Photo Credit: Getty Images
With the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, England have themselves a head coach with a knack for winning at the top level. This week, the 51-year-old was elected as the man to kick start the post-Gareth Southgate era, signing an 18-month deal starting in January. In doing so, the German will become just the third non-Englishman to take charge of the Three Lions after the late Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
The appointment, though, has caused a frenzy with plenty of observers questioning the Football Association's (FA) decision to hire a foreign manager. Tuchel set about to instantly get everyone onside in his unveiling by looking to address England's lack of recent silverware, targeting the 2026 World Cup. It is a bold aim considering Tuchel is embarking on his first foray into international management, yet his performances at club level suggest there is substance behind that goal.
Tuchel is already a well-known name in England from his time with Chelsea, but it has been a case of building up his credit throughout his career. His stock rose in Germany during his five years with Mainz which earned him the Borussia Dortmund job in 2015, having been identified as the top replacement for Jurgen Klopp. In his two seasons with Dortmund, he won the 2017 DFB-Pokal for the first major trophy of his career and had a 62.6 per win rate, overseeing 67 victories in 107 matches.
Joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2018, Tuchel continued to add to his cabinet by winning two Ligue 1 titles, two Trophee des Champions, a Coupe de France and a Coupe de la League. Tuchel left PSG in December 2020 with a career-best 74.8 per cent win rate but didn't have to wait long for his next job when Chelsea came calling. He embarked on a 14-game unbeaten run to open his account and guided the Blues to Champions League and FA Cup finals, beating Manchester City in the former but losing to Leicester in the latter.
Tuchel has often intrigued in terms of his style of play and being flexible in his ways when needed. He mainly utilized four-man defenses during his stints with Dortmund and PSG but mostly used a back three at Chelsea. There can't be a guarantee of how he will set England up, though you already get the sense that variation and proactivity are on the cards. But one thing that will be a non-negotiable for Tuchel is his players dominating possession to control games.
At Chelsea, Tuchel's side emerged as a possession-dominant team by having 62.2 per cent of the ball on average each game. That is the second-highest figure out of all managers from a minimum of 50 games, trailing only City's Guardiola.
