Under world coach Thomas Tuchel, some players have improved at Chelsea FC, perhaps none as much as Antonio Rüdiger. But there are also other fates.
From youth to top level football, the original task of any coach is to educate players, to make them better. Thomas Tuchel has succeeded in doing this at many stations, incidentally also at youth level, back in Stuttgart, Augsburg or Mainz.
It is in the nature of a change of coach that there are winners and losers. But the scales at the Blues tilt towards the winning side: First and foremost for Antonio Rüdiger, who has long been a benchwarmer under Frank Lampard. Under his compatriot, who already wanted to bring him to Paris, the national player developed into an internationally respected central defender: his strength in tackling and power up front also made him a favourite at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel moulds Europe’s footballer of the year
For months, Rüdiger was positioned on the left of the back three, and in Thiago Silva’s absence, as in the League Cup semi-finals against Spurs, he proved equally classy in the middle – also to Tuchel’s credit. Long-time captain Cesar Azpilicueta, who was no longer a permanent fixture with Lampard, has also made a big leap in terms of playing time (34 per cent more). In terms of performance, Jorginho (European Footballer of the Year) and Mateo Kovacic have also developed, with Tuchel bringing out the technical component as well as the combative one in the latter. In addition, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have flourished again recently.
While Kai Havertz, who scored the winning goal in the Champions League, maintained his status (not an absolute regular, but in demand in important matches), Timo Werner recorded more playing time under Lampard. However, he didn’t have Corona then, and since the summer Romelu Lukaku has often blocked his place. And so a duo of centre forwards who no longer saw any prospects left: Tammy Abraham to Roma, Olivier Giroud to Milan. Likewise, Kurt Zouma (West Ham) was no longer often in demand. Billy Gilmour is a talent who should mature at Norwich and who Tuchel continues to have on his radar.