It’s a done deal, Tomas Tuchel is the new coach of the English national team, his deputy will be Anthony Barry, an English coach originally from Liverpool who worked with him at Chelsea and Bayern Munich. “The pair will begin work on 1 January 2025 in anticipation of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in Canada, Mexico and the United States,” the English FA said in a press release.
Tuchel enjoys an excellent reputation in England after winning the Champions League with London’s Chelsea in 2021, beating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the final. The Three Lions national team has not won an international tournament since the 1966 World Cup played at home, when they won against Germany in the final. With Southgate the English reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, the final of the 2021 European Championship, the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup and the final of the European Championship again in 2024.
The Football Association (FA) conducted the negotiations for the search for the new coach in the utmost secrecy. “Several candidates were interviewed” and the casting “was conducted by Mark Bullingham, chief executive of the FA, and John McDermott, technical director of the men’s team”. At the end “Tuchel was identified as the preferred candidate”, the federation said. His signing was validated by the board of directors “at the beginning of last week” and Tuchel, without a position since his departure from Bayern Munich in May, “signed the contract on Tuesday 8 October”
After the cryptic post on ‘X’ which showed the cap usually worn by Tuchel, complete with the English coat of arms, the official announcement from the Federation has arrived. These are the first words of Thomas Tuchel: “I am very proud to have had the honor of leading the England team. I have always felt a personal connection to the game in this country and it has already given me some incredible moments. Having the chance to represent England is a huge privilege and The opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players is very exciting. Working closely with Anthony Barry as my assistant manager, we will do everything we can to make England successful and the fans proud Mark and John, for their trust and I can’t wait to start our journey together.”
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel ((GettyImages))
So Tuchel returns across the Channel and will have the task of sitting on one of the most prestigious benches in the world. After Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, Tuchel will be the third foreign coach to lead the Three Lions team.
