As the two German managers prepare for their first meeting in the dugout on Thursday night, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed some unusual advice he received from former teammate Ralf Rangnick when he was a player. Before an injury ended his playing career, Tuchel worked for SSV Ulm for 18 months under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is now the interim manager of Manchester United.

The Chelsea manager, who used to be a defender for the German club until suffering a major knee injury at the age of 24, has opened up about the method Rangnick taught him to deal with opposing strikers in the past. In later years, Rangnick offered Tuchel his first step onto the coaching ladder, and he is widely considered to be a pioneer in the development of current German coaching techniques.

Apart from Tuchel, other managers, such as Jurgen Klopp and Julian Nagelsmann, have praised Rangnick for his attitude and for assisting them in establishing their own successful managing careers. In other words, what did Rangnick tell Tuchel when he was a player before hiring him as an U15s coach at Stuttgart?

Tuchel stated during his pre-match press conference that "he told us we didn't need to follow our striker when he went to the toilet and that we could defend as a back four and defend spaces, and it brought great success to the small club where we played."

Tuchel went on to say: "When he was in charge of Stuttgart, he helped me gain admission to the academy. From that point on, I made every effort to be the best I could be, and of course, he had a fantastic track record in Germany of bringing clubs to the highest level while also building clubs from the ground up. It's great to see him again. We may have five minutes for a quick chat if we are lucky. Contact, on the other hand, is not on a daily or weekly basis."
Rangnick will take over as interim manager for the final four games of the season before permanent manager Erik ten Hag takes over in the summer of 2019. His appointment with Ajax was confirmed by Manchester United on Thursday morning, and he is expected to remain with the club for the remainder of the season.