Tuchel has claimed three consecutive victories over Guardiola during his tenure as Chelsea manager, including the Champions League final, but Heidel claims success against his coaching idol, probably almost hurting the German tactician.
What did Heidel say?
Christian Heidel can claim some credit for putting Thomas Tuchel on his way to the very top of the game by handing him his big break from Mainz. It was during this post that Thomas Tuchel first crossed paths with Pep Guardiola and sought to pick up the brains of a managerial master who enjoyed trophy-laden periods in Barcelona, Bavaria Munich and Man City.
Thomas has returned to direct competition with Pep since taking over the reins at Stamford Bridge in January 2021 and enjoying the purple spot against the Catalan. Mainz sporting director Christian Heidel spoke of Thomas Tuchel’s exploits, that Heidel assumes Tuchel does not feel satisfied or triumphant when he beats Guardiola. For all the joy Thomas has for his own success, it probably almost hurts him because he values him so much.
Pep Guardiola was his foundation, he completely absorbed everything at that time and absorbed a lot of his work. Therefore, Heidel is very confident that he still considers himself the best on the planet and is infinitely grateful to him because he learned a lot from him.
Thomas Tuchel is now one of the best
Thomas saw his stock skyrocket five years later at Mainz, which allowed him to take a prominent role in Borussia Dortmund in 2015. He has since spent time in the League 1 of the PSG giants, guiding them to the Champions League final before arriving in the Premier League. At the age of 48, Thomas Tuchel is now one of the best in the business and his success came as no surprise to Christian Heidel.
Heidel said he was really happy for Thomas when Chelsea won the Champions League, but always predicted that Tuchel would be one of the best coaches in the world. It was not a big surprise for Christian that Tuchel arrived where he belongs.