English football experts are critical of the German’s commitment as coach of the national football team. Those responsible failed to promote their own coaches and to develop their own, typically English style again.
Thomas Tuchel is not exactly greeted with enthusiasm in his new job as England national football coach. In British football there are apparently reservations about a coach from Germany, of all places, with whom England has a well-cultivated football rivalry.
The 85-time national player Gary Neville, for example, said that the signing of Tuchel does not reflect strategic thinking on the part of those responsible when it comes to strengthening English football. Tuchel is probably the best coach available for the team at the moment.
“But I think we are doing ourselves harm if we accept that Thomas Tuchel is better, better than all the other English coaches,” Neville said on Sky Sports. Unlike in Germany, France or Spain, there is no longer a specifically English coaching style. “We no longer have a clear identity as an English nation, what we are. We haven’t developed a style, we don’t have a coach who has developed a style that is unique to us,” he said. The appointment of Tuchel cements this situation.
Tuchel will take up his new post on January 1st and wants to lead the Three Lions to the title at the 2026 World Cup. He is the third foreign coach of the English team after the Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson and the Italian Fabio Capello.
Former international Jamie Carragher also sees it similarly to Neville. “When I think about England now and we are so close to winning a big tournament. “So much good work has been put into training these players, then it just doesn’t seem right to me to bring in a foreign coach,” said the long-time Liverpool professional.
What distinguishes the national team from club football is the fact that they are people from one country. “It’s not just about England. I don’t think Italy should do that, I don’t think Germany should do that, I don’t think France should do that. “Portugal has Roberto Martinez at the moment, which I find strange,” added Carragher, who nevertheless sees Tuchel as a “brilliant coach”. The former star striker also believes that “the coach of a national team should also come from the country itself,” as the 63-year-old said in the podcast “The Rest Is Football”.
Neville says English coaching is “in a bind”. English coaches are the least respected by the big nations. “Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese coaches are known for their style of play and their philosophy.”
Former international defender Stuart Pearce would also have preferred an English coach to succeed Gareth Southgate, but now has great expectations of Tuchel. “I will now judge him on what he does for English football and sometimes that goes beyond the results. “I want him to show me that he has a real interest in developing English football and English coaches,” Pearce, who missed a penalty shoot-out in the 1990 semi-final against Germany, told the Mirror newspaper.
Even if Tuchel has only signed a contract for 18 months, he should show real interest. Pearce: “The job is bigger than selecting and coaching a club team.”
dpa/cuk
