PSG have just announced the departure of Thomas Tuchel, and we’ve just witnessed something that comes around once in a while in European top-flight.
Managerial sackings, as we all might have felt, have been frequent recently. December saw two high-profile sackings: PSG ended terms with Thomas Tuchel hours after a 4-0 win, whilst West Bromwich Albion sacked Slaven Bilić despite pulling off a 1-1 draw against Manchester City.
As contrasting as the scorelines suggest the circumstances around the big decision seem, the atmosphere and timings also have an abundance of variability and uncertainty. Colors of The Game understands that each managerial sacking differs in its own way, and it can be heavily traceable from the day a manager takes over the office.
The year 2020 saw managerial departures of similar fashion all over, starting from Barcelona ending terms with Ernesto Valverde. The activity happened just after Tottenham Hotspur sacked Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019. Pochettino, the same high-profile manager expected to replace Tuchel and meet PSG’s expectations.
All Valverde, Pochettino, Tuchel achieved some form of unique domestic success – all of them ranked on the top tier in terms of domestic win percentage and points won per game. However, managerial sackings, like Tuchel’s case, are more reliant on the expectations that the clubs have on appointment. PSG did sack a manager that brought them closest to their ultimate quest, leading them to the Champions League finals just a few months ago.
It can be understood that a lot of factors, including clusters of poor performances and some heavy personality clashes in the dressing room, decided Tuchel’s fate at PSG. However, what prompted this decision was Tuchel’s controversial interview with German outlet Sport1, where Tuchel sounded more uncomfortable and honest than ever.
“Honestly, in the first six months here it felt like I was more of a sports politician or sports minister than a coach,” Tuchel’s words were clear. Although Tuchel tried to duck later on calling it to be the translator’s fault, the damage had been done. It can be understood PSG were not particularly pleased with the interview, and the interview just accelerated the inevitable.
The proximity and pace of the whole process almost seemed like the case we saw at the beginning of the year with Barcelona and Valverde. While we cannot tell if Pochettino is the answer to PSG’s motives, it certainly will be an interesting job for the Argentinian.
Because at PSG, winning league games doesn’t guarantee you a seat, not at least as a high-profile coach with high expectations.