Thomas Tuchel hoping ‘British edge’ wins over England doubters after international U-turn

New England boss Thomas Tuchel once complained there were too many games, too many competitions and too many friendlies in international football

Thomas Tuchel apologised for his German passport – but insisted it comes with a “British edge.”

Former Chelsea boss Tuchel spelt out his affection for England, English football and why he always wanted to come back to live and work here again. Tuchel, 51, was hugely impressive as he laid out his ambition, philosophy and admitted the only way to convince over any doubters – and those who say the England manager must be English – to win matches.

“I am sorry to have a German passport but I can just tell them and maybe the supporters can feel my passion for the English Premier League, my passion for the country, how I love to live and work here,” said Tuchel.

“I think everyone has their opinion and I can understand even the opinion 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. It’s the country, it’s the humour, it’s the way of life, it’s the attitude from the supporters to the game and what they demand from the players.

“I said it many times, it shapes the character of the players, how they live their expression, how they approach their training towards a team effort. For me it was a one of a kind experience. To breathe that again is a big privilege. I am very happy to be back.

“It has brought back my teenage days, to get excited for such a big country, the three lions, playing matches at Wembley, leading this group of players.”

Tuchel was always good value during his 20 months in charge at Chelsea as he was passionate, outspoken and, above all, successful. After all, he won the European Cup and outwitted Pep Guardiola in the final. The ex-Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint Germain boss was also a brilliant diplomat when he spoke with authority and compassion about the Ukraine war after Chelsea’s former Russian owner, Roman Abramovich, was forced to relinquish the club.

The one area where Tuchel was not diplomatic about was, amusingly, international football. He once complained there were too many games, too many competitions and too many friendlies. When he was reminded of the quote and complaint, Tuchel laughed and said: “Good one. Now it’s not enough, we need more matches! No, it correlates with the question before.

“That’s why 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. 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. We will not have a lot of time.”

It is bizarre that Tuchel would not want to take control as soon as possible because the Nations League campaign can have implications for fixtures, World Cup qualifying and the path ahead.

Tuchel is seeing out his Bayern pay-off from his £10m-a-year contract, that may well have more to do with why he is starting on January 1 rather than the diplomatic answer of wanting a clean start with the World Cup qualifiers.

But even Tuchel laughed about his habit of staying at clubs for a short space of time, generally winning trophies and then falling out with the hierarchy which was the case at Dortmund, PSG and Chelsea. He added: “I have had a good experience with 18 months personally. I’m working on my long-term game! You never know.”

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