On Tuesday, the English FA pulled off what could be a massive coup by appointing highly-rated German head coach Thomas Tuchel as the new Three Lions boss.
The former Chelsea boss is reported to have signed an 18-month contract and will start his new position on 1st January 2025. Tuchel is only the third foreign head coach of the England national team after Sven-Goran Eriksen and Fabio Capello.
A top-drawer head coach
When it comes to head coaches, Thomas Tuchel is right up there with most of the best of his generation. His management of Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and PSG illustrates that he can handle big jobs.
He led PSG and Bayern Munich to their almost statutory domestic titles during his time at the two European giants.
However, the biggest achievement of his coaching career came when, in 2021, Tuchel led Chelsea to a 1-0 Champions League final win over Manchester City.
The game was notable because Tuchel outthought City’s great head coach, Pep Guardiola. Tuchel got his tactics spot on and stifled Guardiola’s team, which is an impressive feat for any head coach.
Many wouldn’t have been surprised by the result, as Tuchel can better any opponent in the world. In truth, it would be hard to find a better head coach than the German if what you were looking for was a possession-obsessed and tactical nerd.
It is this obsessiveness that has made Tuchel one of the most highly-regarded head coaches in the world.
England could be his biggest challenge yet
As a footballing nation, England has been the nearly man of the international game in the most recent big tournaments. Before they were nearly men, the Three Lions simply just underachieved for decades on the international stage.
At times, even ‘the Golden Generation’, which included John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and David Beckham, failed to claim silverware.
England has produced many outstanding players, even world-class players, over the years. However, poor decisions both on and off the pitch have cost them a chance at international glory.
At times, the tactical approach of the head has been questioned, as is usually the case when teams fail to succeed. The former head coach Gareth Southgate’s approach was considered too cautious.
However, Southgate led England to two straight European Championship finals while also making it to the World Cup semi-final in 2018.
England had not made the semi-finals of a major tournament since the heart-breaking 1990 World Cup when the Three Lions suffered a penalty kick defeat by old foes Germany.
Southgate no doubt did a good job, but there is a sense that the current crop of England players can be the ones that can finally win silverware. Some saw the head coach’s approach as the thing holding the team back.
However, the team wouldn’t have made it as deep into tournaments if the players had not respected their boss, and Southgate wasn’t a good coach.
Then there is the problem with the constant media scrutiny that comes with being the England head coach. The English media have a habit of building people and teams up so that they can knock them down again.
They often don’t help the Three Lions cause by printing negative stories and, at times, almost sabotaging the team’s efforts just to sell papers or subscriptions to their online services.
It’s not even always on purpose. Some writers almost turn England bosses into joke figures when they are just trying to do their best to create a team that ends that long wait for international silverware.
Tuchel will be accustomed to media scrutiny, as he has worked at Bayern Munich, which is arguably one of the most intense environments in the European game.
He has also worked at Chelsea, where he unfortunately reportedly fell out with the club’s new hierarchy, which is believed to have contributed to his exit from the south west London club.
Large amount of one people one country one leader stuff around the England manager. Makes sense from a sport culture point of view to have an English coach. But it also becomes odd if you really push down that road. Harry Redknapp is on the radio talking about “English blood”
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) October 16, 2024
The appointment of a foreign head coach usually ignites the discussion about why we haven’t appointed a homegrown boss. In truth, there are no English head coaches with Tuchel’s managerial acumen or CV.
The only English bosses who would be variable candidates are Newcastle’s Eddie Howe and former Chelsea boss Graham Potter. Would anybody really believe that either could do a better job than Thomas Tuchel?
The fact that England is still struggling to match its European counterparts when producing head coaches is slightly concerning but is a discussion for another day.
Will he be the one to guide England to glory?
As with every managerial appointment, only time will tell if Thomas Tuchel is a success as England boss. The German’s contract with England runs until just after the 2026 World Cup.
The obvious aim for the Three Lions is to finally end all those years of waiting for an international trophy. Despite the lack of recent success, as is usually the case, England will go into the tournament as one of the favourites to lift the trophy.
Expectations are always heavy on England’s head coach. There is nothing new there. Tuchel’s success will depend on whether his new charges adopt his methods or not.
The German boss has the weight of history against him, though, as no coach has ever won a World Cup with a country in which they were not born. For England’s sake, hopefully, Tuchel can change that fact and guide the Three Lions to silverware in 2026.