the appointment of Thomas Tuchel tears England apart

Thomas Tuchel succeeds Gareth Southgate on the bench Three Lions. But its origins pose a problem for a good part of the English.

The rivalry between England and Germany is one of the oldest and strongest in Football. The arrival of the German Thomas Tuchel as coach of the Three Lions from next year is therefore almost a political affair and there is great agitation in certain circles.

That’s right, the 51-year-old Bavarian – who has a contract until the end of the 2026 World Cup – is already the third foreigner to coach England, after Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello. But Tuchel is German.

“And dark day for England »

In a controversial comment, the Daily Mail wrote on Wednesday, when signing the contract, that it is “a dark day for England”. The tabloid continues:

Gareth Southgate was certainly not appreciated by everyone, but “he was one of us”. Tuchel, on the other hand, is just a “mercenary”, laments the Daily Mail. He makes the following observation:

The Telegraph judges the German’s commitment a little less dramatically than the tabloid, which also attributes to Tuchel a “dubious past as a coach”. The opinion, however, is the same: “The coach of the English national team should be an Englishman.”

L’Independenthe sees in Tuchel’s commitment proof of the incapacity of English football. His point: by enlisting a foreigner, the federation wasted a lot of time and money training coaches and bringing them up through the junior teams, as in the case of Gareth Southgate or interim coach Lee Carsley , which was also expected.

No vexation and praise

Thomas Tuchel himself shows understanding for the criticism of his origins, as he proved during his presentation on Wednesday afternoon:

Harry Redknapp, famous former Premier League manager, is one of these people, as he admitted to Sky media. But if Tuchel celebrates success with the Three Lionswe imagine that many of his detractors will suddenly disregard his German passport.

Especially since the technician has a great passion for England, as he says. This comes to him in particular from his time at Chelsea, which he led to the coronation in the Champions League, in 2021. From this time with the Blueshe also knows some English internationals like Mason Mount, Reece James and Tammy Abraham.

Tuchel also worked with Harry Kane last season at Bayern Munich. This Wednesday, he said of the England striker and captain:

For his part, the record holder for goals with Three Lions also praised his former coach and future coach. “He is a fantastic coach and a fantastic person,” praised Kane even before Tuchel signed his contract. The 31-year-old striker is part, along with other superstars like Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, of the backbone of this team that Thomas Tuchel must lead to success.

His predecessor, Gareth Southgate, did not always succeed in getting the best out of his players, although they were excellent, despite two consecutive Euro finals. Tuchel, on the other hand, is considered capable of doing so. On the one hand, given his performances in all his former teams (Dortmund, PSG, Chelsea and, at least initially, Bayern Munich). On the other, because the Bavarian is always very appreciated by his players.

Humour, emotions and ambitions

The new coach’s big objective? The coronation at the next World Cup, in 2026. Given that the emphasis is on this World Cup, Tuchel will only start training the Three Lions until after the remaining Nations League matches in November.

Legendary ex-defender Rio Ferdinand (45) believes a big move is entirely realistic:

Ferdinand recalls that Tuchel became European champion with Chelsea, when he took over this team in crisis. The former England international also praises the German’s tactical finesse and his ability to perfectly adjust a formation for certain matches. Micah Richards, another former Three Lionsis also convinced that the technician is “an extraordinary trainer and a proven winner”.

For his part, the Guardian believes Her Majesty’s footballers will enjoy their new manager’s fun and innovative training sessions.

Thomas Tuchel should also be appreciated, in the long run, by journalists and supporters for his intelligence, his humor and his frankness. Without forgetting his emotionality, which can sometimes lead to altercations with the opposing coach, like the one during his time at Chelsea with Tottenham coach Antonio Conte.

The Tuchel vs Conte episode in detail????

Almost euphoric, the Sun titled, in German and as a nod to the famous song and expression Football is coming home (“football is coming home”, in other words the great hope of English fans that the trophy will finally return to England, the motherland of football):

But in the end, Thomas Tuchel, like each of his predecessors, English or not, will be judged on the results.

His first deadline? The start of qualifying for the World Cup at the start of 2025. And he is confident:

While congratulating Gareth Southgate, who resigned after the lost Euro final in July, for his excellent work, the German made his ambitions clear: “Now we want to do even better.”

Translation and adaptation into French: Yoann Graber