Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 1:12 p.m.
Thomas Tuchel is the new England coach. Without a team since Bayern Munich decided not to keep him at the helm of the Bavarian colossus at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, the German coach has finally been chosen by the English Federation to begin a new stage at the helm of the ‘Three Lions’ . He will take over from Lee Carsley, who had been working as interim since Gareth Southgate left once the European Championship in Germany concluded. However, the changing of the guard will not be immediate. Carsley will remain in his position until January 1, 2025, at which point he will pass the baton to Tuchel and return to the under-21s.
«I am very proud to have received the honor of leading the England team. I have long felt a personal connection to football in this country, as it has given me some incredible moments. Having the opportunity to represent England is a great privilege. The opportunity to work with this talented group of players is very exciting,” said Thomas Tuchel after confirmation of his arrival on the English team bench.
Good connoisseur of English football, especially after his stay as Chelsea coach between January 2021 and September 2022, Tuchel takes on the challenge of relaunching the ‘Pross’, who have just finished runners-up in the Euro Cup held this summer although with a A very lackluster game that sparked numerous criticisms and ended up taking out the questioned Gareth Southgate.
«We are delighted to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world. Before the Euro we had a contingency plan and we described exactly the qualities we were looking for. Since Southgate resigned, we have met with several coaches and evaluated them against those criteria,” said Mark Bullingham, executive director of the English Federation.
According to The Times newspaper this Monday, the English Federation had surveyed Pep Guardiola regarding the possibility that the Catalan coach, whose contract with Manchester City expires next summer, would welcome taking charge of the ‘Three Lions’. But Guardiola said he had not yet made a decision about his future in an interview with Italian television and Tuchel was finally chosen.
Reluctance of the English press
With eleven titles to his name throughout a vast career as a coach that has led him to appear on the benches of Mainz, Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, Tuchel’s election has not been received favorably by all. Media such as the Daily Mail recalled this Wednesday the failed experiences of the two foreign coaches who once took the reins of the ‘Three Lions’, the Italian Fabio Capello and the recently deceased Swedish coach Sven Göran Eriksson. “It is a dark day for English football,” says the London newspaper.
«Not wanting to sound rude to Thomas Tuchel, who has just accepted an offer from the FA, but, once again, the England manager should be English. Nationality is the main objective of international football,” points out the head of The Telegraph’s football section, who was also not in favor of Guardiola’s arrival as he is a product of another football culture different from the English one. “At least we are sure that we will win the penalties,” writes the Daily Star, while The Guardian highlights his German nationality to show his disagreement with Tuchel’s arrival to the England bench.
Tuchel will have to face all of this breeding ground, whose closest challenge will be to qualify England for the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is worth remembering that despite being the country that invented football, England has only managed to reach the top in one major national team tournament, the 1966 World Cup, which was played precisely on British soil. Since that distant conquest, the ‘Pross’ only boast two fourth places in two World Cups (1990 and 2018) and two runners-up finishes in the last two Euro Cups played to date (2021 and 2024). “I want to embroider the second star on our shirt,” Tuchel said this Wednesday at the legendary Wembley stadium.
