By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
ACLSportsACLSportsACLSports
9
Notification Show More
NewsNWFLWomen's Football
Bayelsa Queens ramp up WAFU prep with friendly wins
22 hours ago
#YourSportsMemoBlogsNewsSuper FalconsWomen's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinal Preview: Nigeria vs South Africa
22 hours ago
#YourSportsMemoBlogsNewsSuper Falcons
WAFCON Diary Six: hotels, hot showers and suspicious pepper soup
1 day ago
CompetitionFootballNewsSuper Eagles
CAF GS Mosengo-Omba impressed by CHAN 2024 Readiness
1 day ago
Age-Group FootballFootballNews
U20WAFUB: Flying Eagles to battle Ivory Coast in final
2 days ago
BlogsGrassrootsNaijaheroesNews
All Africa Games 1999: host’s hostility and “God of TB Joshua”
2 days ago
BasketballCompetitionNews
FIBA U19 WWC: Junior D’Tigress finish 12th in historic debut
3 days ago
NewsWomen's Football
Fenerbahçe confirm Sabastine Flourish Chioma signing 
3 days ago
BlogsCompetitionNewsWomen's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinals: Powerhouses clash as line-up is confirmed
3 days ago
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • Football
  • Naijaheroes
  • Grassroots
  • Basketball
  • Athletics
  • News
  • More
    • Laughter, Leather & Losses
    • #YOURSPORTSMEMO Podcast
    • Blogs
    • Competition
Reading: Thomas Tuchel and the burden of history with England
Share
Font ResizerAa
ACLSportsACLSports
Search
  • Home
  • Laughter, Leather & Losses
  • Football
  • Naijaheroes
  • Grassroots
  • Basketball
  • Athletics
  • News
  • #YourSportsMemo
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
ACLSports > Blog > Blogs > Thomas Tuchel and the burden of history with England
BlogsFootball

Thomas Tuchel and the burden of history with England

Calvin Emeka Onwuka
Last updated: October 21, 2024 8:25 am
Calvin Emeka Onwuka
Published: October 21, 2024
Share
As featured on NewsNow: Sport news
Sport News 24/7 

The FA’s decision to appoint the German, Thomas Tuchel, as the manager of the Three Lions has raised a lot of dust amongst former England internationals, journalists and others in and around the game.

The FIFA World Cup has been won by seven countries since the 1930 first edition. The UEFA European Championships have been won by ten different countries in its seventeen editions.

Tuchel, the former Dortmund, PSG, Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager, is not the first foreigner to be appointed by the FA. In 2001, Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed to replace Kevin Keegan and went on to manage England to the 2004 European Championship and the 2006 World Cup.

Fabio Capello followed after Steve McLaren had failed to qualify England for Euro 2008. The serial winner at club level in Italy and Spain took England to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

- Advertisement -

Unlike when Eriksson replaced Keegan and Capello replaced McLaren, Tuchel is not replacing a hapless English predecessor which makes the decision to go this route baffling.

In appointing Tuchel, the FA insist (and stridently shared by their supporters) that they “Have appointed the best man for the job.” Now, this is what irritates me to no end about it all. They have chosen or gone about the appointment of the job of the national team manager like a football club, which is fundamentally flawed.

National teams of countries like England, where the passion for the sport runs so deep, should never make decisions about who manages the team without looking at it from the angle of patriotism. The manager of the Three Lions can be viewed as far more important to many of the citizens than even the Prime Minister!

"It just doesn't feel right to me that we have a foreign coach"

Jamie Carragher believes England should have an English manager 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/BUlfdcZdKN

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) October 16, 2024

The Premier League is the runaway most watched league in the world. Go into the cities and villages at weekends in England to see how many people play the game in parks and how many go to support their teams at the four levels of professional football. This sport is very important to them.

Gareth Southgate took England to fourth place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, second place at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024. He took over from Roy Hodgson in 2016. When Southgate was appointed, how many thought at the time that he would have taken England into these positions that they had never been near since Euro 96? I don’t remember the FA saying they had given the job to the best man for the job.

