‘Like Tom Cruise’ – Thomas Tuchel quit football at 25 but was saved from bar job by ex-Man United boss
England fans will be lining the pubs for the start of the Thomas Tuchel era tonight, live on talkSPORT. In another timeline, the German may have been the barman serving them – a World Cup win next year and he’ll never pay for drinks again. Tuchel is set for his first taste of international managementGetty The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss makes his bow on the touchline at Wembley in England’s opening qualifier for the World Cup 2026 against Albania on Friday, live on talkSPORT. The Three Lions’ permanent successor to Gareth Southgate has enjoyed a long and fascinating journey to international football. Tuchel was involved in a very different career before he received a phone call from an ex-Manchester United manager that changed it all. When a knee injury forced him to retire form football prematurely aged just 25 in 1998, the German was faced with a life away from the game, and chose to study economics. Having emptied his savings account in a failed bid to come back from the injury, Tuchel found himself in need of a job. And while the Radio Bar in Stuttgart where he ended up working may have felt like a fall from grace for a man who had represented Germany at under-18 level just years before, Tuchel refused to see it this way. In fact, after working his way up from a glass collector to a barman charged with mixing cocktails, he began to imagine himself as something of a film star. In a 2021 interview with the Telegraph, the coach joked that he had felt like the lead character in the 1988 hit film Cocktail, recalling: “Maybe not like Tom Cruise, but I felt like Tom Cruise.” The job proved a valuable experience for Tuchel after the crushing blow of having to give up on his footballing dream, as he detailed the circumstances that led him to the role. The 51-year-old recounted: “I didn’t have a good insurance policy for my injury, so all of the money I saved until this moment was – it was not big money of course – spent on my rehabilitation because I tried to come back for more than half a year. Football is a short career – but that was especially true for TuchelX Tuchel was previously the man pouring the pintsGetty “I needed to accept it’s maybe impossible, so I was very, very disappointed and I started to study economics, because I had no other idea. “And while studying, I wanted to earn some extra money and so I went to work in a bar like a normal student.” Tuchel earned his breakthrough in coaching when former Man United interim Ralf Rangnick, who was his boss at SSV Ulm, offered his fellow countryman a job in Stuttgart’s academy. “He was always interested in why we were doing certain things,” said Rangnick of Tuchel to the BBC. “After a couple of weeks, you can tell what player could become a coach – he was always asking questions. “When I became head coach of Stuttgart, I found out he was working in a bar to earn a living, I could hardly believe it. “I called him and said, ‘Why don’t you come to us and work as a youth team coach?’ That’s how his coaching career started. Tuchel got his first opportunity as a coach under RangnickGetty Two decades later he will take charge of his first England match “It was clear he shouldn’t be working in a bar and would much rather be on a pitch with a team.” However, Tuchel himself still credits that time with helping him to develop his ability to forge strong relationships – which has become just as important to his coaching success as his tactical nous. He reflected to the Telegraph: “It was good and in the end it turned out like, many times in life, that I made some friends and I got my positive feedback, my reputation or whatever from just being the guy I am and they did not know that I played football. “They simply did not know me and that was a very good experience.” “Suddenly, I really felt more self-confident because I was absolutely sure that they liked me because of who I am and because of what we do here together behind the bar, to clean the place until 3am and to do all that. “It was a completely different life, but it was a good life because it taught me a valuable lesson and let my self-confidence grow in a very positive way.” This experience certainly did Tuchel no harm in the long run, who went on to begin his coaching career in youth football at Stuttgart and later Augsburg. After a five years at first club Mainz, succeeding Jurgen Klopp, Tuchel then took charge of Borussia Dortmund, leading them to DFB-Pokal glory in 2017. It’s the German’s first managerial job since leaving Bayern Munich last year He will now hope to lead England to World Cup gloryGetty Further success followed in Tuchel’s next role, as he lifted two Ligue 1 titles after being hired by Paris Saint-Germain in 2018, and guided them to a first ever Champions League final. He became manager of Chelsea in 2021, where he
England fans will be lining the pubs for the start of the Thomas Tuchel era tonight, live on talkSPORT.
