England manager was sacked on Christmas Eve as coach left 'sad and upset'

New England manager Thomas Tuchel will have plenty to ponder over the festive period as he prepares for the first games of his tenure, but he’s sure to have a better Christmas than he did back in 2020. Christmas Eve signifies an unwanted anniversary for the German coach, who was in charge of PSG on that date four years ago.

But by the time Christmas morning came around Tuchel was out of work, having been sacked by the French champions just three months after they reached a first Champions League final.

That was despite the club having qualified for the last-16 of the same competition again, as well as being in contention for a fourth straight Ligue 1 crown.

Tuchel left Paris with two top-flight titles, a French Cup, and a League Cup to his name. However, it appears it was off-field matters that proved his undoing, having given an unauthorised interview to German media outlet Sport1.

The 51-year-old was seemingly unhappy at the lack of appreciation for the club’s run to the Champions League final in Lisbon. The format was drastically altered that year due to the impact of the Covid pandemic.

PSG ultimately missed out on glory after being beaten 1-0 by Bayern Munich. The Parisians were duly criticised for their performance in the final, having appeared intent on stifling their German opponents as opposed to trying to attack.

“We missed winning the Champions League by one match,” said Tuchel. “And we never had the feeling that we had convinced people and that they recognised our performance. Sometimes that makes you a little sad or angry.”

He also complained about the demands of his role as manager, adding: “During the first six months I was asking myself ‘am I still a coach or a minister of sport?’”

Those comments appeared the final straw for the Qatari owners, with Tuchel’s departure confirmed just hours before Christmas stockings were due to be hung up. But while the timing was unique, it’s not the only time that he’s been controversially sacked for apparent non-football reasons.

In 2017, he lost his job at Borussia Dortmund just three days after guiding the Bundesliga side to the German Cup. That was again down to falling out with the club hierarchy, and despite European success at Chelsea he was sacked just months into Todd Boehly’s tenure at the start of the 2022/23 campaign.

Barring an explosive revelation, Tuchel can at least safely assume he’ll go into the New Year still in his current job. His first games in charge of the Three Lions will come in March, with England playing home World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.