You can query Southgate’s tactics during those two final defeats but you can’t question that his results should have been strong cases for continuing with an Englishman for the job.

It is not an accident of history that no foreign manager has won the FIFA World Cup only one has won the European Championships.

It is extremely important that the International Game is saved from the overbearing and overwhelming nature of European club football.

When you speak to former and current internationals and ask them to explain what it means to wear the national team jersey, you get the sense that the pride that comes with it is something they are actually unable to articulate. Time and time again, you always get them being speechless about the impact on them. That is primarily because it is THEIR country. They know they are representing their immediate and extended families and the history of the fatherland. It matters. It is no longer just a football match. It is the defence of the flag and the territory being represented.

Omo. Former players dey para oh.

Tuchel go battle demons in England 🤣.

However, Tuchel's last jobs have been poor as well.

pic.twitter.com/AoexvCbnxs

— Adepoju Tobi Samuel 🇳🇬 (@OgaNlaMedia) October 16, 2024

Joachim Low did not win the world cup with Germany in 2014 after a glittering club career. Didier Deschamps who succeeded Low as a world cup winner in 2018 did not do so on the back of glittering club management record. Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup winning coach is Lionel Scaloni. All of these men managed their own countries and none came with glittering club careers. And there is Luis de la Fuente, he who masterminded the ouster of Germany, France and England on the way to leading Spain to being European Champions. 

Nail. Head. Hit. 🎯 #Tuchel #England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/wzvo0ogWKG

— LeanneSpurs (@LeanneSpurs) October 20, 2024

There is absolutely nothing racist or xenophobic about expecting your fellow countryman to be the manager of your national team. If your country won’t hire a foreigner to be president/PM/Army or Defence chief then it should not hire a foreigner to manage your national sporting teams. It is actually as simple as that.

Eddie Howe at Newcastle, Steve Cooper (U17 World Cup winner) at Leicester, Graham Potter, formerly of Brighton and Chelsea and even Michael Carrick at Middlesbrough are Englishmen who could repeat the feats of Low, Deschamps, Scaloni and de la Fuente.

The wider picture in all this is that you can imagine Federation presidents in the African continent saying, “Well, if England can appoint a foreigner to manage their national team with their strong Premier League, what is our own excuse not to go down same route?”

FIFAWWC2019: Cameroon begin preparations with China Invitational
Russia 2018 warm up: Onazi, Obi missing from Czech lineup
Mahrez given permission to leave Algeria to complete move from Leicester
MFM FC: Ilechukwu reveals secret to Kwara United win
eLaLiga earns support from LaLiga Santander, SmartBank clubs
TAGGED:Fabio CapelloGareth SouthgateLuis de la FuenteSven-Goran ErikssonThomas TuchelThree Lions of England
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Previous Article WAFU B U20: Nigeria beaten in defence opener
Next Article Maresca and Premier League Weekend five points to ponder
Leave a Comment

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Categories

YourSportsMemo

Latest News

Bayelsa Queens ramp up WAFU prep with friendly wins
News NWFL Women's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinal Preview: Nigeria vs South Africa
#YourSportsMemo Blogs News Super Falcons Women's Football
WAFCON Diary Six: hotels, hot showers and suspicious pepper soup
#YourSportsMemo Blogs News Super Falcons
CAF GS Mosengo-Omba impressed by CHAN 2024 Readiness
Competition Football News Super Eagles

Stay Connected

FacebookLike
XFollow
InstagramFollow

Archives

Latest News

Fenerbahçe confirm Sabastine Flourish Chioma signing 
News Women's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinals: Powerhouses clash as line-up is confirmed
Blogs Competition News Women's Football
WAFCON Diary Five: Bread, five goals and a driver with a proposal
#YourSportsMemo Blogs News Super Falcons

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 14.8K other subscribers
ACLSportsACLSports
Follow US
© ACLSports. All Rights Reserved.
adbanner