What a joyous occasion it was when Thomas Tuchel’s wife jumped with abandon into his arms after his team, Chelsea, won the Champions League in Porto in 2021.
Dressed in a white trouser suit, Sissi, who had been married to him for 12 years, ran across the field of the city’s Estadio do Dragao to hug him as her two young daughters looked on.
Minutes later, the four posed for an unforgettable family photo with the trophy in front of them.
However, just 10 months later, the happy family scene was no more when it emerged that Thomas and Sissi were getting divorced, despite having recently settled in the exclusive Surrey enclave of Cobham after moving from Germany.
Tuchel, formally introduced as England’s new manager on Wednesday, was reported to have been at the center of dressing room conversations about his love life. Shortly after, he was photographed with a brunette beauty, Brazilian businesswoman Natalie Max, who at 37 is 14 years his junior.
New England manager Thomas Tuchel and his ex-wife Sissi, who were married for 12 years before moving to England, where Tuchel had taken charge of Chelsea.
The German coach is now dating Brazilian businesswoman Natalie Max, who at 37 years old is 14 years his junior.
The high-profile love life has drawn comparisons with that of the late former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, pictured with businesswoman Nancy Dell’olio in 2002.
So far, so turbulent… which begs the question: does he remind you of anyone?
Football fans have been quick to notice the apparent similarity between Tuchel and the late former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, whose colorful love life was the subject of countless columns on the front pages of newspapers rather than the sports pages at the back. .
Like Tuchel, the much-loved Swede – who died a little less than two months ago at the age of 76 – divorced his wife, Ann Christine Pettersson, with whom he had two children.
He also dated a brunette businesswoman, Nancy Dell’Olio, who was 13 years his junior.
However, England’s new manager, an avid reader of crime novels and a fan of rock and hip hop, could not be more different from Gareth Southgate, whose personal life is considered as boring as his way of dressing.
“Just like when Sven was younger, women love Thomas, he is absolutely charming and very, very handsome,” whispered a source familiar with the new England manager.
Today that lucky lady is his lover Natalie, who is already hailed as the ‘First Lady of English Football’. It remains to be seen whether she will embrace the role in the flamboyant way that Nancy did or whether she will choose to stay under the radar as Alison, Southgate’s former wife.
Tuchel with his family in Porto after winning the Champions League with Chelsea in 2022
By contrast, Tuchel is very different to his predecessor, Gareth Southgate, whose private life was never a story in his time as Three Lions boss.
Nancy seemed to enjoy much of the media attention and lived with Sven in a stunning house near Regent’s Park in London.
Thomas and Natalie met when Tuchel was managing Chelsea. He lives just three miles from the ground in a £1.7million apartment which will no doubt prove convenient when he takes up the role as Three Lions boss in January.
Tuchel, who spends a “significant” amount of time in Germany so he can see his daughters Emily and Kim, is expected to find his own larger and more substantial property as it is understood his new job will pay him £5m a year . , that shouldn’t be a problem.
The couple were first revealed to be dating in May 2022, just weeks after Sissi filed for divorce, and in July of the same year they were spotted on a romantic sun-drenched getaway in Sardinia, where they stayed in a £1,000 villa. 20,000 a night.
Natalie has two children from a previous relationship and, unlike many WAGs, a serious career as a director, at the Natexo consultancy, specializing in e-commerce.
She is said to have been a “great support” to him when his life imploded in the spring of 2022 when his marriage fell apart.
Southgate’s wife Alison stayed out of the public eye when the former Crystal Palace defender was in charge of the country’s football team.
At the time, he was undoubtedly Chelsea’s “golden boy” and had enjoyed a close friendship with the club’s head of transfers and director, Marina Granovskaia. Previously personal assistant to former owner Roman Abramovich, she was then catapulted to a much higher position at the Premier League giant.
In fact, it was his decision to poach Tuchel from top French club Paris St Germain after sacking Chelsea’s much-loved British manager Frank Lampard. But he left the club in May 2022, still enjoying Champions League victory, which meant Tuchel was vulnerable.
“Thomas could do no wrong under Marina’s reign at Chelsea,” the source said. But then she left and things changed quickly. She loved his success and they worked very well together.’
Tuchel’s departure came in September 2022 after a falling out with new boss Todd Boehly. The manager had reportedly denied Boehly access to the dressing room at half-time during an intense match against West Ham, which Chelsea won 2-1.
But it is said that there were difficulties for months beforehand. This became clear when, during the divorce proceedings, Sissi, 49, claimed that Tuchel was fired for off-field reasons.
German newspaper Bild reported that she also said her players had lost respect for her after her personal life became the talk of the locker room.
For Sissi, it was the last straw, and in April 2022, I revealed that she made the heartbreaking decision to end her marriage to Tuchel after months of fighting to save it. Friends of the couple said at the time that “all avenues are exhausted.”
A friend added: ‘Sissi gave up everything to follow Thomas and his career, which of course had its advantages. But in the end the marriage proved unsustainable and she decided it could not continue.’
His life here had begun with very high expectations. Sissi had uprooted himself to move to England in August 2021, seven months after Tuchel joined Chelsea.
During the divorce proceedings, Sissi, 49, claimed that Tuchel was fired from Chelsea for off-field reasons. The couple is seen at the Paris Masters in 2018.
They set up home near the club’s training ground in Cobham, Surrey, after he spent months in a hotel with his three assistants.
Before arriving, Tuchel said that having his family with him would be his “great reward” after the hardships and “sacrifice” of living without them.
While it is not known how much of Tuchel’s £20m fortune Sissi got, it is certain that he was well compensated.
After all, she left her job at German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, one of the country’s biggest titles, to marry the soccer coach and has since raised her daughters, believed to be 10 and 13 years old.
A source said: “Sissi is no fool, she is not the archetypal footballer’s wife, she is an intelligent woman.” She is also said to have been a “kind influence” on him.
While Thomas managed Paris Saint-Germain and the family was in the exclusive Hauts-de-Seine district of Paris, the Tuchels paid for a heart operation for the son of their housekeeper, who was working overtime to try to finance the surgery. He also bought her a villa in the French capital.
But all that was in the past. Today Tuchel was officially presented as the new England coach at Wembley Stadium. There were jokes about our traditional rivalry with the Germans and their tendency to beat the Three Lions on penalties.
He told reporters: “Sorry, I only have a German passport… but all these fans can feel my passion for the English Premier League, how I love working here, how I love living here.”
“Hopefully I can convince them that I am proud to be England manager.” He already has a fan in English captain Harry Kane, whom he managed last season at German team Bayern Munich. Kane describes the new boss as a “fantastic coach” and a “fantastic person”.
At today’s press conference there were jokes about our traditional rivalry with the Germans and their tendency to beat the Three Lions on penalties.
In fact, Tuchel, who was forced to end his playing career at age 25 due to a knee injury, revealed last year that after learning that Kane is “addicted” to cappuccinos, he decided to try them. himself to emulate Kane’s physical state.
Tuchel likes vegan food and mineral water, which didn’t give him much street cred in Munich, as German journalist Taufig Khali revealed yesterday.
“People did not appreciate Tuchel because Munich is a city that relies on beer and eating abundant and meaty dishes, while he likes salads, warm still water and eating vegan food,” he said.
It remains to be seen whether the fans here can stomach England’s first German manager.