Thomas Tuchel: brilliant tactician with ‘challenging’ streak

This file photo taken on May 6, 2017 shows then Dortmund’s head coach Thomas Tuchel and then Hoffenheim’s head coach Julian Nagelsmann shaking hands prior to their Bundesliga match in Dortmund. (AFP)
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Updated 25 March 2023
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Thomas Tuchel: brilliant tactician with ‘challenging’ streak

  • The 49-year-old former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach has a reputation as a brilliant tactician who is not afraid to overhaul his side constantly
  • Yet Tuchel's turbulent CV has also shown that he has the capacity to bounce back to lead subsequent top flight clubs

MUNICH, Germany: Welcomed with fanfare by Chelsea but then sacked just over a year later, Thomas Tuchel, who is returning to Germany as Bayern Munich’s new coach, is one of Europe’s most sought-after bosses but is not without controversy.
The 49-year-old former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach has a reputation as a brilliant tactician who is not afraid to overhaul his side constantly.
But he also has a streak of sackings behind him — with a bad-tempered exit at Borussia Dortmund in 2017 followed by an acrimonious parting from PSG in December 2020, and most recently in September, a tumultous departure from Chelsea.
Yet Tuchel’s turbulent CV has also shown that he has the capacity to bounce back to lead subsequent top flight clubs.
The announcement Friday that he is taking over the reins at Bayern, Germany’s most successful club, from Julian Nagelsmann is yet another testimony to Tuchel’s employability.
“Tuchel is not interested in marketing, in his image. He is interested by his work, he just wants to be judged by his work and only that,” said Daniel Meuren, who wrote a biography on the German coach.
On the field, the verdict so far is unanimous — every club that Tuchel has handled has obtained results and play attractive football.
He led Chelsea to Champions League glory, won two French titles with PSG and lifted the German Cup with Dortmund.
At once charismatic and prickly, Tuchel, by his own admission, can be a challenging personality.
“I wasn’t easy to deal with as a player,” he admitted in a 2009 interview.
A knee injury cut short Tuchel’s playing career as a defender at third-division Ulm in 1998 and he turned his hand to coaching.
He cut his coaching teeth in the youth academies at VfB Stuttgart and Augsburg but his career took off at Mainz where he was promoted from Under-19s boss to first-team head coach two days before the start of the 2009-2010 season despite having no Bundesliga experience.
Like his role model, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, Tuchel is not afraid to switch formation or tactics two or three times during a game, making it impossible for opposing coaches to second-guess him.
But he is also not shy about picking fights with club management.
After a pipe bomb attack that rocked Dortmund’s team bus ahead of a Champions League quarter-final match against Monaco in 2017, Tuchel lashed out at the club’s bosses for agreeing to play the game a day later rather than give players more time to recover from the shock.
At Qatar-owned PSG, the central issue for Tuchel was his relationship with sporting director Leonardo, with whom he did not see eye-to-eye and who was eager to bring in his own man.
Tuchel was eventually pushed out, despite having won the Ligue 1 title in his first season and then, in 2019/20, he secured a clean sweep of domestic honors before reaching the Champions League final in Lisbon, where PSG lost narrowly to Bayern Munich.
Given his record, his relationship with Bayern’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and outspoken chairman and former Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn will be closely scrutinized.
After all, it was also Salihamidzic and Hansi Flick’s tense relationship that eventually led the former coach to leave Bayern to become Germany’s national coach in the summer of 2021.


Seven Saudi-based foreign players to feature in 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Qadsiah’s Mexican forward #33 Julian Quinones celebrates with Qadsiah’s Gabonese forward #10 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in Riyadh
Updated 14 June 2025
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Seven Saudi-based foreign players to feature in 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup

  • Five of the selected players featured in the latest season of the Saudi Pro League, while the remaining two played in the First Division

RIYADH: Seven Saudi-based foreign professional footballers have been called up to represent their national teams in the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which will take place in the US and Canada from June 14 to July 6.

Five of the selected players featured in the latest season of the Saudi Pro League, while the remaining two played in the First Division, highlighting the growing global impact of football in the Kingdom.

Among the standout names is Julian Quinones, the prolific striker for Al-Qadsiah, who earned a spot on Mexico’s national team roster. Quinones had an impressive season, finishing as the fourth highest scorer in the top flight with 20 goals.

Panama included Orlando Mosquera, the dependable goalkeeper from Al-Fayha, who helped his team secure a 13th-place finish in the league.

The Jamaican squad features two Saudi-based players: Demarai Gray, the winger for Al-Ettifaq, and Damion Lowe, the defender from Al-Okhdood.

Curacao’s team includes relegated Al-Wehda midfielder Juninho Bacuna, and Jurien Gaari, the defender from Al-Hazem, who secured promotion to the SPL.

Finally, Honduras will be represented by Romell Quioto, the striker for Al-Arabi, who finished the season 12th in the second tier’s standings.


