In preparation for the following campaign, Dortmund spent heavily on player purchases, with an outlay of over €119 million on eleven entrants, although, much of this was done to offset the departure of core first-team players Mats Hummels, İlkay Gündoğan, and Mkhitaryan, who commanded fees in total of €104 million between them. Tuchel, however, managed to replace them on the versatile output of Ousmane Dembélé, Marc Bartra, and Raphaël Guerreiro, with the latter seeing the most drastic shift in tactical and positional change, often being deployed as a newly converted central midfielder from left-back. Guerreiro, signed following his successful time at UEFA Euro 2016, showcased great dribbling abilities; qualities deemed sparse in midfield. This positional change allowed Guerreiro's potential to be maximized under the German coach, as he starred in a midfield trident alongside Castro and Weigl, in a system which was both defensively secure, and also provided a greater attacking threat than previously seen. The versatility of Bartra, who was also used as a right-back as well as a central defender, combined with the rapid attacking threat of wide-players Dembélé and Pulisic, allowed Dortmund to transition much quicker between systems. This emphasis on a pace-orientated attack brought out the best in Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who hit 56 goals in 63 league appearances under Tuchel. This allowed Dortmund to return to the final of the DFB-Pokal, where Tuchel won his first ever major honor as a coach, as well as the club's first trophy in five years, as they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2–1, with goals from both Dembélé and Aubameyang.
Thomas Tuchel Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family
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