The German has a track record of achieving almost instantaneous success but not long before leaving his role in acrimony
It was all going so well. Lee Carsley looked like England's answer to Luis de la Fuente, the Football Association's in-house hero. After victories in his first two matches as interim manager, Carsley was touted as the obvious heir to Gareth Southgate – another endearingly humble character, but with a greater sense of adventure than his predecessor. However, Carsley didn't just take the handbrake off against Greece last week, he slashed his own tyres, and the resulting car crash killed the caretaker's candidacy.
Maybe the FA had already decided to go in a different direction, of course. And maybe Carsley never really wanted the job. It was certainly hard to know for sure, with the Under-21s coach constantly contradicting himself when it came to fielding questions over his ambitions – which didn't help dispel the suspicion that he wasn't the right kind of character for the job anyway. But is Thomas Tuchel?
It emerged immediately after Sunday's win over Finland that Pep Guardiola was the FA's dream appointment – but a dream that was never going to be realised. So, they've instead turned to Tuchel, who is undeniably a world-class coach, but also a deeply divisive figure…
AFPNo strong English candidates
After the news broke on Tuesday that Tuchel was in talks to succeed Southgate, much of the initial discourse surrounding the German's potential appointment centred on his nationality, which was as ridiculous as it was unsurprising, given a certain section of England's support still insist on singing stupid songs about past wars.
However, England have a group of world-class players and what they need is a world-class manager to get the best out of them. Nationality really shouldn't come into it.
Of course, in an ideal world, there would be a string of attractive English candidates for the job – but there isn't, as the sad truth of the matter is that we are not talking about a country renowned for its top tacticians. Indeed, Chile has produced more Premier League title-winning managers than England.
Unfortunately for the FA, there is no Bob Paisley or Brian Clough working in the top flight these days, and no Vic Buckingham or Bobby Robson enjoying success overseas, meaning they can hardly be blamed for exploring all of the options available to them – irrespective of the colour of their passports.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTuchel appointment inevitable
What's more, the FA can hardly be accused of overlooking English coaches. They had Southgate at the helm for eight years and even stood by him when he should have been sacked following the 2022 World Cup quarter-final loss to a France team that was there for the taking.
It's not as if the English-born Carsley wasn't given a golden opportunity to stake his claim for the role either. He was put in charge for six very winnable Nations League games, but a seemingly seamless succession plan failed because of the caretaker coach's horribly ill-advised gamble against the Greeks.
It was almost inevitable, then, that the FA would decide to put their faith in Tuchel, who was unquestionably the most attractive option on the market, with former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp having just taken on a role with Red Bull and Pep Guardiola still under contract to Manchester City until the end of the season. Certainly, the mere idea of the FA even considering the claims of Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard should have been enough to make every England fan wince.
Tuchel, by complete contrast to the two former Three Lions midfielders, is a proven elite-level coach with an excellent CV, having won trophies with four clubs from three different countries.
GettyProblems in Paris
However, Tuchel also has a history of falling out with those around him – which should have been a red flag for the notoriously conservative FA, suggesting desperation prompted them to press the panic button.
At PSG, for example, Tuchel won the Ligue 1 title and also reached the Champions League final – an achievement that has since been cast in a very positive light by the failings of those that followed him at the Parc des Princes.
However, he lost his job just four months after the 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in Lisbon because of a long-running and very public dispute with his employers over recruitment, with Tuchel sacked on Christmas Eve 2020 after once again questioning the way in which the club was being run.
"To be completely honest, during the first six months, I said to myself: 'Am I still a manager – or am I a politician in sport, a Minister for Sports? Where is my role as manager in such a club now? I said to myself: I just want to coach," Tuchel explained in an interview with the day before his dismissal.
"I love the game and I can get this satisfaction in many ways as a manager. Sometimes, it is very easy, sometimes, it is a big challenge, because a club like PSG has a number of influences in it aside from the focused interest of the team… I only love football. And in a club like this, it is not always just football."
Getty ImagesA fantastic coach but a difficult person
Was Tuchel right about PSG? He'd undoubtedly say so – and with some justification, too. The club's Qatari owners have since essentially admitted that their old strategy wasn't working by doing their best to rid themselves of their "flashy, bling-bling" reputation.
However, it's also worth noting that PSG was hardly the first time Tuchel had clashed with colleagues.
As Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said after Tuchel's Signal Iduna Park exit in 2017, the Bavarian is "a fantastic coach" but also "a difficult person" to work alongside.
It was, therefore, inevitable that Tuchel would fall out with Todd Boehly & Co. at Chelsea, given Chelsea's new owners recruited recklessly after taking over at Stamford Bridge in 2022.
Of course, few blame Tuchel for that particular dust-up and he's still held in the highest regard by the Blues' fanbase, who were impressed by his brutal honesty and deft dealings with the media. Tuchel also enjoyed his time in west London enormously and admitted only last year that he was more appreciated as a coach in England than his native Germany – which undoubtedly played a big part in his decision to take over the Three Lions.