Thomas Tuchel has been confirmed as the new England manager. The German is the long-term successor to Gareth Southgate and will take over from Lee Carsley, who has been in interim charge of the national team following Southgate’s resignation from his post in the summer, from January 1st on an 18-month deal.
He will, the Football Association has confirmed, be assisted by “internationally-renowned English coach Anthony Barry”.
“I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team,” said Tuchel. “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.”
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” said the FA’s chief executive, Mark Bullingham. “Our recruitment process has been very thorough. 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.”
Tuchel has been out of work since leaving Bayern Munich in May, and therefore did not have to be the subject of a compensation payment, no doubt added to the 51-year-old’s appeal within the FA.
Tuchel becomes England’s third overseas men’s manager, after Sven-Göran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, and this move represents a return to working in this country for the former Chelsea manager. He led the club to Champions League glory in 2021 and speaks excellent English. He also has experience of working with captain Harry Kane during their one season together at Bayern.
Barry, a former Republic of Ireland assistant coach, had been working with the Portugal manager, Roberto Martínez.
“For any Englishman in football, working with the national team is the pinnacle and I didn’t hesitate when Thomas asked me to come and join him again,” he said. “I know what a great place St George’s Park is and how much of an advantage it gives our England teams, and the support it gives to coaches.
”This squad is very talented and have done so much to bring the country together, I look forward to meeting and working with them on this exciting project.”
