Thomas Tuchel is a successful manager and is on top of his game despite his brutal Chelsea exit in September last year but that does not diminish his position as a good manager while Erik Ten Hag is having a great time at Manchester United with a series of wins that has the club in the next round of the FA Cup and in 4th place in the Premier Leagues.
However, if in the world of journalism it is the great stories you leave behind that counts in your career, it is the trophies you win in football that is a sign of a great manager.
In comparison between Tuchel and Ten Hag, the latter has a long way to go to claim the title of the better manager.
How many trophies did each manager win?
Ten Hag has won several trophies as a manager, including:
- 2x Dutch Eredivisie (2018-2019, 2019-2020) with Ajax
- 1x Dutch Super Cup (2019) with Ajax
- 1x Dutch Cup (2018-2019) with Ajax
- 1x German Regionalliga Bavaria Champion (2013-2014) with FC Bayern Munich
As he recently joined Manchester United in April 2022, he has yet to win any trophies for his current team. However, that might change in the future if he manages to upkeep his statistics and players.
On the other hand, Tuchel has also won a number of trophies during his time as a manager, including:
- 1x German Cup (2016-2017) with Borussia Dortmund
- 1x UEFA Champions League (2020-2021) with Chelsea
- 1x World’s Best Club Coach (2020-2021) with Chelsea
- 1x Fifa Club World Cup Winner (2021-2022) with Chelsea
- 1x Uefa Supercup Winner (2021-2022) with Chelsea
- 2x French Champion (2018-2019) and (2019-2020) with Paris Saint-Germain
- 1x French Cup (2019-2020) with Paris Saint-Germain
- 1x French League Cup (2019-2020) with Paris Saint-Germain
- 2x French Super Cup (2018-2019) and (2020-2021) with Paris Saint-Germain
History of both Ten Hag and Tuchel as managers
Erik ten Hag had success managing the Dutch club, Ajax. He has led them to the Dutch Eredivisie title in the 2018-2019 season and the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League in the same year. In addition, under his guidance, Ajax has developed young talented players, who attract the interests of big clubs.
Ten Hag currently has a 73% success rate for Manchester United and his team scored 1.77 goals in every match. Regardless of his issues with Cristiano Ronaldo, he does in fact provide some statistics to his current team.
On Thomas Tuchel’s side, he has had success managing a number of clubs in Germany, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain. He has led Dortmund to the German cup final in the 2016-2017 season and has helped PSG to win the Ligue 1 cup in the 2020-2021 season.
Tuchel has also helped his team (PSG) win the French Cup. Furthermore, he reached the UEFA Champions League final in his first season with PSG, and won it this last season.
Not to mention that Tuchel has also won the Champions League for Chelsea in the 2021 season. At the time he was new to the reins of Chelsea and was hailed as a hero for the Blues. Unfortunately for Tuchel, his statistics were not as good as Ten Hag. He had a 42% winning percentage and has secured 1.14 goals for every match.
Regardless of his lower statistics score when compared to Ten Hag, Tuchel has won a lot more trophies than he did. It appears that he is in it for the trophy winnings rather than maintaining a perfect non winning score for his teams.
How was Erik ten Hag as a football player
Apparently, Ten Hag was not a professional football player. He has dabbled in football before as a defender in a semi-professional level in Dutch football. However, over time, he decided to switch over to the managerial side of the game. He then developed his career towards that aspect of the game.
Thomas Tuchel as a player
Thomas Tuchel was a professional football player until he was 25-years-old. He did not win any extravagant trophies as he was still quite young when his tenure as a player ended. He was a defender and played mostly for the lower divisions of German football.
He began his career at SSV Ulm 1846, and went on to play for several other clubs, including SC Freiburg II, Stuttgarter Kickers, and Augsburger SC. His career as a player was unfortunately curtailed by injuries, and he decided to retire from playing at a relatively young age and transitioned into coaching.
He has since gone on to have a very successful career as a coach, known for his tactical acumen, ability to develop young players, and his ability to quickly adapt to different clubs and situations.
Despite not being a famous or successful player, his experiences as a player certainly helped him in his coaching career. This gave him an advantage over many other managers as he knew how to handle the players as he was once in their exact shoes.
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