W.When the Football Association appointed Sven-Göran Eriksson as the first foreign coach of the England men's team in 2001, the widespread reaction was one of bemused indignation. By appointing a Swede to change the nation's football fortunes, wrote According to a leading sports journalist, the FA had sold “our birthright in the fjord to a nation of seven million skiers and hammer throwers who spend half the year living in total darkness”.
Two decades later, the third foreign coach tasked with ending years of pain has received a slightly warmer welcome. Thomas Tuchel, a German Anglophile who led Chelsea to an unexpected UEFA Champions League triumph in 2021, has been contracted reproduce that winning mentality in an England team that came agonizingly close to glory under his predecessor, Gareth Southgate. For the vast majority of English football fans, the ability to fulfill that task at the 2026 World Cup will count for much more than their willingness to sing the national anthem.
The question “God save the King” duly went up on Wednesday when Tuchel was presented at a press conference. He was cleverly kicked by a manager whose communication skills will serve him well in a notoriously unforgiving role. The relative lack of concern about Tuchel's nationality, apart from the usual suspectsconfirms the extent to which the traditionally insular culture of English football has been transformed for the better.
Over the past two decades, domestic soccer has become a global magnet for foreign players and coaches. Their talents have helped make the Premier League the most watched and arguably the most exciting in the world. Internationally, the Lionesses' Euro 22 triumph – the first major trophy for an English team since 1966 – was masterminded by a Dutch coach turned national heroSarina Wiegman.
In a country where football (and especially the England men's team) had often become a vehicle For the expression of bellicose nationalism and casual xenophobia, this has represented much-needed progress. If there is a drawback, it is that indigenous talent is being excluded from the highest levels of national sport.
In this season's Premier League, none of the current top six teams are led by an English manager. For the England job, well-qualified candidates such as Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe and former Brighton boss Graham Potter appear to have been overlooked. After a period in which the FA invested In a much-publicised plan to develop an English football DNA – raising standards of both playing and coaching – Tuchel's appointment does not seem like a huge vote of confidence in that process.
Of course, these considerations will be forgotten if the Three Lions finally reach the promised land in the next year. world cup. Having twice fallen at the final hurdle under Southgate, England's footballers are now led by a coach with a proven ability to get teams over the line. If Tuchel can do the same for international football's perennial underachievers, his status as an honorary Englishman will be assured.
