The 47-year-old German coach seems further removed than ever from the management of the capital club.
Serene, overwhelmed or outright already gone? Difficult to interpret the attitude of Thomas Tuchel, Friday, in a press conference. Often incisive during his meetings with the media after a defeat, when all is not well, the German coach appeared calm, very calm. Almost erased. Even when it came to the selections of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, injured, “Herr Tuchel” wanted to be surprisingly diplomatic: “We trust the national teams.” Perhaps he simply wanted to play the card of appeasement, after having often criticized the calendars and, in fact, the coaches. “It’s the right of national teams to call up players and we can’t do anything honestly,” he admits. We learned later that Costa-Rica selected Keylor Navas, also forfeited against Stade Rennais this Saturday (9 p.m.), during the tenth day of Ligue 1, like Mauro Icardi, Juan Bernat, Marco Verratti or Julian Draxler. Hecatomb in Paris!
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Still, Tuchel continued to develop his answers in the same monotonous and cold tone during this astonishing press conference. While his future is more uncertain than ever, this does not fail to ask some questions about his state of mind at the moment … Perhaps he was simply jaded to answer again and again questions about his future or about the level of ‘an ever smaller team. And again, there was no question of his questionable choices, in particular that of positioning Danilo Pereira behind and Marquinhos in the middle. “It’s always the same questions,” he said calmly, not failing to stress that we have to study “the context” and not just the raw results. “It’s not the worst situation in the world,” sums up the 47-year-old coach. It is a difficult situation. We are there to find solutions, to find a good atmosphere and we are responsible. That’s why we love this profession. ”
“I don’t have the feeling of being alone when I’m at Camp des Loges, not at all”
Thomas Tuchel
To see if Leonardo and Nasser Al-Khelaïfi love his job as much as he loves doing it. A priori, that’s a big no. Moreover, Tuchel does not hide it: his relations with the Brazilian sporting director and the Qatari president of PSG are… relatively fresh. “Isolated? Yes … Maybe, maybe … But that’s okay, he slips. We work on a daily basis with my staff and all those who are at Camp des Loges in a positive atmosphere. ” And to add: “I don’t have the feeling of being alone when I’m at Camp des Loges, not at all. At a time when we lack results, it is necessarily a difficult situation because PSG are not used to losing, and that’s fine. But the coach has to analyze certain things, and you can’t let your emotions go high and low. It’s enough if everyone is doing it outside. ”
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The confession concerning his relations with “NAK” and “Leo” is in any case quite disturbing, even if the language barrier can be invoked. Especially since the contrast with Julien Stéphan is striking. Not content with being supported by his management, Guy’s son, assistant to Didier Deschamps in the France team, even had the head of its former president, Olivier Létang. Unlike his German counterpart, his rating climbs from week to week and he displays a combative face, without however complaining or blaming others. Nothing to do with the Tuchel that we saw on Friday… “It’s not ‘everyone has their own problems’, but what do you want me to answer to that?”, Asks Stéphan first, when we have it. invited to speak on the precarious position of his German counterpart. Before singing his praises: “Thomas Tuchel is a great trainer. He deserves respect. ” Finally a compliment for the former Dortmund coach, who does not receive much these days …
Everything goes so fast in football …
And to think that on August 23, Thomas Tuchel was 90 minutes away from guiding PSG to their first European championship title… “We are first in Ligue 1, we have a great opportunity to increase the gap between the two teams in the standings and we also have all the possibilities to win the group in the Champions League, “trumpets Tuchel, affirming that” it is not the worst situation in the world “by placing the events in” context “. And the “context” is not fun for the Rouge et Bleu. “It is not all the coach’s fault,” Marquinhos confirmed after Leipzig (2-1). If in addition bad luck gets involved, with for example this penalty missed by Angel Di Maria, it can quickly become mission impossible.
“That’s how the life of a coach is. You wouldn’t have wanted to chat with me in the three days after Manchester United in 2019, one of the most horrific times in my coaching career. Now is another time when everything is not easy. ” A success against Rennes this Saturday, despite this rain of packages, would soften the climate before the truce. A little. Before a tomorrows that really sing? In a few weeks, if Paris won its group and continued to align successes in L1, Tuchel could indeed appear much more smiling and alive. From then on, his relationship with management would no longer be a problem. But this prospect still seems very distant …
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