A bullish Pep Guardiola has given his thoughts on the FA’s appointment of Thomas Tuchel as the new England manager, remaining cagey on whether he was approached for the role.
The Manchester City boss was heavily rumoured to be a leading candidate for the Three Lions’ hot seat as interim manager Lee Carsley’s position became increasingly untenable amidst some confusing comments over his future.
The stand-in coach said he would ‘hopefully…be going back to the [under]-21s’ after a loss to Greece before creating further chaos following a win over lowly Finland when he claimed the role was for ‘a world class coach who’s won trophies’.
This all led to reports that legendary City manager Guardiola had been approached about the position as England boss, but German Tuchel ended up being confirmed as the new man instead in a hectic week at St George’s Park.
Now the typically cagey Spaniard has broken his silence over the process and congratulated the former Chelsea head coach on his appointment.
A bullish Pep Guardiola has spoken out on the FA’s appointment of Thomas Tuchel
He said: ‘Tuchel is the manager. I congratulate the FA and Thomas.
‘I’ve been here years, I want the best for them.’
Tuchel was confirmed as the new permanent Three Lions boss having signed a contract worth £6million a year last Tuesday.
He will start work in January on a deal that runs for 18 months – meaning the 2026 World Cup in North America could be his only tournament in charge.
The former Chelsea boss will be only the third non-English manager of the men’s England team and the first since Fabio Capello quit in 2012.
On Wednesday Tuchel had his first taste of the job, meeting the media for a press conference where he fielded questions on a variety of topics from whether he would sing the national anthem, to why he took the job in the first place.
Asked if he had a message for those who have slammed his appointment, Tuchel said with a smile: ‘I am sorry I just have a German passport but maybe the supporters can feel my passion for the Premier League, my passion for the country, how I love to live and work here.
‘I will do everything to show respect to this role and to this country. This is the biggest one in world football and everybody can be assured, no matter what nationality my passport says.
‘Everyone has their opinion. Even if someone says, “I would fancy an English coach more for the English team”, I can understand it. 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.
‘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 starts for us in January. We will dive in.’
Asked if he would sing the national anthem as England manager, Tuchel replied: ‘I understood from Mark (Bullingham, FA chief executive) that it’s a personal decision. I have not made my decision yet.
‘Your anthem is very moving. I’ve experienced it several times here at Wembley.
‘No matter what decision I take, we have time until March. I will always show my respect to my new role, to the country and, of course, to a very moving anthem. As this is a new subject, I will take a bit of time.’
Tuchel will be assisted by Anthony Barry, the Englishman who worked with him at Chelsea and Bayern Munich. The FA interviewed 10 candidates for the managerial vacancy, some of whom were English.
Sitting alongside Tuchel, Bullingham refused to reveal any names as he said: ‘Clearly some were more up for the role than others. We were absolutely delighted to end up with Thomas and we believe he gives us the best chance of winning the World Cup.’
Tuchel also spoke of wanting to add a ‘second star on the shirt’, or second World Cup triumph, saying at the start of his unveiling: ‘I just had the chance to read a quote from Pele here who said that ‘Wembley is the heart and the capital and the cathedral of football’, and he was absolutely right.’
