Thomas Tuchel to England: Is FA right to snub English coaches for quick fix winner?
Southgate was the consumate ambassador and diplomat as England manager, displaying a rounded world view, a willingness to speak openly with a wider hinterland stretching far beyond football. It was a quality that served him well when waves spread beyond the pitch.
Tuchel, in contrast, is a fiery personality known for challenging authority, high maintenance and occasionally outspoken. He does not possess the calm touchline demeanour England grew accustomed to with Southgate. They will now have an explosive presence in the technical area.
He is also well-known for not sparing his players, with old footage of Tuchel in a fierce rage, delivering an incendiary training ground dressing down to Shawn Parker when he was at Mainz surfacing again recently.
Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke described Tuchel as “a difficult person but a fantastic coach”, while he had a notoriously fractious relationship with PSG sporting director Leonardo. He suggested Tuchel lacked respect for those above him, with the pair disagreeing over recruitment strategy in the so-called “Bling Bling” era of superstars in Paris.
Tuchel, tiring of dealing with events away from the pitch at PSG, asked shortly before his sacking in December 2020: “Am I still a manager or am I politician in sport, a minister for sports?”
The other side of his personality was witnessed by those of who saw Tuchel at Chelsea where he could be charming, extremely humorous and incredibly astute, as well as acting with great dignity and tact when forced into being the front man for a club in meltdown when owner Roman Abramovich’s assets were frozen in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tuchel was a figure of calm and reason, even insisting he would drive a team bus to Lille himself for a Champions League tie in March 2022 if sanctions meant they were unable to fly.
The relationship with new Chelsea owner Toddy Boehly was uneasy from the start as the club employed a scattergun transfer policy. Tuchel lasted exactly 100 days under the regime before he was sacked.
Tuchel remained a highly popular figure with Chelsea’s fans, who were sorry to see the coach who brought the Champions League back to London dismissed.
In his new role, Tuchel will be able to set aside backroom politicking and focus on an area where he is outstanding and proven.
And this is what the FA will want with the bold move to go outside their long-standing system in the search for the glory that has eluded them since 1966.
If Tuchel delivers, the FA can feel it makes all the angst and outside noise over the appointment worthwhile.
