Former Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel was appointed England’s coach on Wednesday, with the challenge of ending the national team’s long wait for a trophy.
The German has signed an 18-month contract starting in January, lasting until the 2026 World Cup in North America. Furthermore, one current player uses Chelsea and the Parisians to justify hiring a foreign coach.
The 51-year-old Tuchel is now the third foreign coach to manage the national team, following in the footsteps of the late Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. This has sparked criticism in parts of the British media, with the Daily Mail calling it a “dark day for England” on its back page.
Going from an English coach to a foreign coach is a topic of discussion, but Manchester City veteran Kyle Walker cites Tuchel’s body of work that shows he’s qualified for the job regardless of what his passport says.
“I understand the English public thinking it should be an English manager… but for me it’s about who is going to get results,” Walker told the BBC. “Tuchel has proven at big clubs he can manage big players… the likes of PSG, Chelsea as he won the UCL against Man City.”
🔵🏴 Kyle Walker: “I understand the English public thinking it should be an English manager… but for me it’s about who is going to get results”.
“Tuchel has proven at big clubs he can manage big players… the likes of PSG, Chelsea as he won the UCL against Man City”, told BBC. pic.twitter.com/VBWvBnXO5N
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 18, 2024
Tuchel takes over from Southgate, one of England’s most successful coaches, who led the team to a World Cup semifinal and two Euros finals.
