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Dortmund CEO Watzke Says Sacking Tuchel in 2017 Was a Mistake

He links the split to the team bus bombing’s aftermath.

Overview

  • In a Sport Bild interview published Wednesday, Hans-Joachim Watzke said he would not dismiss Thomas Tuchel if faced with the 2017 decision today.
  • He identified the April 2017 bombing of Dortmund’s team bus and the swift rescheduling of the Monaco match as the turning point in their relationship.
  • Watzke asserted that public reports misrepresented internal talks, saying every player was free to refuse to play the next day without consequences.
  • He described a post-season meeting that lasted about 20 minutes with no real dialogue, after which both sides accepted that the partnership could not continue.
  • Watzke said he and Tuchel have since reconciled and praised the now-England head coach as an outstanding manager.