Ralf Rangnick always knew that Thomas Tuchel had the necessary qualities to become a manager and has praised his German compatriot as one of the best ever from their country. Having played under Rangnick with SSV Ulm in the late 1990s before injury cut short his playing career, Chelsea manager Tuchel was also handed a first chance on the coaching ladder by the United interim.
They are set to pit their wits against each other in the dugout for the very first time when United take on Chelsea tonight at Old Trafford (7.45pm). But what was it about Tuchel that stood out on the training ground before he was forced to hang up his boots aged 24?
During a Q&A session with MUFC media, Rangnick said: "He was one of my players at SSV Ulm, unfortunately only for six months as he had serious problems with his knee that forced him to terminate and finish his career at a very, very early stage. But even in those six months, you could see he always asked questions.
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"We played with a back-four and zonal marking, ball-orientated zonal marking, which at the time, back in 1997, was pretty unusual in Germany and, when you are managing players for a couple of weeks or months, you can tell if this person wants to become a manager, head coach or sporting director."
Rangnick added: "With Thomas, I was not very surprised that he took that pathway. Three or four years later, I was head coach at Stuttgart and he became our U15s coach, but he later moved on to Mainz as U23s coach, before that the U19s coach.
"I was at Hoffenheim at that time. I was trying to convince him to become our U23s coach, but sporting director at Mainz, Christian Heidel, realised what a top talented coach he had in his own ranks after Jurgen Klopp and didn't let him go.
"A couple of months later, he was Mainz head coach and started a fantastic career; Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and now Chelsea. He is one of the best coaches we have had in Germany."
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