Manager learned at PSG to ignore star power in pursuit of a winning formula that prioritises brotherhood
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homas Tuchel once stood on the touchline at Anfield, watching in disbelief as his self-indulgent Paris Saint-Germain players refused to put in the hard yards against Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool. “Guys, what is this?” he said, but there was never going to be a reaction from individuals with too much power and not enough respect for the basic concepts of teamwork.
Intensity? Tracking back? Not for us, thanks. Too many wanted to do their own thing and it ground Tuchel down in the end. The German is a coach who wants structure, identity, sacrifice and energy. At PSG, though, he saw how individualism can bring a dressing room down. How could Tuchel make his mark when he had players who would moan if a teammate looked at them the wrong way?
And so to the question of England, celebrity and the power of the collective. It was with a good sense of timing that Steven Gerrard analysed the failures of the “egotistical losers” of the golden generation this week. Club rivalries were a problem and the English obsession with star names was a hindrance. It is not a surprise that Tuchel, unafraid to risk bruising the odd ego or two, wants to create something different as he plots how to end England men’s long wait for a trophy at next summer’s World Cup.