Al-Qadsiah to face Sevilla in Antonio Puerta Trophy memorial match

Updated 14 June 2025
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Al-Qadsiah to face Sevilla in Antonio Puerta Trophy memorial match

  • Encounter with Spanish La Liga team on Aug. 4 will form key part of Saudi club’s preparations for 2025-26 season

ALKHOBAR: Al-Qadsiah Football Club will take part in the annual Antonio Puerta Trophy memorial match hosted by Spanish club Sevilla FC in tribute to the late Antonio Puerta.

The memorial match is one of Spanish football’s most heartfelt fixtures, held annually to honor the memory of a player who had a lasting impact on Sevilla FC and its supporters.

Puerta died on Aug. 18, 2007, three days after suffering a series of cardiac arrests during a La Liga match against Getafe.

The memorial match will take place at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville on Monday, Aug. 4, at 9 p.m. local time.

This fixture forms part of Al-Qadsiah’s pre-season training camp, which will be held across the Netherlands and Spain, ahead of the 2025–2026 season. The team is scheduled to play four friendly matches during the camp, including the high-profile encounter against Sevilla.

The memorial match reflects a broader collaboration between the two clubs, highlighting the symbolic importance of the event and Al-Qadsiah’s growing international profile.

Al-Qadsiah views the match as a milestone in its long-term strategy to foster relationships with leading football institutions and to strengthen its brand across the region and worldwide.


Saudi Arabia and Qatar to host football World Cup playoffs

Updated 13 June 2025
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Saudi Arabia and Qatar to host football World Cup playoffs

  • Group winners will take two automatic places at 2026 tournament finals in North America

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Qatar will host the Asian qualifying playoffs for the 2026 World Cup, the Asian Football Confederation said on Friday.
The third and fourth-placed teams from the qualifiers that ended last week — Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar and the UAE — will form two groups of three teams and play from Oct. 8 to 14. The draw will take place on July 17.
Group winners will take the two remaining automatic places at the World Cup finals in the US, Canada and Mexico. The runners-up from each group will play two matches on Nov. 13 and 18, with the winners qualifying for the inter-confederation playoffs
Meanwhile this year’s Saudi Super Cup featuring Al-Ittihad, Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr will be held in Hong Kong, football chiefs said on Friday. Matches will take place from Aug. 19-23 at the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium.

“This represents a qualitative shift for the tournament, which has achieved remarkable success,” Saudi Football Federation secretary general Ibrahim Al-Qassim said.
 


Club World Cup marks ‘new era’ for football: Infantino

Updated 13 June 2025
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Club World Cup marks ‘new era’ for football: Infantino

  • The 32-team competition, with clubs from all continents, gets under way with Inter Miami facing Egyptian club Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium
  • The Swiss official, who was general secretary of European body UEFA before taking the helm at FIFA in 2016, said that the club tournament also offered chances to players from over 80 countries

MIAMI: FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the Club World Cup, which kicks off on Saturday, marks a historic “new era” for the game, comparing it to the first World Cup held in 1930.

In an interview with AFP, Infantino also took aim at critics of FIFA’s ticketing policy and said that skeptics who had questioned the need for the tournament would quickly change their minds.

The 32-team competition, with clubs from all continents, gets under way with Inter Miami facing Egyptian club Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium.

“It starts a new era of football, a new era of club football. A little bit like when, in 1930, the first World Cup, right, started,” Infantino told AFP.

“Everyone today speaks about the very first World Cup. That’s why it’s also, this World Cup here is historic.”

The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 and Infantino noted that only European and South American teams took part, adding that the Club World Cup would give a chance to clubs from outside of football’s traditional heartlands to play on the global stage.

“We want to be inclusive. We want to give opportunities to clubs from all over the world,” he said.

“It’s really to globalize football, to make it truly, truly global. Because when you scratch the surface, we say it’s the number one sport in the world, and it is but then the elite is very concentrated in very few clubs, in very few countries,” he said.

The Swiss official, who was general secretary of European body UEFA before taking the helm at FIFA in 2016, said that the club tournament also offered chances to players from over 80 countries.

“Countries who would never have a chance to play in a World Cup are suddenly part of a World Cup and they feel to be part of it, the fans of these players and of these clubs,” added Infantino, who noted several great players of the past who never played in a World Cup,

“A very good friend of mine is George Weah...former legend, great player, Ballon d’Or winner, only African player who ever won the Ballon d’Or, by the way. He never played in a World Cup. He would have been playing in a Club World Cup and made not only his club and also his country proud,” he added.

Infantino dismissed concerns that the tournament added to fixture congestion but acknowledged that some fans were yet to be sure of the value of the tournament, saying though that would quickly change.

“I believe, I’m convinced that, you know, as soon as the ball starts rolling, the whole world will realize what is happening here. It’s something special,” he said.

