LONDON: Thomas Tuchel said he must rise to the challenge of ending England’s wait for a first major trophy since 1966 as the German was unveiled as the new manager of the Three Lions on Wednesday. Former Chelsea boss Tuchel will start his new job from January 1, 2025 on an 18-month deal to the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup.

The 51-year-old, who has been out of work since leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season, succeeds Gareth Southgate as permanent coach and becomes the third foreign England manager after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

“I know that there are some trophies missing in the federation and, of course, I want to help to make it happen,” he told a press conference at Wembley. Tuchel, who has also coached Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain, has the trophy-winning pedigree that the FA is seeking to help end a 58-year wait to win a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup on home soil.

The highlight of the German’s career to date came during his spell in English football when he won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021. However, the FA’s move has drawn criticism over their unwillingness to trust an Englishman with its top job, overseeing a richly-talented generation of players including Jude Bellingham who will be among the favorites for the 2026 World Cup.

“There are some serious questions for the FA to answer in respect of English coaching,” said former Manchester United captain and England defender Gary Neville. Southgate resigned shortly after losing the Euro 2024 final to Spain in July, following an eight-year reign that made England a force again on the international stage.

“We will build on everything that Gareth and the FA built and hopefully we can add a little bit of extra to get it over the line,” added Tuchel. “We will try to install values and principles and rules as quickly as possible to make the dream come true.” Tuchel will be assisted by English coach Anthony Barry, who worked alongside him at Bayern.

‘Top coach’

FA CEO Mark Bullingham said English candidates were among 10 interviewees but that Tuchel represented the best chance of delivering success. “We wanted the very best person for the job and we feel like we owe it to the players and the country to give them that support, that leadership in tournaments that will help to get them over the line,” said Bullingham. “Thomas gives us the best chance of winning a trophy in the men’s World Cup, so we feel we’ve done that.”

Tuchel won league titles at PSG and Bayern and the German Cup with Dortmund, but his greatest success came during his time at Chelsea. On top of leading the Blues to Champions League glory just months after taking charge, he also won the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup with the London club.

But he was sacked in September 2022 in a bold early move by Chelsea’s new ownership group that did not pay off. Just six months later he was appointed Bayern boss and led them to an 11th consecutive Bundesliga title.

However, Tuchel also oversaw the demise of Bayern’s dominance of German football in a first trophyless campaign for 12 years last season. England captain Harry Kane was signed by Tuchel for Bayern last year and scored 44 goals in 45 matches under his tutelage.

“I think it’s a really great appointment. I worked closely with him last season and think he’s a really top, top coach and also a great person,” said Kane. Tuchel added that he was happy to delay the start to his new job until January.

“It was important for me to narrow it down into a project and not lose the focus, to start in another competition, the Nations League, then go into qualification and the tournament,” he said.

“I wanted to have a clean start and a bit of time to recharge fully and start in January and start the first camp in March.” Lee Carsley was put in temporary charge of England in August following Southgate’s resignation and will remain in place for Nations League fixtures against the Republic of Ireland and Greece next month. However, the FA were keen to stress a shock 2-1 defeat by Greece last week played no part in their decision as Tuchel signed his contract on October 8, two days before that match. — AFP