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Thomas Tuchel is one of the best coaches in world football right now. He led Chelsea to Champions League glory just a few months after taking charge of the club in early 2021. Tuchel was named the 2020-21 UEFA Men's Coach of the Year.
Most recently, Tuchel was named the Best FIFA Football Coach of 2021 as well. The 48 year old has managed five clubs in his career so far, namely FC Augsburg II, Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
Thomas Tuchel has coached some incredible midfielders
Tuchel has a reputation for improving players and he has been particularly good at getting the best out of his midfielders. He has worked with some of the best midfielders in the game over the course of his stints with Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and now Chelsea.
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Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the best midfielders to have played under Thomas Tuchel.
#5 Mason Mount
Mason Mount is one of the most exciting midfielders in the Premier League. Thomas Tuchel's arrival came at the right time for Mount. The Englishman had impressed former manager Frank Lampard during their time together at Derby County and broke into the senior setup under him at Chelsea.
Mount has been far more enterprising under Tuchel than he was under the previous manager. He looks eager to get into areas where he can score or assist or affect the game in any manner. The Englishman was selected as Chelsea's Player of the Year in 2021.
Mount was a standout performer for Chelsea as they won the Champions League last season. In 59 appearances across all competitions under Thomas Tuchel, he has scored 13 goals and provided 12 assists.
#4 Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Thomas Tuchel was appointed as the manager at Borussia Dortmund at the end of the 2014-15 season. Dortmund had just finished seventh in the Bundesliga table and were in desperate need of a shift in their fortunes. Tuchel immediately started getting the best out of several players but none more so than Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Speaking about his relationship with Tuchel, Mkhitaryan said:
"He [Thomas Tuchel] told me in our very first conversation that he could lift me to a world-class level.
"At first, I didn’t necessarily believe him but he’s been true to his word and I’m thankful for that. He gives you the confidence you need. He talks a lot with the players and gives good advice. I’m really happy to be working alongside him."
The Armenian international finished as the top assist provider in Europe that season. He was simply unstoppable under Tuchel and was chosen as the Bundesliga Players' Player of the Season.
He scored 23 goals and provided an incredible 32 assists in 53 appearances across all competitions for Dortmund in the 2015-16 season. Mkhitaryan then earned a move to Manchester United at the end of the campaign.
#3 Jorginho
2020 was Jorginho's year. He had grown to become a divisive figure at Chelsea under Frank Lampard. But it's under Thomas Tuchel that supporters and pundits truly realized just how good Jorginho is at the center of the park.
The Italian international was Chelsea's midfield metronome as they won the Champions League. He was simply a class apart and despite the frail frame that's not suited for a Premier League defensive midfielder, Jorginho came up trumps on a consistent basis.
He keeps things ticking for Chelsea in midfield and is a wonderful passer of the ball. In addition to that, Jorginho possesses a great reading of the game, is tactically intelligent and excellent at making recoveries and interceptions.
If it boils down to sheer efficiency, Jorginho has to be up there with the very best midfielders on the planet.
#2 Marco Verratti
If not for his injury history, Marco Verratti could have easily gone on to become the greatest midfielder of his generation. The Italian international has been likened to the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta and has a skillset that's almost identical to the legendary Spaniards.
Verratti is excellent at dictating the tempo of the game. He played a little more than two seasons under Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain. Verratti was part of the team that made it to the final of the 2019-20 Champions League.
He won two Ligue 1 titles and two Coupe de France titles under Thomas Tuchel. In 88 appearances across all competitions under Tuchel, Verratti scored one goal and provided 10 assists.
#1 N'Golo Kante
Under Maurizio Sarri and Frank Lampard, N'Golo Kante played an advanced role in midfield. While he was orderly about the way he went about things, he did not have as much impact as he had in his first couple of seasons at Chelsea.
Once Tuchel came in, Kante immediately got back to his best. The Frenchman's relentless running and tenacity made him the perfect foil for Jorginho in defensive midfield. Kante excelled as a box-to-box midfielder under the new manager.
He picked up four man-of-the-match awards in the knockout stages of the 2020-21 Champions League and was also the player of the match in the final. He was excellent at making interceptions, tackles and recoveries.
Kante also bombed forward every time he got on the ball and his passing and link-up play improved as well. It would have been extremely difficult for Chelsea to win the Champions League last term without Kante. It was his disruptive qualities in midfield that made the Blues a difficult team to play against.
