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UEFA Champions League coaching carousel: With Chelsea, RB Leipzig making changes already, who could be next?

Wed, Sep 7, 2022
Soccer News (AP)

We are only midway through the first round of UEFA Champions League group stage fixtures and there have already been two managerial casualties this Wednesday. Chelsea parting ways with Thomas Tuchel is arguably the biggest story of the day after their 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.

RB Leipzig beat them to the punch by barely an hour in dismissing Domenico Tedesco after a shocking 4-1 home defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk. There could even be a third with Julen Lopetegui's Sevilla future thought to be hanging by a thread after a poor start to the season and a heavy 4-0 home loss to Manchester City.

So, what has happened on a whirlwind opening midweek UCL slate to prompt these big calls?

Chelsea Football Club part company with Thomas Tuchel.

- Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 7, 2022

Double dismissal

Chelsea were beaten 1-0 in Croatia which meant that the Blues only had two wins from their last six matches across all competitions. Defeats away at Leeds United and Southampton had alarm bells ringing and the loss to Dinamo prompted Todd Boehly to pull the trigger on the German before any further Premier League and Champions League damage is done. Tuchel, of course, led Chelsea to the UCL title in 2021 but will not have the chance to add to his trophy haul at Stamford Bridge after being relieved of his duties.

Leipzig crashed in spectacular fashion at home to a largely domestic-based Shakhtar side to make it just two wins from the opening seven matches of the campaign with four defeats including heavy losses to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga and Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup. Tedesco led the Red Bull-backed outfit to their first major silverware, but the 2019-20 Champions League semifinalists were way below their expected level which prompted such swift action.

RB Leipzig have parted company with Domenico Tedesco with immediate effect. Assistant coaches Andreas Hinkel and Max Urwantschky have also left the club. RB Leipzig will announce his successor in due course. pic.twitter.com/ws66VjFez8

- RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) September 7, 2022

Replacement rumors

It appears that both Chelsea and Leipzig already have their preferred candidates in mind with Brighton and Hove Albion's Graham Potter the early frontrunner but former Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino also on a four-man list. Zinedine Zidane has also been touted for the London outfit, but nothing came to fruition with PSG this summer before Christophe Galtier's appointment at Parc des Princes with the legendary ex-France international said to be set on Les Bleus once Didier Deschamps moves on.

As for Leipzig, they are closing on a deal which will see Marco Rose bounce back from his Borussia Dortmund dismissal in the Bundesliga after doing some fine work with Borussia Monchengladbach before that. The 45-year-old is familiar with Red Bull's methods and is interestingly a Leipzig native having played for VfB Leipzig and coached Lokomotive Leipzig in his past. Rose's potential debut on the RBL bench could not be better scripted as they welcome Dortmund to Red Bull Arena this weekend.

Chelsea are preparing the contract proposal for Graham Potter but main priority will be discussing on long-term project. He's the favourite - while Pochettino is now waiting for Chelsea to decide. ???? #CFC

Brighton will discuss with Chelsea on compensation/clause right after. pic.twitter.com/d3M8jlBJVo

- Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 7, 2022

Another axing?

We might not even be done at two managerial casualties this midweek with Spanish reports that Sevilla are currently deliberating over whether to separate with Julen Lopetegui after a dreadful start to this term. Four losses from five games across all competitions with heavy defeats to Barcelona and now City is unacceptable for the six-time UEFA Europa League winners and Pochettino has also been linked with the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan role should it be vacated by ex-Spain, Real Madrid, and FC Porto man Lopetegui.

Another name to keep an eye on after their underwhelming start to the season is Massimiliano Allegri who saw his Juventus side go down 2-1 to PSG on Tuesday. Although that result was not as bad as it might have been, the performance was unimaginative and the Old Lady remain mired in domestic mediocrity after just two wins from their opening five Serie A fixtures. Fedrico Chiesa, Angel Di Maria and Paul Pogba's injuries do not help, but Allegri's second coming in Turin has been inadequate overall since he replaced Andrea Pirlo.

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