It is the super-trendy gastropub that has attracted A-listers such as Sabrina Carpenter, , and . But at The Devonshire, near Piccadilly Circus, guests might just spot another famous face – at least when the World Cup isn’t on – England manager .
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The truth about Thomas Tuchel and the ex-wife court said ‘could not reasonably be expected to stay with him': Insiders reveal all about the England boss’s love life and social habits to KATIE HIND
It is the super-trendy gastropub that has attracted A-listers such as Sabrina Carpenter, Margot Robbie, Nigella Lawson and Lewis Capaldi. But at The Devonshire,...
The historic London pub is the German coach’s favourite boozer, where he has been known to knock back the odd gin and tonic or Guinness, a tipple he has grown to love since he moved to Britain to manage Chelsea in January 2021. But all in moderation, I’m told.
‘Thomas loves to explore the London pubs,’ says a former colleague. ‘He is often at The Devonshire. In the past, he wasn’t really recognised, but now he might find it a bit trickier!’
It’s true that since taking over from as the England boss, Tuchel has become a household name. Yet, despite his fame, we still know remarkably little about him – apart, of course, from his capacity to get irate from the sidelines.
Indeed, on Wednesday, fans got a glimpse of his fierce temper when he unleashed the hairdryer treatment on defender during a hydration break in England’s hard-won 2-1 victory against DR Congo.
Thomas Tuchel at Oktoberfest in Munich in 2023. Since moving to Britain to manage Chelsea in January 2021, he has grown to love Guinness – often at The Devonshire in Soho
Away from football, Tuchel is an entirely different beast. He describes himself as ‘an imperfect vegetarian’, and reading is one of his biggest passions
No doubt fans are likely to see more of 52-year-old Tuchel’s passionate outbursts when England take on in Mexico City overnight in the hope of making the quarter-finals.
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It might come as a surprise, then, that away from football, Tuchel is an entirely different beast. He describes himself as ‘an imperfect vegetarian’ who treats himself to the odd bit of meat on occasion, while reading is one of his biggest passions – specifically books about architecture or design. But his favourite title is The Inner Game Of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey – a guide to overcoming self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses of concentration on court.
Music, too, has been a significant influence, ever since his student days in the late 1990s, when he worked at the fashionable Radio Bar in Stuttgart.
Born in Krumbach, Bavaria, Tuchel had played for amateur football club SSV Ulm 1846 but suffered a career-ending knee cartilage injury in 1998. Then 25, he needed money to pay for his economics degree, so took work collecting glasses at the bar, which was at the centre of Germany’s emerging hip-hop scene. He became part of that lively crowd, befriending acts who performed there, such as hip-hop star Max Herre.
Among Tuchel’s favourite bands is Oasis, who he went to see last September at Wembley Stadium. There he was spotted singing along as Noel and Liam Gallagher belted out Wonderwall, which England fans have adopted as a World Cup anthem.
‘Thomas thinks Noel and Liam are geniuses,’ says a source. ‘He has loved them since the old days and was thrilled when they decided to reform. He was very much behind Wonderwall becoming the England anthem, he loves to see fans singing it.’
Tuchel can also often be spotted in Soho, shopping for vinyl. ‘He loves getting lost in those streets,’ says a friend. ‘And he loves the record shops.’
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Tuchel’s job collecting glasses in Radio Bar is about as far removed from the life of an England manager as you could imagine. But it taught him the importance of swallowing his pride – a skill that would prove invaluable later in his career.
Even then, he had rare determination. He soon moved behind the bar, joking that he ‘wouldn’t have wanted to drink the cocktails I mixed in the beginning’ and describing his signature drink as ‘maybe a bad Mojito’.
Tuchel married journalist Sissi in 2009, with whom he had two daughters, Emma and Kim. They divorced in 2022, citing irreconcilable differences
Today, says Katie Hind, Tuchel is ‘loved up’ with Natalie Max, a Brazilian business consultant and mother of two, 13 years his junior
But once he got the hang of it, Tuchel would boast that he was just like Tom Cruise in the 1988 film Cocktail.
His real dream, however, was to make it as a football coach after finally conceding he would never play again. In 2000, he landed a job as a youth team coach at VfB Stuttgart – and the rest, as they say, is history.
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But what many may not know is that Tuchel has an intellectual streak. When he took a sabbatical in 2014 after five seasons at Mainz, he befriended an 80-year-old man at his local swimming pool. Enthralled by the pensioner’s depth of knowledge on art, he visited Vienna to see Pieter Bruegel’s most famous works.
