Thomas Tuchel has been described as a “serial winner” tasked with ending England’s interminable wait for silverware stretching back to 1966.
The German says he is “very excited and honoured” to have the opportunity to start plotting England’s journey towards World Cup glory after being announced as Gareth Southgate’s successor as head coach.
The former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich manager becomes the third non-Englishman to hold the post after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. The 51-year-old will be assisted by English coach Anthony Barry.
Speaking on the Essential Euros podcast, Sky Sports reporter Juliette Ferrington interviewed him ahead of the tournament in Germany last summer – and you can listen to their in-depth conversation in full below.
So what do we know about the Three Lions’ new No 2? Sky Sports looks at his credentials ahead of his January 1 start date…
Journeyman playing career
Liverpool-born Barry, 38, had an unheralded playing career as a midfielder in the lower divisions.
He progressed through the Everton youth ranks but was released at 18 and went on to play at Coventry, Accrington, Yeovil, Fleetwood, Forest Green, Chester and Wrexham.
It was while at Yeovil that he dislocated his knee cap at the age of 24. It was initially diagnosed that his career was over and he began working on his coaching badges.
He admits he did not enjoy his own playing career in the Football League, leading him to turn fully to coaching.
“My career accelerated at a speed nobody would have ever imagined,” Barry said on the podcast.
“But from the age of 30 when I became a first-team coach, I was at that period of my football career where everyone tells you ‘continue playing… play as long as you can’. But my career had been blighted by injuries and it wasn’t something I enjoyed.”
Where his coaching career started
With his passion for playing on the wane, it was at 29 when he first had his taste of coaching, working with Accrington Stanley’s U16 side.
“I remember that first session so clearly,” Barry told the Essential Euros podcast last summer.
“It was on a Tuesday night. It was with around 10 players. I had a third of a pitch, not enough balls, not enough bibs.
“But I simply fell in love with coaching and on that night I knew it was absolutely everything I wanted to do. I felt a passion from that session with those kids that I hadn’t felt in playing games – even at Wembley. I knew right there and then, I wanted to be a young coach.”
Catching Lampard’s eye
Barry began his coaching career when he joined Paul Cook’s backroom staff at Wigan in 2017. At the age of 30, he was the youngest first-team coach in England, and his career has accelerated ever since.
“It was a little bit of luck that came my way that a manager had spotted me working in academy football and out on courses,” Barry has said reflecting on his time with Cook. “He gave me the headstart that allowed me to grow a career from a young age.”
He stayed with the Latics for three years before being taken to Chelsea by Frank Lampard, whom he had crossed paths with while studying for his Pro-Licence.
He left such a lasting impression on Lampard during the course that he wanted him on his backroom staff at Chelsea. He was also aware of the impression he left on Reece James, who spent the 2018/19 season on loan at Wigan.
Lampard soon departed but he stayed on at Stamford Bridge to work under his successors Tuchel and Graham Potter.
Barry is widely regarded as one of the most promising English coaches and several Championship sides have considered making him their manager.
Attention to detail
“I have always had clear objectives,” Barry told Sky Sports. “The objective for me when I was young was to just give everything to the job to try to push myself to go as far as I could.
“There was clear criteria that I wanted to meet to prove to everyone that I could become one of the best coaches in the world. There was something inside which told me I could achieve it.
“But even now, looking back and connecting the dots, I could never have imagined it working out the way it has.”
Barry’s big break came with a dissertation he wrote for his Pro-Licence.
His detailed analysis of 16,380 throw-ins across a full Premier League season made a mark on Lampard and he has since gone on to establish himself as a set-piece expert.
Tuchel credited him for the quality of his analysis, as well as his personality and drilling on the training pitch.
“His work with set-pieces at Chelsea was on a completely new level for me,” Tuchel said when he brought Barry to Bayern Munich last year.
Strong bond with Tuchel
EFL clubs looking to top-ranking assistants in the Premier League has become slightly trendy, but Barry undoubtedly made an impact under Tuchel – so much so that he stepped in for his manager when the German tested positive for coronavirus during the height of the pandemic.
Tuchel was impressed by Barry at Chelsea and the pair developed a strong friendship during a period in which they won the Champions League.
Tuchel was sacked by Chelsea in September 2022 but returned for Barry when he was appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
When Tuchel was named Bayern boss last year, he insisted on bringing Barry with him from Chelsea. The Bavarian club stumped up £1m in compensation to get the deal finalised.
“Our relationship is very respectful and friendly,” said Barry, upon being reunited with Tuchel at Bayern.
“I admired Thomas from the first day. We have a lot of parallels – how we work and how we see football. We try to push each other and to improve.
“That allows us to work at a very high level because we can be completely honest with each other. We talk very openly, discuss our ideas and always try to find the best solution.” England will be their third job together.
International experience
It will not be Barry’s first foray into international football, having briefly worked with the Republic of Ireland and also under Roberto Martinez with both Belgium and Portugal.
Prior to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, then Belgium manager Martinez poached him from Ireland having been impressed with his work. He subsequently followed Martinez to the Portugal national set-up.
What has Barry said about working with Kane?
Speaking on the Essential Euros podcast earlier this year, Barry said on England captain Harry Kane: “Harry is a joy. From a coaching point of view, he is a joy.
“He’s low maintenance, high performance, totally reliable, everything you could wish for from a player from a coach’s point of view. It was natural me Harry and Eric [Dier] found ourselves moving towards each other in a social aspect. He’s an amazing guy.
“I’ve never known a player who has such a high level of self-awareness, he knows what he needs, how he wants to be trained, when, what the opponent will do and what he needs to train. It’s something I’ve never experienced with elite players I’ve worked with.
“It’s an incredible squad they have. They’ve come so close so many times and now they have a lot of players who have taken the last step at club football, so many players with elite experience in the biggest games. With Harry as the leader and captain they will be led in the correct way.”
Does hiring Barry take edge off those opposed to Tuchel?
Speaking on Wednesday, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham described Barry as “a really talented young coach” in response to not going for an English manager.
“We set out to appoint the very best coach we could to give the players the best chance of winning the World Cup,” said Bullingham.
“We owed that to the country and we owed it to the players. We’re delighted with who we’ve got. We feel he’ll be an inspiration for some of the younger English coaches, and we’re delighted to have appointed Anthony Barry as his No 2.”
When pressed on what the appointment of Tuchel says about the standard of coaching in England, Bullingham added: “We always said we wanted the best person for the job, who would give the players the best chance of winning the World Cup, and we felt we owed that to the country.
“In terms of English coaches, we feel like we’ve got some really talented young coaches like Anthony Barry, who’s joining Thomas as his No 2. We’ve got that talent there.
“What we’d like to see is some of those coaches being given the top jobs in our country, and the opportunity to go and win trophies both domestically and at an international level.”