Chelsea FC’s Thomas Tuchel Explains His Player’s ‘Clouded Minds’

In the aftermath of Chelsea FC’s victory in the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi manager Thomas Tuchel sought out owner Roman Abramovich.

After congratulating each other on the triumph, Tuchel went a step further telling the Russian billionaire; “It is for you and it is your club. Your input and passion made it possible.”

The quiet conversation between owner and employee might have stayed private, but that’s not what the German coach wanted.

As well as revealing what he’d told Abramovich, he expressed the sentiment to the world “the trophy is for him” he added for anyone in doubt.

It is highly unlikely a similar scene will occur if Chelsea is successful in lifting the League Cup against rivals Liverpool at Wembley this afternoon or that Tuchel will take to the media to make such remarks.

Global events have changed everything. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the week before the final has meant, rather than fielding questions about Tuchel winning another trophy in a matter of weeks with the Blues, he’s discussing a war thousands of miles away.

It’s because Chelsea’s owner is one of the wealthiest people in Russia and reportedly very close to leader Vladimir Putin.

Discussions about Chelsea this week have been in relation to the calls from members of the UK parliament for sanctions against Abramovich, a prospect fiercely contested by the man himself.

Then on Saturday night came the shocking announcement that the Russian billionaire had handed the stewardship of the club to the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation.

Even before the news of this change broke the Chelsea dressing room was distracted, Tuchel revealed that the Ukraine invasion had cast a cloud over preparations for the final.

“We should not pretend this is not an issue,” Tuchel told the media ahead of the game.

“The situation in general [in Ukraine] for me and for my staff, and for everybody at Cobham [Chelsea’s training ground], the players, is horrible.

“Nobody expected this. It’s pretty unreal, it’s clouding our minds, it’s clouding our excitement towards the final.

“It brings huge uncertainty […] to all the people and families who are actually involved […] more than us.

“Our best wishes, regards and thoughts are obviously with them, which is absolutely the most important thing.

Understandably, Tuchel declined to comment on how it might affect Chelsea directly, which at that stage was very difficult to predict. 

“Still there are so many uncertainties around the situation of our club and of the situation in the UK, with scenarios like this, that it makes no sense if I comment on it.”

He added that, just because they were inside the club, it didn’t mean they necessarily had a greater knowledge of the potential consequences of what is a massive geopolitical issue.

“We are aware of it, we have not maybe so much inside information as you might think,” the German continued.

“But I think it’s also the right from the team, the staff, and I include myself, to be maybe not political, to do sports and to focus on sports.

“Not because we are hiding, the situation is clear, it’s horrible, there’s no doubt about it. That’s pretty much it.

“But let’s be a bit more patient and understand what the measurements will be, and then maybe we have to deal with it and adapt.”

How do Tuchel and Chelsea keep focus?

It was a very diplomatic performance for a sports coach suddenly thrust into the political arena, his team cast in a role they didn’t have any say in whatsoever.

In fronting up to the topic in many ways he helped quell the story, a refusal to discuss the situation at all could easily have backfired.

But the Chelsea coach now faces one of the hardest jobs in the league, maintaining focus on soccer, whilst the club undergoes a radical change.

Abramovich’s transference of the stewardship is the latest in an unprecedented set of reactions in the world of soccer to the Russian invasion.

First, UEFA stripped St Petersburg of the right to host the 2022 Champions League Final, then, it was revealed the organization was talking to its lawyers about exiting its sponsorship deal with Russian state energy company Gazprom.

Clearly, the situation with Chelsea was a lot more complex. They were owned by a wealthy oligarch not the Russian state, although potential action against Abramovich is very much at a hypothetical stage and he may have decided to take action before anything did develop.

As I highlighted earlier this week, this could be a turning point for soccer, the moment the game had to confront the fact it does not exist in an apolitical bubble.

This weekend in England the Football Association allowed Premier League players, managers and fans to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine by displaying flags.

That’s a bold move and marks a major departure from the previous approach.

If this is indeed the tipping point, which of course there is no guarantee, the question is; what will the consequences of soccer’s political awakening be?