Harry Kane expects Thomas Tuchel to be a “real injection of energy” when he takes over as England head coach next year.
Tuchel, 51, will start work on January 1 and then manage England for the first time in March. England captain Kane, who played for Tuchel last season at Bayern Munich, described the German’s motivation style at length on Saturday, saying that he did not “shy away from confrontation”, and admitting that some players did not like how he spoke to them at Bayern.
But 31-year-old Kane, who admitted he was a “little bit” shocked to be dropped by interim head coach Lee Carsley on Thursday, was very positive about the next England boss — both in terms of how he deals with players and his commitment to tactical detail.
“I think he will understand the assignment and understand that a big part of it will be him bringing energy to the squad,” Kane said at the Tottenham training ground on Saturday. “I’m hoping that come March it will be a real injection of energy to lead us up to the World Cup.”
For Kane, the most important thing was Tuchel’s ability to combine both enjoyment and a commitment to work.
“He has a great balance of having a relaxed environment, but also one that when it comes to work he’s really passionate and really energetic,” Kane said. “From my own experience, he did a lot around togetherness and motivation. He’s a really good motivator. He gets that balance right of having a relaxed environment when you’re not training, with a bit of banter and a laugh and a joke, but when you’re on the pitch it is full focus.”
Kane has been to five major tournaments with England so knows what it takes in that environment, and he hopes that Tuchel will be able to push the players right way at the next World Cup. “For international football, having that energy in short bursts is really important, especially when you get to major tournaments and you’re away for six weeks and you see the same faces all the time,” Kane said. “You need to make sure you find different ways to motivate and different ways to bring the energy.”
Tuchel has never worked in international football before but Kane hopes that Tuchel’s style will translate well to the international game. Even though Bayern did not win the Bundesliga last year, Kane pointed to their Champions League campaign, in which they were minutes away from reaching the final before a dramatic elimination by Real Madrid.
“Maybe his playing style suits tournament football,” Kane said. “It suited us in the Champions League last year, we were a few minutes from reaching the final. The way he sets up, the way he thinks about the little details in the games can have a big difference. The FA have looked at who they think is going to be best for us to win the World Cup. When you look at the people out there, he was definitely right at the top of the list.”
Tuchel has a reputation for spikiness and Kane said that he was not afraid of confrontation when required. “He is really disciplined in what he wants and he won’t shy away from confrontation if need be,” Kane said, who added that Tuchel was “very straight-talking” and would not “shy away from things” when dealing with the media.
When Tuchel left Bayern at the end of last season it emerged that he had fallen out with key players. Kane, still part of the Bayern dressing room, admitted that Tuchel’s style is not for everyone.
“He is pretty straight in how he talks, and maybe there were some players who didn’t like that or agree with that. But each coach has their own way of trying to talk to players, to criticise players, to try and motivate players. So not every player is going to love the manager. Probably come March there will be players who might disagree with some things. In every club, every player has their opinions. But I think the way he wants to get us playing will be exciting.”
England complete their Nations League campaign under Carsley on Sunday against Republic of Ireland at Wembley, with a victory enough to clinch promotion back to League A of the competition.
(Stefan Matzke – sampics/Corbis via Getty Images)
