Thomas Tuchel, Paris' chosen one

The Trophée des Champions, a symbol of integration

It was a memorable scene. In Shenzhen on 4 August, Paris Saint-Germain had just won its sixth Trophée des Champions by beating Monaco 4-0, and the show continued in the press conference room. Invited by Thiago Silva to sing a song as part of his hazing, Thomas Tuchel gave a hearty rendition of Pharrell Williams' 'Happy'. The squad joined in as the cameras were forgotten for a moment.

In the heat of China, the club's 27th coach gave an insight into a key facet of his personality: his positive attitude. In just a few weeks, things had already slotted snugly into place for the first German coach of Paris Saint-Germain.

Neymar Jr: 'When you have great affection for your coach, you give your life on the pitch'

What's his method? A management style that mixes responsibility and trust. From their first meeting in spring 2018, Neymar Jr, whose boss describes as "a technical leader" or "artist", was won over. Halfway through the season during the winter training camp in Doha, the Brazilian spoke to Canal+: "Ever since the first time we spoke, I developed a great affection for him. When you have a great affection for your coach, you give your life out on the pitch. So, for him, I'll do my best to win."

Thomas Tuchel also seems to have found the right tone with Marco Verratti, who has been key to the team's play. "There are really a lot of leaders in the squad, this year things don't depend on one, two or three players. It's thanks to the coach, his way of working makes us all feel important," said the Paris number 6 to This is Paris in February. A few days later, the Italian maestro paid his boss another tribute in Le Parisien: "He gets into the players' heads. He has brought a positive energy to Paris, we always go to training with a smile, while also giving everything. He doesn't do two-hour meetings, but short meetings which when you leave them, you know what you have to do on the pitch. He makes our life simple." 

Tactical audacity, a meritocracy

This season, he has shown a penchant for remodelling his starting XI, repositioning certain elements in different areas (Marquinhos, Juan Bernat or Dani Alves in midfield) or bringing in new talents. With him, youth academy graduates like Colin Dagba, Stanley Nsoki and Moussa Diaby have blossomed.

Moussa Diaby hailed his coach's meritocratic method in This is Paris: "At the start of the season, we had two or three meetings with the coach, because I wanted to leave on loan. We talked and he didn't really want me to leave. I accepted the challenge, he said I would get time on the pitch, that he had faith in me. When your coach tells you that, of course it reassures you a bit..." 

A mentor and some records

Whether they are global stars or fledgling talents, their respect is the same when they talk about their coach. Though it was not all plain sailing, what happened this season means things are certainly looking up. In L1, for example, Tuchel had 76.3% of wins (29 from 38 games), the best-ever ratio for a Paris coach in the league (2.4 points on average per game).

The first German coach to claim the title in one of Europe's top five leagues outside the Bundesliga since Bernd Schuster with Real Madrid in 2007/08, Tuchel saw his squad set a new continental record by winning their first 14 matches of the season, which was also a new best-mark for successive victories in L1.

His attacking philosophy thrilled the Paris public, notably with the 9-0 win over Guingamp in January (the club's biggest ever home win). The Parc des Princes saw 17 wins from 19 league games for a record total of 53 points. Goals came by the bucketload, and the squad achieved the unprecedented feat of finding the net in every single league game.

The only conclusion that can be drawn is that Ici c'est Paris and - now - home for TT.