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Champions League final: the revenge of Tuchel and Thiago Silva

They fell into each other’s arms. Happy. Overwhelmed with emotion. At the end of the semi-final second leg against Real Madrid, Thomas Tuchel and Thiago Silva took full measure of the chaotic journey that led them to reach the final of the most prestigious of European competitions nine months after the one with PSG. Who could have imagined that the two men would find themselves living such an adventure in the Champions League, after separating full of sadness on the evening of the defeat against Bayern Munich (1-0), in Lisbon, at the end of a historic Final 8?

And yet. To the disappointment of Thiago Silva pushed towards the exit by the club of the capital which no longer counted on him after eight years of loyal service and a captain’s armband rich in twenty-three trophies, was added the anger of Thomas Tuchel fired “In two minutes” on December 23 following a last success against Strasbourg (4-0) at the Parc des Princes.

But the German coach quickly exchanged this sad Parisian Christmas gift for the one offered by Chelsea in search of a successor to Frank Lampard. This is how, since January 26, Tuchel has found its captain and an improbable new chapter has opened in their common history. “Of course it’s special for us,” confirmed Thiago Silva, at the microphone of RMC Sport, after the semi-final won against Real Madrid. Unfortunately Paris failed to do the job (Editor’s note: against Manchester City, in the other half), I was sad for them. But we were happy here (at Chelsea). The arrival of Thomas Tuchel has changed a lot of things. “

Tuchel, first coach to reach 2 consecutive finals with 2 different clubs

The former Parisian captain nevertheless refused to speak of “revenge” in relation to PSG and its leaders, in particular Leonardo, called to follow the final on TV. “No, it’s not revenge,” he slipped calmly. The club made its choice to let me go and to free Tuchel too. It’s hard to explain, but they made that choice. For me it was sad but the most important thing now is that we are happy with Chelsea. I hope we can win this Champions League, it’s our dream. “

Tuchel is now the first coach to reach two consecutive Champions League finals with two different clubs. And in the league he managed to revive the London club and to snatch a qualification for the next Champions League. Thiago Silva shows that at 36, he still has the qualities to evolve at the highest level.

On the eve of the final, Thomas Tuchel wanted to see “a very positive signal” in the coronation this week in the Europa League of Unai Emery, another former PSG coach, with Villarreal, as he slipped at the microphone of RMC . “It’s a very different situation compared to the final lost with Paris,” he also said at a press conference. If I were a player, I wouldn’t want my coach to tell me about his personal experience from the previous year. (…) I’m not super excited to be here, I want to be on Saturday after the game. We’re here to win the trophy, even though we’re outsiders, that doesn’t change our approach. For me and for Thiago, it’s the second and we absolutely want to win! “

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