Chelsea considered five other managers before zeroing in on Thomas Tuchel in 2020
Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel has been an excellent addition to the Premier League and has fit in as one of the elite managers in the top flight.
He led the Blues to the UEFA Champions League title last season and has them sitting pretty a the top of the league this time around. While he has fallen short at times, Tuchel’s sides have looked excellent and his appointment appears to be an inspired one.
All the more so given the man he replaced- Frank Lampard. The 43-year-old is among the greatest players to ever don the Blue jersey and the decision to sack him will not have come very easily.
According to The Daily Star, hiring Tuchel was far from an assured decision. The German was just one of the managers in the fray following Lampard’s departure.
Julian Nagelsmann, Massimilano Allegri, Andriy Shevchenko, Ralf Rangnick and Brendan Rodgers were all considered viable options. Tuchel then a free agent after being released by Paris Saint-Germain was coming off a successful but underwhelming time with the Ligue 1 side.
What happened to them?
Nagelsmann then at RB Leipzig took over at Bayern Munich in the summer while Allegri returned to Juventus after Antonio Conte was sacked earlier this year. The former was not keen to leave Leipzig midway into the season and chose to stick it out in Germany.
Shevchenko continued to manage Ukraine before stepping down following Euro 2020. Former Blues coach, Brendan Rodgers too appears content at Leicester City and is building a good project at the King Power Stadium.
Rangnick is today the Manager of Sports and Development at Lokomotiv Moscow and was offered the Chelsea job before Tuchel on an interim basis. He, however, turned it down.
More Chelsea News
- AS Roma boss Jose Mourinho eager to secure transfer for Chelsea duo Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek
- Former Chelsea legends offer contrasting views on Antonio Conte taking over at Tottenham Hotspur
- Transfer News: Blow for Chelsea as Borussia Dortmund are confident of keeping Erling Haaland
It is difficult to know just how well different managers could have performed had they been hired to help Chelsea weather the then-crisis. Tuchel for his part has fulfilled the role well and is today undeniably the go-to man at Stamford Bridge.
Replacing a club legend is never easy and the German has let his side’s football on the pitch do his talking.
