their performances at last summer’s Euros.

However, the tactician could have ended up in a completely different field had it not been for one infamous Man United boss.

Ralf Rangnick, 66, took charge of the Red Devils as an interim following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s exit in November 2021.

The Austria boss led United to 11 wins in 29 matches and declared that the squad needed “open-heart surgery.”

At the end of his short spell, Rangnick did not move into a behind-the-scenes role as previously agreed.

While successor Erik ten Hag appeared to ignore his words of wisdom by splashing out huge sums on duds including Antony and Casemiro.

Now, Rangnick claims that Tuchel would never have got his big break as a manager if it wasn’t for him.

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The pair worked together during Tuchel’s playing days with German minnows SSV Ulm.

Rangnick had long suspected his former star would eventually move into coaching.

But the Austrian was left shocked when he discovered that upon retiring, Tuchel had ended up working behind a bar pulling pints.

Rangnick, now manager of Stuttgart, quickly got in touch with his former pupil and insisted he join him at his new club as a youth coach.

The rest is history, with Tuchel going on to work his way up the rankings before managing Mainz, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Bayern Munich — and now England.

Rangnick told the BBC: “He was always interested in why we were doing certain things.

“After a couple of weeks, you can tell what player could become a coach — he was always asking questions.

“When I became head coach of Stuttgart, I found out he was working in a bar to earn a living. I could hardly believe it.

“I called him and said, ‘Why don’t you come to us and work as a youth team coach?’ That’s how his coaching career started.

“It was clear he shouldn’t be working in a bar and would much rather be on a pitch with a team.”

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk