Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League winners and Tuchel’s 2021 finalists compared
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Thomas Tuchel guided Chelsea to their first Champions League final since 2012 by cruising past Real Madrid in the last four on Wednesday night.
The Blues will aim to become European champions for the second time in their history on May 29, when they will take on Premier League foes Manchester City in the all-important Istanbul final.
They brushed aside the challenge of Madrid with ease on Wednesday, beating Zinedine Zidane's men 2-0 in the second leg at Stamford Bridge after picking up a 1-1 draw away from home in the opener last week.
Yet just like in 2012, when they defied all odds to topple Bayern Munich in their own backyard, Chelsea will head into the Champions League final as underdogs up against Premier League champions-elect City.
There are a few similarities between Roberto Di Matteo, the manager who inspired their historic success nine years ago, and Tuchel – the most obvious being that both men replaced sacked bosses mid-season.
However, when comparing the respective squads at each man's disposal there are plenty of differences to note.
Di Matteo went in to the 2012 final against Bayern Munich with one of the best goalkeepers in world football to rely upon, with Petr Cech already sweeping up three Premier League crowns and multiple domestic cups before it came around.
Cech, who was 30 at the time, was not too much older than Chelsea's current No.1 Edouard Mendy, 29, yet having already spent eight years plying his trade at Stamford Bridge his experience at the top level was superior.
Mendy's move to west London last summer was his first move outside of France in almost 10 years as a professional, meaning he is vastly inexperienced in comparison with the Blues' current technical director.
In defence, both Tuchel and Di Matteo had world-class, experienced leaders to turn to in Thiago Silva and John Terry respectively.
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Terry's red card in the semi-final win over Barcelona meant Di Matteo could not select him in the final, nonetheless, and fortunately Tuchel will not encounter a similar problem with Silva.
Di Matteo was forced to gamble on David Luiz and Gary Cahill's fitness against Bayern, but Tuchel is blessed with better options at the heart of his defence, with captain Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Kurt Zouma all capable of playing in a back three.
Ashley Cole was another key senior member of Chelsea's 2012 side at left-back, much like current skipper Azpilicueta, who got the nod against Madrid at right wing-back.
In the middle of the park, Di Matteo opted for vice-captain Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel in Munich, with Ramires and Raul Meireles both missing out through suspension, and Juan Mata sat just in front of the pair.
Tuchel does not set his Chelsea side up in the same 4-2-3-1 formation, but he also deploys two central midfielders in N'Golo Kante, exceptional on Wednesday night, and Jorginho.
With three defenders protecting him, Kante has more of a licence to put his unparalleled engine to work across the pitch, while Jorginho is also able to press higher up at times.
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Mikel was forced to sit as an anchor and protect his two centre-backs in 2012, with Lampard enjoying a cautious box-to-box role next to him.
Yet, the most significant difference in Tuchel and Di Matteo's respective sides comes in attack, as the latter stuck with a more traditional system of two wingers and a powerhouse centre-forward in Didier Drogba – whose late header and heroic penalty won them the trophy.
Tuchel, on the other hand, opts for a false-nine system with Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech regularly rotating in three attacking-midfield and false nine slots.
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With the likes of Salomon Kalou, Juan Mata and Ryan Bertrand whipping in crosses for Drogba, Di Matteo employed a much more direct game plan than Tuchel, whose side prefer to play out from the back and occasionally mix it up with long passes forward.
And one final similarity between the squads comes in the shape of Werner and Fernando Torres, two £50million purchases for the club who struggled for form throughout the campaign – Werner's current tally of six league goals is the same amount Torres produced – only to get on the scoresheet in their semi-final triumph.
Chelsea 2012 vs 2021 combined XI:Cech; Azpilicueta, Terry, Silva, Cole; Mount, Kante, Lampard; Havertz, Pulisic; Drogba
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- Chelsea FC
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