Reports of low uptake of tickets for same games has led to criticism of FIFA’s ticketing policy with ‘dynamic pricing’, increasingly common in the United States, allowing for prices to rise and fall according to demand.

But Infantino defended the approach and the decision to offer heavy discounts to students in Miami.

“I’m a positive person generally, but they criticize FIFA if the prices are too high, then they criticize FIFA if the prices are too low.

“Then they criticize FIFA if we make ticketing promotions with students. Students! I mean, when I was a student and I didn’t have money, I would have loved FIFA to come to me and say, you want to come and watch a World Cup match?”

“We don’t want to see empty stadiums. I believe the stadiums will be pretty full,” he said.

The FIFA president said that the tournament, which secured a global broadcasting deal with DAZN reported to be worth $1 billion, was already an economic success and stressed that all the money generated from commercial deals would be plowed back into the game.

Asked how he would judge whether the tournament had been a success, Infantino said he would feel it in his ‘heart’ but said he was confident.

“In terms of inclusivity, in terms of economy, in terms of fan interest, you take all of these criteria, we’ll speak again at the end of the club World Cup, but already now, I (feel positive), when I look at the number of tickets sold, and I look at the TV rights,” he said, noting that the games were available on DAZN’s streams for free.

“Tell me one top competition today, where you can watch football for free?” he asked.

The Club World Cup has also been caught up in the US’s fierce debates over immigration control with games being held near Los Angeles, scenes of violent clashes between protesters and immigration officers.

“Security for me and for us is a top priority, always. So when something is happening, like in Los Angeles we are obviously monitoring the situation, we are in constant contact with the authorities, we want fans to go in games in a safe environment,” he said.


Apathy and anger cloud US team a year out from World Cup

Updated 12 June 2025
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Apathy and anger cloud US team a year out from World Cup

  • Kasey Keller: I think it is the most embarrassed I have been for the US national team in a long time
  • There were thousands of empty seats in Nashville for the Switzerland defeat after poor turnouts for March’s games in Los Angeles

MIAMI: A run of four straight losses, including a 4-0 hammering from Switzerland on Wednesday, has left Mauricio Pochettino and his US team feeling the wrath of critics a year out from the World Cup they will co-host.

The US head into their opening game of the CONCACAF Gold Cup against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday having lost on home soil to Panama and Canada in the Nations League in March before friendly losses to Turkiye and the debacle against the Swiss.

“I think it is the most embarrassed I have been for the US national team in a long time,” said Kasey Keller, who played in goal for the US 102 times between 1990 and 2007.

While there were plenty of American fans venting similar feelings on social media after the loss, what will perhaps be more concerning for the US Soccer Federation is supporters voting with their feet and not attending games.

There were thousands of empty seats in Nashville for the Switzerland defeat after poor turnouts for March’s games in Los Angeles.

“There’s just a sense of apathy around the United States men’s program and I don’t think that’s a hot take,” former striker Taylor Twellman told NBC Sports.

Alexi Lalas, a star of the US team the last time they hosted a World Cup in 1994, has built a career in ‘hot takes’ for Fox Sports but even he was struggling to fire himself up for a Star Spangled rant after the latest disappointment.

“I’m having a hard time even conjuring up that and that makes a little sad. In the past when I was angry at what was going on, I felt compelled to express it and now they are not even worth that, not worth me expressing how disappointing this is right now,” he said on his podcast ‘State of the Union’.

Pochettino has been forced to field a largely second string squad in this month’s games with the likes of Tim Weah and Weston McKennie on Club World Cup duty with Juventus while captain and talisman Christian Pulisic has opted to take some rest along with some other members of the first choice squad.

That latter decision prompted fierce criticism from some ex-players, including Landon Donovan, the country’s all-time joint top scorer who during commentary of Portugal’s win in the UEFA Nations League hit out at the absentees.

“[Ronaldo is] 40 years old. He’s played a long-ass season. He’s tired. He’s out there grinding. Hurt himself in the process, and I can’t help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It’s pissing me off,” he said.

That led to a sarcastic reply on social media from Pulisic’s father Mark who posted a reminder of Donovan’s own ‘sabbatical’ from the US team.

But there is also pressure mounting on Pochettino, the Argentine former Tottenham Hotspur manager, who was appointed to the US role in September.

The coach said he would take the blame for the showing against Switzerland where the US were 4-0 down by halftime.

“It’s my responsibility the choice of the starting 11. I wanted to give minutes to certain players, but we were never in the game,” the Argentine said.

While Pochettino’s job may be safe, some are wondering if he might not need some assistance.

“It looks like he doesn’t know the team, it looks like he doesn’t scout the players, has no idea of the pieces he has at his disposal,” said former USA forward Hercules Gomez on You Tube.

“The US Soccer Federation, why not place somebody who has some experience with the player pool to help Pochettino out because it looks like he has no idea who his players are? With a World Cup on home soil that is a disaster,” he added.

The US will co-host the World Cup with Mexico and Canada.