Tuchel says ‘crazy guy’ Auba is one of his own
CHELSEA manager Thomas Tuchel says ‘crazy guy’ Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will always be one of his players, despite the striker being Arsenal captain.
The pair face a Premier League reunion at Stamford Bridge tonight with their clubs currently in very different places, four years after they worked together at Borussia Dortmund.
While the German has transformed the third-placed Blues into Champions League and FA Cup finalists, Aubameyang’s men – who are ninth in the table – face a scramble to make next season’s Europa League.
Tuchel spoke warmly of a man who scored 98 goals in 144 appearances for Dortmund, and who
When we wanted him on time we’d say a meeting was at 10.45 instead of 11
called him one of the best coaches he has played for.
‘It was a pure pleasure to have him. I think that he did not miss a single training session in two years,’ he said.
‘Maybe he arrived five minutes late – that can happen with him – but if he does this he feels sorry and still has a smile. It was a very reliable relationship, he delivered an unbelievable amount of goals.
‘(He was) a bit of a crazy guy but nice crazy. In some way he will still always be my player. It’s nice to see him because he’s always on for a hug!’
Tuchel admitted punctuality was never the strong point for Aubameyang, who was dropped for March’s north London derby win over Tottenham for being late. ‘It’s not his strength to be absolutely on time but when we wanted him to be, we’d tell him the meeting was at 10.45 instead of 11,’ he joked.
‘You could hear his car, prepare everything, as he will soon arrive. I still don’t know how he managed to keep his driving licence in the two years. From the sound of the car, I don’t know if he was always on the limit! That’s him.’
Tuchel insisted he has ‘no preference’ for whether the Champions League final against Manchester City on May 29 takes place at
Wembley or in Portugal, adding midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who has a hamstring injury, could make Saturday’s FA Cup final.
He also said ‘the season is not finished’ for defender Andreas Christensen, who limped off in Saturday’s league win at City.