Thomas Tuchel has the potential to be one of the finest head coaches in modern football, according to former Borussia Dortmund boss Ottmar Hitzfeld.

The 43-year-old has won admirers across the continent since taking over from Jurgen Klopp at Signal Iduna Park, although they head into the mid-season break with a 12-point deficit to Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

Dortmund's exciting brand of football under Tuchel has also seen the former Mainz boss linked as a possible successor to Zinedine Zidane as head coach of Real Madrid.

And Hitzfeld, who won two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League in a six-year spell in charge of the club, has tipped Tuchel for a dominant future.

"It will still depend on success but Thomas Tuchel had already been a fantastic footballer," he told Badischen Zeitung.

"All doors are open to him. The future belongs to him."

Hitzfeld, who guided Switzerland to the last 16 of the 2014 World Cup before announcing his retirement, went on to praise the impact of Joachim Low with world champions Germany.

However, the 67-year-old believes Spain still have the edge on the international stage.

"Jogi has developed German football further," he added. "But the technical game is more important than ever in football and Spain still have an advantage in that respect."