SEASONED CAMPAIGNERS
Tuchel: Pep is a huge influence ...he once used salt and pepper pots to give me a tactics tutorial! 5.30PM, BBC1 Guardiola: Sterling has my trust but I can’t give players confidence...they have to find that for themselves
THOMAS TUCHEL once sat at the dinner table talking tactics and moving salt and pepper pots around with Pep Guardiola.
Now the Chelsea boss gets to show his Manchester City counterpart what he learned as his players fly around theWembley pitch today. Tuchel admits to being a student of the Guardiola way – and that the Spaniard schooled him regularly when they both managed in Germany.
But it was a dinner in a Munich restaurant seven years ago that helped the German gain a real insight into the City manager’s methods.
Tuchel, whose side face Guardiola’s for a place in the FA Cup final today, said: “We had dinner and if you go out with Pep, why not talk about football?
“For me he was a huge influence.We started to talk about tactics and it was nice. It was about positions on the field and what he did with Barcelona.
“He explained it to me and we had some drawings that we used on the table to go through the positions and the tactical situations on the field.
“We were talking about how he changed Barcelona when he bought Cesc Fabregas and what changed with the team and how to play Lionel Messi as a ‘false nine’ and how to create spaces, playing with a back three and a back four.
“Just two coaches talking normal stuff.We used what was on the table and sometimes it’s easier to explain a formation when you use something.”
Tuchel, who managed Mainz and Borussia Dortmund in Germany, has faced Guardiola five times as a manager and never won.
He said: “It’s not the ultimate test but it’s the highest level. Bayern Munich with Hansi Flick and
City with Pep are the benchmark.When Pep was at Bayern, almost every game was a lesson for me. Later I had the opportunity to play against him. It was not always a pleasure.
“We have to accept there is a gap. But we truly believe we can close the gap for one game.We are absolutely confident we have a chance to win this game.”
Tuchel says he has considered asking his players to help decide who Chelsea should buy this summer.
The Blues boss likes to seek out ordinary people for tips on being successful.
And with Chelsea in the market for a striker with Erling Haaland and Sergio Aguero both on their radar, one such meeting could have a bearing on who they go for.
Tuchel said: “I spoke to a conductor in Germany and he told me that once in his orchestra he had to find a new musician.
“He picks three maybe that he likes as a replacement, but the final decision is made through the orchestra.
“We had a long discussion about this.
“It made total sense to me because they have to play with the new person. I am brave enough to think about what this could mean in recruiting in football.
“Could it be that the team maybe decides, like a pre-selection, and the responsible guys that you trust, your captains, decide with you which one they think fits the most?
“If an orchestra can do it, why not? It’s outof-the-box thinking.”
PEP GUARDIOLA says Raheem Sterling retains his complete confidence but has urged him to do more to force his way past Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez. Sterling has dropped behind the in-form pair and figured only as a late substitute in the crucial quarter-final double header against Borussia Dortmund. And, while the City boss insisted he still has faith in the 26-year-old, he urged him to show him what he can do on the pitch when he gets the chance. The striker has seen his returns drop off this season, with just nine goals and seven assists, and he has started just three out of City’s past 10 games. One of those was the defeat at Leeds and, when he came on for the last two minutes against Dortmund, he looked short on confidence, missing his one decent chance. Guardiola insisted Sterling has played more minutes than any other outfield player, with only Rodri having put in a bigger shift this season.
But, speaking ahead of today’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, he hinted Sterling’s confidence levels might be low and urged the player to believe in himself.
“The trust in Raheem is intact but he is only playing less because Gabriel sometimes, Phil and Riyad are on top level. They are scoring goals and being so decisive in the final third,” said Guardiola.
“The confidence? He has to have it. He has it from all of us because the quality is there but I cannot give the players confidence, they have to have it for themselves.
“Raz has a lot of experience and what we’ve done these incredible years Raheem has been a key player. But in this moment Phil is playing really good and Riyad is playing really good.Tomorrow against Chelsea in the semi-final. That’s where they have to talk.There is the place.”
Guardiola insisted he would play his strongest side at Wembley without confirming whether Sterling would play.
But he did confirm Zack Steffen would continue in goal as they seek to reach a second final of a season that could yet yield an unprecedented quadruple.
“Yes, he’ll start, always I’ve done it like this,” he said of the decision not to bring back in No1 Ederson.
“Maybe tomorrow we are going to win or we are going to lose, but tomorrow Zack doesn’t play I’m going to lose the team.
“It is better to lose a game than lose the team. He has played really well in FA Cup and, when he plays, he plays a good level. He deserves the
chance.”