There are butterflies flying in Tuchel’s stomach
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel is the happiest man at the moment and in a professional sense of it since taking over at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel continued his excellent start to life in England by guiding Chelsea past Real Madrid and into the Champions League final against Manchester City earlier this week.
Chelsea also have qualifications for next season’s competition via a top-four finish in the Premier League in their own hands following a significant improvement to their league form after Tuchel’s arrival.
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When asked how he has enjoyed his time in England so far, Tuchel told Sky Sports: “Absolutely, yes (it is the happiest I have been professionally), it feels very, very good to be coach here and it has felt like this from the first day and has never changed and I say this regularly to my family, to my friends.
“I say it out loud that it is like this and I don’t hold back and that if it ever changes, that they should remind me that I said it out loud. I don’t want to hold back but I never got the feeling I have to hold back.
“I’m absolutely happy and it feels like the right place at the right moment to be for me. Hopefully, everybody feels it and hopefully, that makes me confident and calm.
“I have the feeling I can totally concentrate on my job as a coach and I’m appreciated and in the right place at the right moment. It feels like a big reward and I’m very happy about it.”
Despite his early success, Tuchel says he is not allowing himself to fall into a false sense of security over how easy the Premier League is.
The former Borussia Dortmund and PSG head coach understands there will be a marked difference in intensity, especially in away games, once spectators are allowed back into grounds.
Former Chelsea player Geremi believes Tuchel has shown his quality to get the best from the same group of players who had struggled earlier in the season
He continued: “No, (it has not been easy). It’s super hard, it’s even harder than we expected. It matches minimum all the expectations. So from the intensity level to the schedule we have and what it demands from you, every team has a unique style of playing and it’s so intense. At the moment, there aren’t even supporters.
“I can hardly imagine what it’s like to play all these away games at Southampton, at Leeds, at Liverpool. I’ve played Liverpool twice already but to play all these matches against smaller teams with the support of their spectators.
“I don’t know what would have happened if we arrived in the FA Cup at Barnsley and they had their enthusiastic crowd behind them, maybe we would not be in the FA Cup final.
“It demands a lot from the players and it sharpens their mentality and the mentality of the coach and it brings out the very best in us. It’s exactly the challenge we wanted, it’s a big adventure and we’re happy to be in it.”