Tuchel suffers first major Chelsea setback as Brendan Rodgers proves class
It's safe to assume Thomas Tuchel now has his feet firmly back on the ground.
In the build up to this FA Cup final, the Chelsea boss had joked that he could walk on air.
And considering the job he's done since taking charge at Stamford Bridge, some people could be forgiven for thinking this might be the actual truth.
Nothing has seemed beyond him.
Since replacing Frank Lampard barely four months ago, Tuchel has led Chelsea from ninth to fourth in the table and to two finals, including this one and the Champions League showpiece in Porto on May 29.
In the process he's beaten Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane and both Diego Simeone and the great Pep Guardiola twice.
He puts his success down to a mixture of meditation and levitation when he said: "It is 20 minutes or so of breathing in and out and trying hard to do nothing.
"Normally, I float 20 or 30 centimetres off the floor and glide around the room."
But now the German genius has suffered his first fall as Chelsea boss – and while the distance might not appear to be too great, the crash landing will hurt like hell.
Considering the illustrious names Tuchel had swatted aside with disdain in recent weeks, poor old Brendan Rodgers shouldn't have stood a chance.
Tuchel even had the cheek to walk out for the most famous game in club football in a tracksuit and puffer jacket.
But in the end it was Rodgers, sporting a smart suit and trendy black pumps, who proved to be the man dressed for success. The one with all the gear and the ideas.
Tuchel has fashioned a reputation for being a 'professor' of the game, someone who has gone from pulling pints behind a bar to raising it when it comes to succeeding in management.
But even someone as studious and obsessive as him couldn't have foreseen a thunderbolt appearing from nowhere to smack him in the face and help speed up his return to the old terra firma.
That's what Youri Tielemans provided with his sensational second half strike to seal a famous triumph for the underdogs from Leicester.
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What Tuchel will realise once the smelling salts kick in and he awakes from his nightmare, is that there's nothing quite as fickle as football.
And if he still doesn't get it, there will be the perfect person waiting to remind him in the shape of his boss, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
Tuchel was supposed to have become the first German manager to win the FA Cup.
But considering the last five bosses to have done this with Chelsea have all been sacked within 12 months of lifting the famous trophy, this shock result could still prove to be a blessing in disguise!
The truth is Chelsea dominated for long spells but just couldn't take their chances. And even the most ardent fan had to admit Tielemans's goal was worthy of winning any game.
But there is still the biggest prize of all up for grabs in two weeks time – and Tuchel will be back doing his best Dynamo impression again should he turn Chelsea into the kings of Europe.
Should this happen then this experience of utter despair will be long forgotten – and the question will have to be asked of the man who calls all the shots.
Could Tuchel become the first manager of Chelsea to break with tradition and make Abramovich become bored of his obsession with his favourite game – Russian roulette?
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Since Abramovich took ownership at Stamford Bridge in 2003, Claudio Ranieri has been the longest serving boss – and he only lasted three years and eight months!
Yet Tuchel has it in him to take on Guardiola as well as build a dynasty in west London.
Abramovich was not at Wembley last night, but will be in Porto at the end of this month when the stakes will be higher than ever.
Not for him, but for the latest man to find himself in the hottest seat in English football.
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