Anyone who has been to the Schumann Bar on a cold December night will not forget the scene. Two men talk passionately about football, mixing glasses, salt and pepper, sitting at the table as if they were players on the grass and could move
The two men in question were Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel, who built a friendship at that dinner more than six years ago, which was not at stake when Chelsea defeated Manchester City in a London clash for a place in the final FA Cup.
Tuchel, at that Munich dinner, I was just a fan Guardiola. They had already met twice in the matches at Bayern de Pep against Mainz 05, both won by the Bavarian giant, but never as intimate as that night.
“It was a big influence for me. If you go out with Pep, why not talk about football?” Said Tuchel, who was living a sabbatical at the time, waiting for a new proposal, which will come later, from Borussia Dortmund.
“I am not going to say much, but it was [una conversación] about positions in the field and what he did in Barcelona. He explained it to me and I made some drawings on the table to explain the problem of positioning and tactical situations “, Tuchel continued.
“We talked about how Barcelona changed when they bought Cesc Fàbregas, what changed in the team. How to match Lionel Messi as a fake 9, how to create spaces, to play with a line of three or four from behind. Football coaches normally talked to her and used what was on the table. Sometimes it’s easy to explain tactics using an object. “
It was not the first dinner among the technicians. The relationship has become so close that Tuchel went to exchange ideas with Guardiola even after you Dortmund defeated Bayern 5-1 in October 2015, again in Munich.
“If Germany adopts the game of positions it will be mainly because of Tuchel,” Guardiola praised, in a phrase published in the book “Pep Guardiola: evolution”, by Martí Perarnau. The admirer also became admired.
Guardiola and Tuchel they dueled five times on the edge of the lawn. The most the German got was to draw on two occasions, although one of those matches ended in victory. Bayern and the title for penalties, in German Cup. That was in May 2016.
It was the last professional meeting between them, who now compete for the same league. Guardiola, who has been in England for five years, serves as inspiration for Tuchel, which replaced the redundancies Frank Lampard and has already achieved impressive results for Chelsea.
Hand in hand with the German coach, the Blues grew up in First league and secured a place in the semifinals UEFA Champions League, where it is also Guardiola. Before a hypothetical clash in Europe or even a new heated dinner on English soil, the two fight for their place in the final. FA Cup.
“We have to admit that there is a gap between the teams, but for 90 minutes we are aware and confident that we can approach them for a match. And that is the goal for tomorrow. [al Chelsea] happy to compete with a coach who is a great reference in England and Europe “, praised Tuchel at the press conference.