The end in 2014: In May 2014 Thomas Tuchel no longer wanted to fulfill the final year of his contract and instead demanded a sabbatical — just as Pep Guardiola had done. He still wanted to keep living in Mainz, “voluntarily,” as he later said, when he returned with Borussia Dortmund in 2015. Tuchel’s departure left a lot of wounded pride in Mainz, especially with then-president Harald Strutz, who said there was no reason not to greet one another, only that they clearly had different ideas of respect. Tuchel declined to comment at first, then said Strutz’s manner of saying such things reflected more on Strutz than on him.
The Tuchel exit: Oh my God. Klopp, people in Mainz felt, would have managed it without leaving anyone angry.