Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as their new manager following the sacking of Frank Lampard.
The former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain boss has signed an 18-month deal with the option to extend for another year.
The German coach will be in the dugout for the Premier League match against Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
“I would like to thank Chelsea FC for their confidence in me and my staff,” Tuchel said in a statement confirming his appointment on Tuesday.
“We all have the greatest respect for Frank Lampard’s work and the legacy he created at Chelsea. At the same time, I cannot wait to meet my new team and compete in the most exciting league in football. I am grateful to now be part of the Chelsea family – it feels amazing!”
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Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: “It is never easy to change head coach in the middle of the season but we are very happy to secure one of Europe’s best coaches in Thomas Tuchel. There is still much to play for and much to achieve, this season and beyond. We welcome Thomas to the club.”
Tuchel, 47, will be tasked with getting the best out of expensive summer signings – including compatriots Timo Werner and Kai Havertz – and securing Champions League qualification once again.
He arrives having won five major trophies during his time in the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 and led PSG to last season’s Champions League final.
Why Lampard was sacked
The Blues decided to part with Lampard following five defeats in their last eight Premier League games – a run which saw them slip to ninth in the Premier League, 11 points off leaders Manchester United.
“This has been a very difficult decision, and not one that the owner and the board have taken lightly,” the club said in a statement on Monday.
“We are grateful to Frank for what he has achieved in his time as head coach of the club. However, recent results and performances have not met the club’s expectations, leaving the club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement.
“There can never be a good time to part ways with a club legend such as Frank, but after lengthy deliberation and consideration it was decided a change is needed now to give the club time to improve performances and results this season.”
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich added: “This was a very difficult decision for the Club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him.
“He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.
“On behalf of everyone at the club, the board and personally, I would like to thank Frank for his work as head coach and wish him every success in the future. He is an important icon of this great club and his status here remains undiminished. He will always be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.”
Analysis: Chelsea left lacking identity
By Sam Cunningham, i football correspondent
Lampard’s sacking was such an unpopular dismissal that Abramovich took the unusual step of releasing his own statement to accompany that of the club, the first time he has taken the time to put on record his thoughts in 14 managerial sackings since he bought Chelsea in 2003.
In all that time it seems as though Chelsea don’t really know what or who they want to be, as though they no longer have a true identity. Are they the big club appointing megastar managers bringing in megastar players at megastar prices? Are they the big club bringing through gems from their academy with a former fan-favourite manager building a dynasty of success? Are they something else entirely?
Look at Manchester United. Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward has long resisted huge pressure – from fans, media and pundits alike – to part company with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and look where that, currently, has got them: challenging at the top of the Premier League. Yet, equally, in six games’ time, United could be back outside the top four, given the unpredictability of the top flight this season, and Chelsea could be right back up there, given they were in the race not so long ago.
Cast a glance back at other clubs: Jürgen Klopp had ups and downs in his early years at Liverpool and even Sir Alex Ferguson was famously somewhat fortunate to ride out a rough early period at the start of a 26-year reign at Old Trafford.
Perhaps Abramovich simply wants them to be a revolving door, a club who consistently consume and spit out managers in one-, two-, three-years spells, occasionally recycling them.
Who knows, maybe Jose Mourinho will be back for a third term in a few years’ time, when Tuchel has delivered a few trophies but is on a bad run and the latest signing is not hitting form quick enough.
The struggle to integrate big new signings into his plans definitely counted against Lampard. The lack of goals from Werner – a £45m signing from RB Leipzig has one in his last 17 games – didn’t help and neither did the mediocrity of Kai Havertz – the 21-year-old arriving for £71m from Bayer Leverkusen with the highest of reputations. Overall Chelsea spent over £220m last year.
Maybe Chelsea’s real identity is that of a billionaire’s plaything, one that will always persist until such a time that Abramovich is no longer their owner.
Analysis: What Tuchel will bring to Chelsea
If Chelsea’s tactical approach under Lampard was muddled, that shouldn’t be the case under the German.
The 47-year-old is renowned for his meticulous work on the training ground and is adept at devising strategies that suit the strengths of his players rather than emphasising their weaknesses. He is tactically flexible, unlike previous Chelsea bosses wedded to a Plan A.
The Chelsea board will have noted his track record at improving players too, given too few of the current squad made big leaps forward under Lampard, Mount and Abraham aside.
At Dortmund, he helped unlock Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goalscoring potential, the Arsenal captain scoring 56 times in 63 Bundesliga matches for him, while he also helped turn Ousmane Dembele into a £135m player.
In Paris, Tuchel managed to extract similarly eye-popping goal figures from Kylian Mbappe, the Frenchman netting 63 times in 62 games. Neymar, when fit, has been equally productive with 32 goals and 16 assists in 41 games. The centre-back Presnel Kimpembe and defensive midfielder Marquinhos also flourished under Tuchel’s tutelage.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3sTgsVz
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