Thomas Tuchel has been appointed as the new England men’s football manager in the hope that the team can finally bring home some silverware. The FA have offered Tuchel an 18-month contract with his role officially starting in January 2026 following the mixed England performances under interim manager, Lee Carsley. This musical chair of management all began with Gareth Southgate’s resignation in the summer following a divisive and controversial Euro 2024 campaign.
Tuchel is England’s third foreign manager alongside Fabio Capello and Sven-Goran Eriksson, who sadly passed away in August this year. Thomas Tuchel is a talented, exciting and tactical mastermind having won the UEFA Champions League on his debut season with Chelsea in 2021. He was also awarded the Best FIFA Football Coach Award a year later. It is fair to say that on paper, the former Bayern Munich and Chelsea manager is more than qualified to manage England.
Except in many football fan’s opinions, he is not qualified. Solely because he is not English. It would seem that some England football fans are still of the opinion that an English manager should be in charge of the England national team. Therefore, Tuchel’s appointment has been met with controversy from the fans spurred on by the English media.
The Daily Mail’s headline the morning after the announcement was “A Dark Day for England”; a provocative headline putting a distinct focus on the fact that Tuchel is German. Although outdated and outright bizarre, some England fans are more offended by the fact that Tuchel is German rather than any other nationality. Naturally, this narrative is ancient and dates back to World War II, with no relevance to modern day international football. Tuchel’s maiden press conference was dominated by questions of his nationality rather than his footballing knowledge; one journalist asked Tuchel, “Will you be singing the national anthem?”
Either response, yes or no, from Tuchel would have no doubt led to further outcry by xenophobes. “He’s got no right to come here and sing our national anthem, he’s not even English” or similarly, “he’s got no right to come here and not sing our national anthem, it’s disrespectful”. Some England fans are viewing Tuchel’s appointment as a betrayal to the nation and to English football. “He does not represent English Football”, some have been claiming on X (formerly known as Twitter). Barney Ronay, Chief sportswriter at The Guardian argues against this view. “The top tier of English football is not English either… it’s about outsourcing and getting in international expertise”. He continues to say that “[the English league] has nothing to do with producing things but about providing a stage so in that sense, Tuchel 100% does represent English football”.
Without having even chosen a starting eleven nor having had a game in charge, Tuchel has generated a lot of controversy. BBC Broadcasters described his appointment as “surprising” given that other “homegrown talent”, such as Eddie Howe, could have been favoured. Many await Tuchel’s first games in charge to truly judge him as England’s next manager with a coaching style worlds away from Southgate’s softer approach. His current contract holds him in the position until the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, USA and Mexico.
Let’s just say it would be intriguing if a German coach were to lead the England National team to their first World Cup victory since 1966…
