A project contract has clear objectives that should be achieved within a certain period of time. And the English national soccer team, without a title for 58 years, has hired the perfect manager for its next project in Thomas Tuchel: The German is supposed to win the 2026 World Cup with England.
To make the whole thing a success, Tuchel has 18 months from January. It is a project contract, nothing more, nothing less. With which the English Football Association probably protects itself in case things don’t work out with Tuchel – especially on a human level.
Tuchel sometimes has problems with his superiors
Because there is a risk – Tuchel has not been a man for long-term jobs recently. There were always clashes between the alpha trainer and his alpha superiors such as Hans-Joachim Watzke at BVB or Uli Hoeneß and Co. at Bayern Munich.
Tuchel spent 23 months in the coaching bench in Dortmund, then almost 30 months in Paris, but then only 19 months at Chelsea and not even a full 15 months at FC Bayern. The 18-month contract in England now only seems logical. At every station there was eventually a dispute with management.
Southgate and England had fallen out of love
And yes, Tuchel could be stubborn – but so could his superiors. If the English association boss Mark Bullingham is actually willing to give Tuchel a free hand, this project contract could turn into a long-term working or even football-romantic love affair.
Because this was precisely what did not exist between the British and Gareth Southgate, the last English national coach.
England’s football fans were upset about Southgate’s passive style of play at the European Championships despite reaching the final – and that with a team full of superstars. The fans not only long for a title, but they should also win it with dominant attacking football.
Tuchel is already valued as a brilliant tactician, at least in some parts of England. He has shown that he can handle a squad full of superstars and prepare them for a knockout stage tournament. He won the Champions League in 2021 with Chelsea FC from London. Many English fans still remember that.
Discussion about foreigners as national coaches
Some English tabloids may have forgotten this when they headlined that only English people should become national coaches because they supposedly know the country best. The Daily Mail portrayed Tuchel, only the third foreigner ever to hold the post, as a mercenary with no connection to English football. Even Gary Lineker, English football idol, thought that the coach of the national team should come from England.
This patriotic drivel is not only boring to yawn, but also disrespectful and ignorant of Tuchel – who has repeatedly spoken enthusiastically about life on the island and English club football.
It is clear that Tuchel has to convince his critics – as Bayern coach, he often reacted thinly to headwinds from the media when things weren’t going well. In the case of the notorious English “Yellow Press”, Tuchel – especially as coach of the English national team – urgently needs to develop a thicker skin in order to survive the project contract. And if the first successes quickly come in test matches, the Nations League or World Cup qualification, the whole thing could turn into a long-term love affair.