In another timeline, the German may have been the barman serving them – a World Cup win next year and he’ll never pay for drinks again.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss makes his bow on the touchline at Wembley in England’s opening qualifier for the World Cup 2026 against Albania on Friday, live on talkSPORT.
The Three Lions’ permanent successor to Gareth Southgate has enjoyed a long and fascinating journey to international football.
Tuchel was involved in a very different career before he received a phone call from an ex-Manchester United manager that changed it all.
When a knee injury forced him to retire form football prematurely aged just 25 in 1998, the German was faced with a life away from the game, and chose to study economics.
Having emptied his savings account in a failed bid to come back from the injury, Tuchel found himself in need of a job.
And while the Radio Bar in Stuttgart where he ended up working may have felt like a fall from grace for a man who had represented Germany at under-18 level just years before, Tuchel refused to see it this way.
In fact, after working his way up from a glass collector to a barman charged with mixing cocktails, he began to imagine himself as something of a film star.
In a 2021 interview with the Telegraph, the coach joked that he had felt like the lead character in the 1988 hit film Cocktail, recalling: “Maybe not like Tom Cruise, but I felt like Tom Cruise.”
The job proved a valuable experience for Tuchel after the crushing blow of having to give up on his footballing dream, as he detailed the circumstances that led him to the role.
The 51-year-old recounted: “I didn’t have a good insurance policy for my injury, so all of the money I saved until this moment was – it was not big money of course – spent on my rehabilitation because I tried to come back for more than half a year.
“I needed to accept it’s maybe impossible, so I was very, very disappointed and I started to study economics, because I had no other idea.
“And while studying, I wanted to earn some extra money and so I went to work in a bar like a normal student.”
Tuchel earned his breakthrough in coaching when former Man United interim Ralf Rangnick, who was his boss at SSV Ulm, offered his fellow countryman a job in Stuttgart’s academy.
“He was always interested in why we were doing certain things,” said Rangnick of Tuchel to the BBC. “After a couple of weeks, you can tell what player could become a coach – he was always asking questions.
“When I became head coach of Stuttgart, I found out he was working in a bar to earn a living, I could hardly believe it.
“I called him and said, ‘Why don’t you come to us and work as a youth team coach?’ That’s how his coaching career started.
“It was clear he shouldn’t be working in a bar and would much rather be on a pitch with a team.”
However, Tuchel himself still credits that time with helping him to develop his ability to forge strong relationships – which has become just as important to his coaching success as his tactical nous.
He reflected to the Telegraph: “It was good and in the end it turned out like, many times in life, that I made some friends and I got my positive feedback, my reputation or whatever from just being the guy I am and they did not know that I played football.
“They simply did not know me and that was a very good experience.”
“Suddenly, I really felt more self-confident because I was absolutely sure that they liked me because of who I am and because of what we do here together behind the bar, to clean the place until 3am and to do all that.
“It was a completely different life, but it was a good life because it taught me a valuable lesson and let my self-confidence grow in a very positive way.”
This experience certainly did Tuchel no harm in the long run, who went on to begin his coaching career in youth football at Stuttgart and later Augsburg.
After a five years at first club Mainz, succeeding Jurgen Klopp, Tuchel then took charge of Borussia Dortmund, leading them to DFB-Pokal glory in 2017.
Further success followed in Tuchel’s next role, as he lifted two Ligue 1 titles after being hired by Paris Saint-Germain in 2018, and guided them to a first ever Champions League final.
He became manager of Chelsea in 2021, where he recorded his biggest achievement to date, winning the Champions League in his debut season.
Following his dismissal by the Blues the following year, and a disappointing season in charge of Bayern Munich, Tuchel will now be hoping to prove his credentials as he looks to lead England to international glory for the first time since 1966.
Thomas Tuchel special
Ahead of his first game as England manager, talkSPORT has produced a special two-part documentary on Thomas Tuchel.
Filled with insight into his early career and the influences that shaped him, Tuchel’s Revolution is available now on the talkSPORT app, on the talkSPORT Daily feed, or wherever you get your podcasts.
