Qudus SalihuThomas Tuchel, after a glittering managerial career at club level, now has the enviable task of leading England to international glory – and, owing to his knowledge, once named the two most talented players he has ever had the pleasure of coaching.
Now 51, the German – the third foreign manager to take up the Three Lions role – started off in senior management as Mainz’s chief in 2009 before getting his big shot, six years later, with Borussia Dortmund, where he spent just two years.
Stints at Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich – all to varying degrees of success – followed before being appointed Gareth Southgate’s successor and so it’s not unfair to say that he’s been blessed with an array of talent to play with over the years.
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From his favourite music to how many languages he can speak, Tuchel sat down with Sky Sports for the ‘Autocomplete Challenge’ – and he name-dropped two stars whom he truly believed were the two most gifted players he had coached in his career.
“That’s a tricky one because everybody I will now forget will be super mad,” the Krumbach-born tactician said before getting into the nitty-gritty of picking among a pool of superstars from the one-of-a-kind talent Kylian Mbappe to the ever-reliable Thiago Silva.
One of the first names that pops up in my mind is Ousmane Dembele when he stepped in at Borussia Dortmund. He was a pretty natural talent, very very outstanding. Dembele was one of the craziest natural talents because he was shooting free-kicks with his left [foot], shooting corners with his left [foot].
Ousmane Dembele is now pulling up trees for PSG as, inarguably, one of the brightest players in world football. Under Tuchel’s stewardship, the Frenchman plundered a total of 30 goal contributions (10 goals and 20 assists) in 49 appearances.
“He’d then go to the other corner, doing an inswing with his right [foot]. Going to penalties and shooting with his left, shooting with his right: dribbling, running, passing. It was on the highest level at 18 years old when your development is clearly not finished.”
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Tuchel, who is widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football, then returned to his time spent in the French capital – and he singled out none other than Neymar, a tricky, unpredictable winger who took world football by storm at his roaring best.
“So then the obvious, is there more talent than Neymar? I don’t know if it exists, more talent, more natural and easy looking talent than Neymar,” Tuchel said as he went on to list everything Neymar – one of the best dribblers in football history – had in his locker.
He combines pretty much everything: speed, dribbling, passing, assisting, finishing and physical ability. This is absolutely the whole package.
Watch Tuchel’s answer, in full, below:
Tuchel managed the Brazilian trickster for two and a half seasons during his time in France with PSG, where he saw him in actions day-in and day-out. In 67 appearances for the German, he notched an impressive haul of 51 goals and 32 assists.
Qudus Salihu
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