October 16 – In a left-field move that drew a collective intake of breath from commentators and fans alike, Thomas Tuchel has been appointed England manager from January 1, dashing hopes that another Englishman would follow in the footsteps of Gareth Southgate who held the job for eight years.
The 51-year-old Tuchel, who has signed an 18-month contract, becomes the third non-British permanent manager of the men’s team after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello and will take up his role after the draw for the World Cup qualifying groups in December.
Southgate, the most successful England manager for over half a century in terms of results, resigned in July after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Lee Carsley, who led England’s under-21 side to European victory last year, has overseen four games since being appointed Southgate’s interim successor in August and will remain in charge for the Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland next month before being demoted back to the under-21 squad.
Carsley was in charge of the Young Lions in July 2023 when they won their Euros for the first time in 39 years, a not unimpressive feat. England’s recent defeat by Greece certainly marked a low point in his temporary tenure of the senior team but he won his other three games.
Yet unlike in other leading European footballing nations – not least Spain where Euro-winning boss Luis de la Fuente came through the ranks to lead the country to success last summer – Carsley has been ditched in favour of a bigger, more established overseas name. It would appear he also knew he wouldn’t be permanently getting the job even before the recent win over Finland – an unenviable position to be placed in.
Tuchel, the former Chelsea boss who left Bayern Munich at the end of the last campaign with the unique distinction of having failed to win any trophy in one single season (though he did win the league title the season before), said: “I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team. I have long felt a personal connection to the game in this country, and it has given me some incredible moments already.
“To have 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.”
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said they had appointed “one of the best coaches in the world” and that Tuchel was the “preferred candidate” from “several” managers interviewed. He will be assisted by the little-known Anthony Barry who worked with the German at Chelsea and Bayern.
The FA board apparently approved the decision last week and Tuchel signed a contract on 8 October.
“Our recruitment process has been very thorough,” Bullingham insisted. “Before the Euros we had a contingency plan and outlined exactly the qualities we would be looking for in a coach. Since Gareth resigned, we have worked through the candidate pool, meeting a number of coaches and evaluating them against that criteria. Thomas was very impressive and stood out with his vast expertise and his drive. Anthony is a top English talent and also has international experience with Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Portugal.
“Fundamentally we wanted to hire a coaching team to give us the best possible chance of winning a major tournament, and we believe they will do just that. Thomas and the team have a single-minded focus on giving us the best possible chance to win the World Cup in 2026. I would like to thank Lee [Carsley] for stepping up and doing everything we asked of him – he is a very talented coach and a major part of our England pathway.”
Yet how risky is the move?
Tuchel won the German Cup with Borussia Dortmund and two Ligue 1 titles at Paris St-Germain, including a domestic treble in 2019-20. He became Chelsea manager in January 2021, winning the Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup before being sacked in September 2022.
After Bayern failed to win the Bundesliga title last season for the first time since 2011-12, Tuchel left despite still having a year to run on his contract.
Whilst there is no doubt he has an highly impressive CV and has been hired to get England over the line after a series of agonising near-misses under Southgate, he is regarded by some as a divisive character if he doesn’t get his own way.
Previous overseas England managers have failed to pull up any trees but Tuchel now has a chance to win the greatest competition of them all – the World Cup in 2026.
There will still be a body of opinion questioning why another English coach could not be trusted with the job. After all, Southgate was considered an underwhelming appointment at the time he got the role and went on to prove his critics wrong.
Whilst Tuchel’s credentials are undeniably strong on paper and the appointment of a serial winner could well be an inspired choice, club success, as many a previous England appointment has shown, is very different to taking on what has long been dubbed the impossible job.
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