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16th October 2024
03:03pm BST
Former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel has explained why he rejected the opportunity to become Manchester United manager in favour of the England job.
The 51-year-old was unveiled by the FA as the new Three Lions boss this morning and will officially take charge on 1 January after signing an 18-month contract.
Thomas Tuchel. Our #ThreeLions head coach from 2025. 🏴
— England (@England) October 16, 2024
Anthony Barry, who was a member of Stephen Kenny's coaching team during his tenure as Republic of Ireland boss, was announced as Tuchel's assistant manager.
Barry previously worked with the German at Chelsea and Bayern Munich, and is currently working as a coach with Portugal under Roberto Martinez.
The man who led Chelsea to their 2021 Champions League triumph was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford over the past six months.
A lot of speculation has surrounded current United boss Erik Ten Hag after his team finished 8th last season. Rumours of a sacking have only intensified in recent weeks as the Red Devils sit 14th in the table with just eight points accumulated across seven games.
During this morning's press conference, Tuchel addressed the long-running link to the United job and explained why the opportunity to coach England was too good to turn down.
"The idea and the way John [McDermott] and Mark [Bullingham] presented it was very fast and confidential," he said. "It was very straightforward, it was a decision for this job and not against anything else.
"They made it clear it's about football and that got me excited," he continued. "I wasn't sure this was the job for me because the schedule is very different. I always wanted to come back to England, that was my big goal.
"The offer came at the right time and we found a vision to share. Now I have to live up to it. I know there are some trophies and I want to help that happen.
"It's 18 months and then we agreed to sit together and we'll see," he said when asked about his contract. "I have good experience with 18-months, unfortunately sometimes. I'm working on my long-term game!
📩 (1) new message from Thomas Tuchel. pic.twitter.com/ADTVUHpnRN
— England (@England) October 16, 2024
"The last piece of it from me to understand that this is something that can really excite me to the fullest was the timeframe of 18 months but to demand from myself to not lose the focus. It's a good timeframe because it will help us focus. It is very streamlined.
"We have players who compete in the strongest leagues in the world day in, day out," Tuchel added. "We will need luck, momentum, luck to not have injuries and so on.
"We feel confident to add something from our experience in club football that can maybe help. We have to prove ourselves all the time. We have to live up to these standards but I'm confident everyone is used to that."
