The German coach is rated highly among his peers for his tactical acumen, earning, very recently, even the plaudits of Pep Guardiola.
Even though Borussia Dortmund could only finish runners-up last season, 10 points behind eventual winners Bayern Munich, one could still see the progress the club were making under the tutelage of Thomas Tuchel.
They finished the season as the top scorers and had a clear identity on the pitch – to dominate possession – which is a complete contrast to the very direct style the club had under Jurgen Klopp.
Not surprisingly, Thomas Tuchel aroused curiosity of fans and clubs alike from all the world for the implementation of his philosophy in such a short span at Dortmund and playing such attractive football.
One of the admirers are Real Madrid, according to CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke. The Dortmund chief has stated that the Madrid based club recognizes the talent Tuchel possesses and thus are keeping an eye over him to track his progress with the Bundesliga club.
Even though BVB are currently stationed at the 6th spot on the league table, six points behind leaders Bayern Munich, the club is level on points in the Champions League with Real Madrid. Dortmund had earlier impressed in their 2-2 draw at home against Los Blancos, coming back twice from behind.
Speaking to ZDF, the BVB chief said, “I have a good relationship with Real Madrid and I believe that they are tracking Tuchel. After the season Thomas had with us, Real have taken account of what a first-class coach we have.”
However, Hans-Joachim Watzke clarified Florentio Perez, Real Madrid’s president, hasn’t contacted him regarding the coach and neither are the club concerned about losing Tuchel to Real, as the manager has a long-term contract with the club.
BVB’s CEO also stated the situation for the manager was different from the players, after the club saw a raft of key team members leave for other European clubs in recent years.
“His situation is different to that of a player. A player at the age of 28 or 29 might only have three years in him and could ask us not to deny him a move somewhere else.”
Real Madrid seems content with manager Zidane, having won the last edition of Champions League and in a strong position in the league this season. But it takes just a small run of poor form for a situation to change at Real, as we have seen so often – 14 managers in 13 years and that’s without taking into account the interim managers. Hence, it wouldn’t really be surprising if Thomas Tuchel, arguably the best emerging coach in football at the moment, takes in-charge of the Los Blancos one day. But for now, Tuchel’s sole attention lies with Borussia Dortmund.
