Thomas Tuchel's journey from Stuttgart bartender to England manager

In the late 1990s, while England played in the 1998 World Cup, Thomas Tuchel was working as a bartender at wild hip-hop parties in Stuttgart. His playing career had been cut short by a knee injury, and he had nearly given up on football entirely.

Tuchel's cartilage damage ended his dream of playing in the Bundesliga at age 23. The injury was so severe he could barely walk up and down stairs, and his insurance did not cover the surgery, leaving him with no savings.

His former coach at SSV Ulm, Ralf Rangnick, discovered Tuchel's situation and called him, asking why he was working in a bar. Rangnick persuaded Tuchel to join Stuttgart as a youth-team coach, a decision that launched his coaching career.

Rangnick later told the BBC that he had always seen Tuchel's potential as a coach. 'He was always interested in why we play the way we play,' Rangnick recalled. Tuchel went on to become one of the game's keenest minds and is now England manager tasked with winning the World Cup.