When life gives you lemons...

Make lemonade. That's what the old saying advises us to do when life gives us lemons.

It's one of those phrases that encourages optimism and positive thinking during those not so pleasant circumstances. And times and lives of Thomas Tuchel and Thiago Silva have been a true embodiment of this centuries-old story.

Their bumpy ride started on the night of 23 August 2020 in Lisbon, when the above-mentioned guys lost the Champions League finals to Bayern Munich while representing Paris-Saint Germain. Shortly after, they were both shown the exit doors at Parc des Princes as if they were the main culprits of PSG's shortcomings.

Their hug of sorrow, with the UCL trophy standing as an unfulfilled dream in the back, however, became much more than an ordinary image. It perfectly captures the sadness of loss and suffering that such a tragic defeat inevitably brought to them.

A ruthless, money-spinning business, like football nowadays, can't afford trophyless campaigns. Especially if your owner is a billionaire Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who demands silverware, and he wants it now. Tomorrow is too late for him. And that's why Tuchel was sacked only a few days before New Year's Eve.

Thiago's case was even worse. After seven very successful years in Paris and 315 appearances for the Saints, he was released by the club and moved to Chelsea on a free transfer, days after that Lisbon finals. He was infuriated with the way the club's boardroom treated him, let alone sporting director Leonardo Araujo.

Never stop hugging (©REUTERS/Richard Heathcote)

So, when the slight twist of fate brought together PSG's outcasts - Tuchel and Thiago Silva - the stage was set for the 2021 'lemonade story' of the year.

At Stamford Bridge, they were given a chance not to plot revenge but to prove how wrong they were at Paris for kicking them out on the street after only one painful setback. Without patience and trust - and that's blatantly clear in the aftermath of Chelsea's Champions League triumph - you can not reach the heights in football, nor sports in general. Nor in life itself.

Tuchel and Thiago Silva last night (©Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images)

This time, in another Portuguese city (Porto, not Lisbon), less than a year after that hug of sorrow, it was time for the hug of happiness. A true one, a deserved one.

The moral of Tuchel's and Silva's story is that every failure is just an obstacle on the road to later success. All you need is to believe and find yourself a place where all your qualities will be thoroughly recognized.

And don't forget to hug.

By: BOJAN BABIĆ