Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has claimed that Thomas Tuchel has been on the club's shortlist for six years.
Tuchel was appointed Dortmund's new head coach at the end of last season after Jurgen Klopp's decision to end his seven-year spell at the club, and Watzke admits that he is excited about the direction the club will take under his guidance.
"Dortmund's curiosity has been aroused again," he told Kicker. "When I see how meticulously Tuchel prepares his training and how much effort he puts into his work, it compels my respect.
"We've had his name shortlisted as a potential coach since 2009. We clearly had the better players on paper in the Rheinhessen junior final, but Tuchel was the reason that Mainz won that day.
"I knew already that suggestions he is difficult to work with were simply not true. I'd rather have a tough coach at the helm because I wouldn't want someone to be relaxed and positive if the defeats are piling up. Tuchel's extremely ambitious."
Dortmund meet Chemnitzer in the DFB-Pokal on Saturday afternoon.
Callum Mulvihill
