The appointment of Thomas Tuchel as England’s latest manager took the football world by storm this week and opened something of a divisive discourse surrounding a manager’s nationality. While the likes of the old school British dailies like the Mail and Telegraph picked at the bare bones of the argument with their opinionated scalpels, the FA itself offered a very different approach.
CEO Mark Bullingham was hopeful of glory under the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager, and cited parallels between Tuchel and Lionesses’ manager Sarina Wiegman. Wiegman won the 2022 European Championship on home soil with England, while Tuchel, of course, faces the tough task of leading the men to their first final victory since 1966. Focussing purely on mindset, instead of nationality, Bullingham said to the BBC (via ESPN.nl):
“I think Sarina would say she came into a team that was ready to win and she brought that confidence to the women. I think part of that was because she’s a natural winner.
“Of course we see parallels and that was in our minds when we started looking for a national coach. Someone who can really give the team confidence.”
Wiegman previously managed the Dutch women’s team for four years, and has been in charge of England since August 2020. Interestingly, she played 99 times for the Leeuwinnen as a defensive-minded midfielder, before progressing through management to guide the side to a UEFA Women’s European Championship victory in 2017, the Algarve Cup a year later, before just missing out on the World Cup in 2019 as the United States won their fourth crown.
Thomas Tuchel’s 18-month tenure starts on January 1st and sees Lee Carsley continue his role as interim through the November international break before returning as U21 manager. On appointment, Tuchel made it clear that he believed England are ready to win a title.
“It’s all in the details. If you lose on penalties in the final, who am I to say what you did wrong. England have lost the finals they were in very narrowly, that could have gone either way. There is a genuine belief that we are ready.”
