Thomas Tuchel breaks Roman Abramovich Chelsea curse as he wins £97m battle
Review of Chelsea 2022: Football.london looks back at the Blues’ year, beginning with a newsworthy January.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Football.london will be looking back at the significant Stamford Bridge incidents from an unforgettable 2022 throughout the course of the next week.
In reality, the final few days of 2021 were the beginning of the foreboding of a continually turbulent 2022. A contentious interview surfaced soon after the Blues’ dismal 1-1 draw with Brighton, which was celebrated by Graham Potter in the Stamford Bridge dugout (a picture we would later see again).
Without Chelsea’s knowledge, Romelu Lukaku gave an interview to Sky Italia, and soon the shocking lines started to surface. The Belgian cited his dislike for Inter Milan, the team he had recently left for £97 million to rejoin Chelsea, and disagreements with Thomas Tuchel on his methods.
This sparked a furore directed against a Chelsea player who had recently been unmatched. As the tension between Lukaku and the fans grew, Tuchel left the striker out of his team to face Liverpool on the first weekend of the new year.
The biggest benefit of this affair was Tuchel’s man-management, as he emerged from it looking stronger and earning greater respect from the Chelsea faithful.
“It is not 10 players servicing 1 player because this is a team sport. This isn’t football, and this isn’t Chelsea.” The quote was made famous by Tuchel in a news conference in January, shortly after a demoralizing loss to Manchester City that put an end to any title hopes.
The ultimate premise is that every player should serve the team, and this will never change.
Lukaku was the target of a barrage of online criticism and insults, some of which unquestionably over the line, so Tuchel quickly began experimenting with other players in attack besides him.
During an inside interview with Chelsea TV presenter Lee Parker, Lukaku apologized to the public for missing the Liverpool game while gazing nervously into the camera.
“I apologise to the fans for whatever distress I may have caused. You all are aware of the relationship I’ve had with this club since I was a teenager, therefore I completely understand your outrage “Lukaku stated.
“Since I felt it was not the appropriate time, I expressed my regret to the management and the board as well as to my team members (to do the interview). Moving forward, I want to ensure that we start winning football games and that I provide my best effort for the best team.”
Even though Lukaku wished to win back the support of the Chelsea faithful, the ensuing hostility proved to be the season’s end for what was meant to be a victorious return to west London. This ultimately resulted in some of the home crowd jeering Lukaku against Arsenal three months later.
As the year comes to a finish, Lukaku is back at the San Siro, on loan for the time being, but there is little chance that he will have a significant impact for Chelsea in 2023.
