Thomas Tuchel says the onus is on him to show supporters that he deserves a “fair chance” after becoming the new England head coach in light of the Football Association being criticised for appointing a German coach.
Tuchel, 51, signed an 18-month contract to become England’s new boss on October 8, starting from January, and was unveiled at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss has made clear that regardless of his German nationality, his only focus is winning the World Cup in the United States in 2026.
“I am sorry I have a German passport,” Tuchel joked. “I can just tell them and maybe supporters would have already felt my passion for the English Premier League and for the country and how I love to live here and how I love to work here.
“My memories here are on the highest level. Hopefully, I can convince them, show them and prove to them that I am proud to be the English manager. I will do everything to show respect to this role and to this country.
“The target for the next 18 months is nothing but the biggest one in world football. Everyone can be assured of that, no matter my nationality.
“I think everyone has their opinion and I can understand even the opinion that I would fancy an English coach more for the English team.
“But I think we deserve a fair chance, we deserve the credit for having a good record in the country, for never being shy of how much we love to live in the country and how much we enjoy working with the players in the Premier League.
“Maybe this counts a little bit for a British edge on my German passport. So we will try to convince them by results and the way we play.”
— England (@England) October 16, 2024
Lee Carsley will remain in interim charge for November’s Nations League fixtures against Greece and the Republic of Ireland before Tuchel takes over in January.
At Wednesday’s unveiling, Tuchel was asked whether he would sing the national anthem — something Carsley does not do.
“I understood from Mark (Bullingham) that it’s a personal decision if you sing it and there were managers who sang it and others who didn’t,” Tuchel said. “I have not made my decision yet. I want to be very honest with you.
“Your anthem is very moving, the English anthem is very moving. I experienced it several times here at Wembley, even out with the players at the FA Cup final. It was very touching.
“No matter what decision I will take, we have time until March, I will always show my respect to my new role, to the country and of course to a very moving anthem. But as this is a new subject I will take a bit of time for this decision.”
Bullingham, the FA’s chief executive, sat alongside Tuchel at Wembley and revealed they had spoken to “10” candidates during the process to replace Gareth Southgate, but stopped short of divulging who they had made contact with.
The Athletic reported that Pep Guardiola, whose Manchester City contract is due to expire at the end of this season, was the FA’s top choice.
“We ran a really clear process,” Bullingham said. “We spoke to approximately 10 (candidates) throughout the process. Clearly some were more up for the role than others.
“We were absolutely delighted to end up with Thomas and we believe he gives us the best chance of winning the World Cup. We believe the best candidate got the job.”
(Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
