Thomas Tuchel has officially had his first press conference as manager of Bayern Munich after the club made the decision to part ways with Julian Nagelsmann right after the start of the international break. The decision sent shockwaves through the footballing world as it was a decision that’s has been largely perceived to be a bit knee jerk and premature from Bayern’s front office and supervisory board, but nonetheless, they now have a world class manager with plenty of pedigree and experience in the Bundesliga, Champions League, and DFB-Pokal.
Tuchel’s most recent managerial tenure was with Chelsea in the Premier League, a club with whom he won the Champions League in 2021 in Porto, Portugal by virtue of a 1-0 win over Manchester City. He was also the first ever German to appointed of the Stamford Bridge club and it followed his tenures as Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, and Mainz manager, in that reverse-chronological order.
In his press conference, Tuchel was asked about the time he spent with his most previous employer in England, and he said that he felt Bayern would compete for titles in the Premier League if they were in it. There’s often times the external (sometimes baseless) argument that the Bundesliga is a “farmer’s league” based off of how frequently Bayern lifts the Meisterschale, but Tuchel knows that Bayern would succeed, even if they were in England’s top flight. “The Premier League is of course extremely exceptional, the biggest challenge in Europe. Bayern have a squad that would play for the title in the Premier League, both in quality and depth,” he explained (via @iMiaSanMia).
By now, Tuchel has had a solid couple of months off, away from football, but he’s never stopped enjoying it from a spectator’s standpoint. He was dismissed by Chelsea in September after their 1-0 Champions League loss to Dinamo Zagreb, finishing with an overall record of 60 wins, 24 draws, and 16 defeats.
Despite having some time off, Tuchel said he’s kept tab on Bayern’s season and has never stopped watching football, even with more down time that he’s had. “Of course I know the squad and the performances, I kept watching football because watching football makes my day better. I didn’t think about it for a second, it’s my habit, you have to wait and be patient,” he said.
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