England manager Thomas Tuchel apologises for being German after appointment derided as being a 'dark day'
analysis
SBy Simon Smale
Topic:England Soccer
Thomas Tuchel had to appologise for being German at a press conference.
There is no more important role in English sport than the manager of the national football team.
After eight years of relative success under Gareth Southgate, England's Football Association has leaped into a new era by appointing Champions League winning manager, Thomas Tuchel, to the top job.
Objectively, it's hard to argue that this isn't a great move.
But objectivity is one thing the English media can rarely be accused of when it comes to football.
Instead, some sections of the fourth estate have turned themselves inside out at the prospect of England's top job being held by a German — finding the prospect as confusing as having a team capable of winning major tournaments in the first place.
The Daily Mail called Tuchel's appointment "a dark day for England" in an editorial without an author's by-line that dominated the back page.
"Three Lions gamble on a GERMAN… but Tuchel only has 18 months to prove he's up to it," screamed the rhetoric-filled piece.
By capitalising the word "German", the Mail makes no secret of its at-best intolerant approach to the Three Lions appointing a foreign coach for just the third time in history.
England's lengthy rivalry — both on the pitch and off — with Germany is doubtless the overriding factor in the vitriolic over-reaction to Tuchel's appointment.
Thomas Tuchel inside the England dressing room was clearly too much for some to bear.
Tuchel, for his part, said "I'm sorry, I just have a German passport" at a press conference at Wembley.
"But the supporters felt my passion for the English Premier League, my passion for the country, how I love to live here," the ex-Chelsea boss added.
"Hopefully, I can convince them and show them and prove them that I'm proud to be the English manager.
"I will do everything to show respect to this role and to this country and the target for the next 18 months if nothing else.
"Everyone can be assured that we will do it with passion and with emotions and we will try to install values and principles and rules as quickly as possible to make the dream come true."
Anthemic rage
Lee Carsley, a Republic of Ireland international, courted controversy by not singing the British national anthem.
Such hand-wringing is not unfamiliar to English football supporters.
Even in the very recent past, interim coach Lee Carsley was roundly abused for not singing God Save The King.
"He cannot expect to manage England," decried the UK's Daily Telegraph's chief football correspondent Jason Burt ahead of his first match in charge against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Never mind that England-born Carsley won 40 caps for the Republic of Ireland as a player, his eligibility confirmed through his County Cork-born grandmother, adding an emotion-charged nationalistic element to a question with centuries of backstory.
That being said, Carsley pointed out that he did not sing Ireland's national anthem Amhrán na bhFiann as an Irish player either.
Nor did he sing the national anthem in any of the 29 times he led England's under 21s — including as they won the U21 European Championships in 2023.
The provocative question was also asked of Tuchel: "I have not made my decision yet. No matter what decision I take, I will always show my respect to the country," he said.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola was the critics choice for the role, his lack of an English passport apparently not an issue.
Yet it is interesting that many of those publications and journalists expressing disquiet over the appointment of Tuchel were more than happy to court Catalan coach, Pep Guardiola.
The very same Telegraph writer even suggested that the FA should "shoot for the stars" to entice Guardiola away from Manchester City just a couple of days before the move for Tuchel was made public.
The double-standard is mind-bending, although perhaps Philip II's 16th-century Spanish Armada is just about far enough in the past to forgive and forget.
However, one wonders if there had been as much outrage had Guardiola taken the job and refused to sing an anthem that justifiably means nothing to him.
The quest for a second World Cup
Thomas Tuchel was immensely popular at Stamford Bridge.
All that being said, there is a case to say that, if international football is to exist at all, then perhaps the management team should be limited to the best of what that nation can produce as well as the players.
In an era of growing, concerning ultra-nationalism around the world, accelerated in England by the divisive Brexit vote, arguably the one place where a celebration of nations should be encouraged is the sporting arena.
A lack of suitable home-grown coaches could be considered a failure in a fundamental aspect of the game.
This should not be news to England football fans. Famously, the last English manager to win the English top flight was Howard Wilkinson in the 1991/92 season with Leeds United.
Scotland's Sir Alex Ferguson was the last British-born manager to win the title, with Manchester United in 2012/13.
Similarly, Harry Rednapp was the last English FA Cup winner (Portsmouth in 2008) and Steve McClaren the most recent to win the League Cup (Middlesbrough in 2004).
Harry Redknapp was the last English manager to win a major trophy with an English club side.
High quality managers are far from plentiful.
Additionally, there is the fact that no foreign-born coach has ever led a country to World Cup glory — in the men's or women's game.
Two-time World Cup winning coach Jill Ellis was born in England, but is a naturalised US citizen.
That being said, of the top 10 teams in the men's FIFA rankings, four now have foreign coaches.
It is noticeable, however, that the discourse was not repeated when Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman was handed the reigns of England's women's team, leading the Lionesses to the 2023 World Cup final.
The last time a European Championship winning team had a foreign coach was Greece in 2004. Incidentally, they were led by a German, Otto Rehhagel.
German Otto Rehhagel won the European Championships with Greece in 2004.
Tuchel has signed an 18-month contract starting on January 1, taking him up to the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America.
Under Southgate, England reached a World Cup semifinal and two European Championship finals, making him arguably England's best ever.
They even ended a 55-year major tournament losing streak against Germany under Southgate, with a 2-0 win at Wembley in Euro 2020.
Tuchel said his only aim is to add a second World Cup to England's threadbare international trophy cabinet.
"I understood very quickly that it's a big job," Tuchel said.
"Once I made a time frame up in my mind from January to the World Cup, I felt already excited that it suited my passion, to strive to push this group of players.
"To be part of this federation with such a strong record in the last tournaments to push it over the line and to try to put a second star [for winning the World Cup] on the shirt."
'What a tribute to Tuchel'
Thomas Tuchel won the Champions League in 2021 with Chelsea.
The comments in Germany were far more lighthearted. Bild's editor Matthias Brügelmann poked fun at how England needed a German to teach them how to win again.
"Since 1966 – since 1966!!!! – the proud football nation has been waiting for a title," he wrote, referencing England's World Cup final victory over West Germany at Wembley.
"So it will soon be 60 years without a title. In that time we have become world champions three times and European champions three times. Oops.
"The desperation on the island must be enormous if they admit that only a German can help now.
"What a tribute to Tuchel and German football that the English are overcoming their fears despite the huge rivalry."
It's a tribute that Tuchel has deserved.
The 51-year-old is a serial winner as a manager, claiming 11 major trophies in his career; including two Ligue 1 titles with Paris Saint-Germain, a Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich and the Champions League with Chelsea.
His tactical acuity is praised by pundits and peers alike, with an innovative approach to training and an attention to detail that gets the best out of talented players while developing a steadfast defensive resolve.
Granted, his abrasive interpersonal skills have been criticised, but that may be less of an issue away from the day-to-day pressure cooker environment of club management.
In small doses, Tuchel's approach might be just what England needs to take the next step from the platform Southgate has laid.
But if the predictable reaction to his appointment is anything to go by, there will be little room for error afforded to England's first German coach.
But if things go well, perhaps The Sun's headline will be prophetic. Finally: "Fußball kommt nach Hause".
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