The keeper of traditions, England, breaks the established paradigm and appoints a foreigner as head coach of the national team! Starting in 2025, Thomas Tuchel will lead the brilliant English generation to victory, which has reached the finals but has not yet won a single title.
It would seem that appointing Tuchel as coach in a situation where he is free, what could be more obvious? The German is contradictory and quarrelsome as a person, but his ability as a coach is beyond doubt. Thomas is a great specialist. It is even more strange that since the summer he has not been in charge at Old Trafford, where, from all indications, a coach was and continues to be needed.
However, Manchester United are an experienced masochist. This is not the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure that they have chosen to suffer among all the options. And now they chose Ten Hag before Tuchel. Well, let’s stock up on popcorn and look further afield.
Ferguson, by the way, will soon be off the payroll:
Manchester United refuses to pay Alex Ferguson. And he does the right thing
Let’s return to the alliance between Tuchel and England. If a German had managed any club or any other national team, there would not have been such a resonance. Globalization has hit football to the core; Today, almost all soccer players are citizens of the world. Anyone can end up anywhere: passports have become a rudiment, nationality is not important. There are limits on foreign players, but this applies to players, not coaches.
England is a very special case. It has the most cosmopolitan and advanced club league and, at the same time, the oldest and most hardened national team in terms of management and fan attitude. When in the 2000s the local football association borrowed foreign (in particular, Spanish) experience in training young footballers, everything was furious! “How is that?! We invented football and these [подставь любую нацию] Will they teach our children to play?
Only one title in history and constant failures in major tournaments seemed to indicate that changes were needed. But the local English ultras were against it. Only now did it become calmer, as the new system bore fruit with the Bellinghams, Fodens and other Sakas reaching two consecutive Euro finals.
Jude Bellingham and Philip Foden
Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
There are still many principled and even staunch Anglophiles when it comes to the head coach of the national team. This applies to both the fans and, probably, some of the management of English football. There were foreign coaches, even with names. But there were only two: Sven-Göran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. And they did not give outstanding results. Eriksson dominated the quarterfinals, in the 2004 Euro Cup and in the two neighboring World Cups. And Capello was loudly knocked out of Germany at the 2010 World Cup, while preparing for Euro 2012, but resigned even before the tournament, when John Terry was stripped of the captain’s armband against his will.
The examples of Eriksson and Capello seem to have further convinced many Englishmen – both fans and football officials – that the national team should be managed by “one of their own”. On this principle, Steve McClaren, Sam Allardyce and Roy Hodgson were given the opportunity to manage England. Of course, they are respected specialists, but certainly not for a team with ambitions of world domination. All of these appointments ultimately turned out to be failures.
By the way, in the early 2000s and 2010s there was an English coach who deserved to work in the national team like no other compatriot. This is Harry Redknapp, who at the time had a very good reputation, particularly after turning Tottenham into a Champions League level team. But the irony is that Redknapp, who seemed the most worthy of English coaches, never got a chance in the national team.
Harry Redknapp
Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images
With the appointment of Tuchel, the bosses of English football finally remove the national team from the vicious circle of “insiders”. There have been no top-level English coaches for a long time. They don’t exist yet. There are interesting coaches like Eddie Howe or Graham Potter, but (see above): these are definitely not the people who should lead one of the best teams in the world. Furthermore, England is now one of the best, not only in terms of ambition and constant high expectations (not always justified). In composition, it is stronger than ever in the 21st century and, perhaps, stronger than ever in history.
With this squad, Gareth Southgate, who also joined the national team as one of his own, gave away two Euro finals and a World Cup semi-final. Yes, without titles. Yes, there were always questions about the English game and in most cases it was difficult to watch their matches. But no England coach has achieved better results in the 21st century. So Tuchel, who will already be under pressure because he is an “outsider”, will also be under pressure because of Southgate’s results. “You came so handsome from your Germany. First, let’s at least repeat what our Gareth achieved.” Something like this.
Thomas Tuchel and Gareth Southgate
Photo: Getty Images
For Tuchel, the England team is the main challenge of his career. He worked for different clubs, in different leagues. He progressively moved from Mainz to PSG, Chelsea and Bayern. He knows this world very well. And here is the national team. And it is also very difficult: with enormous expectations, pressure from all sides and a top team whose potential must be exploited. You don’t just have to win, you have to win beautifully! Playing badly and almost winning won’t work: this just happened to the British. And the heads of the national team were not satisfied with this, they opted for changes.
National football, which has been declining for quite some time, suddenly receives a powerful intrigue. Whether Tuchel and England will endure it, whether they will fall in love, only time will tell. But the English Football Association can certainly be praised. They chose a coach. Not “ours” or “someone else’s”, but a coach. Respect for taking the step. This is the only correct way.
And I respect Tuchel for choosing:
The most star unemployed coach. Tuchel faces a difficult choice between two options
