Every word that Thomas Tuchel and Mark Bullingham said in the first ever press conference of Thomas Tuchel as the England manager.
Thomas Tuchel: Hello to everybody! I’m of course obviously very excited and honored to be here today as the new head coach of England. I just um had the chance to read a quote from Pilly in the in the building in Wembley who said that Wembley is the heart the capital and the Cathedral of football and I think he was absolutely right. So I want to take the opportunity to thank the FA especially Mark and John for their trust and I’m very excited to start this journey and January with uh with you
with the staff at St George’s Park and at wemble and of course with a very special and exciting group of players to make our dream come true in America.
Well Thomas hi congratulations it’s Rob Daw from Sky Sports nice to see you look you’ve had some huge jobs in football already yeah is this your biggest challenge and with that in mind would it be your biggest achievement if you led England to a a major title?
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I understood very quickly that it’s a big job uh I think it’s always the job you are in is the biggest job that you don’t get and and it does not make a lot of sense to compare but um it feels big and it feels like I said like a privilege. It is very new because I come from from Club football so the Rhythm the the responsibility the role is a new role which is also very exciting. I was very open for that and and like the idea of it uh. Once Mark and and John made clear to me that this job is about football, I um uh we never lost the momentum and once I made a time frame up in my mind from January to to the World Cup I felt already excited and that it it it suited my my my passion and and uh my my strive to to to push this group of players and and to be part of this this Federation with such a a strong record in the last tournaments to to push it over the line and and to try to put a second star on the shirt.
Good luck um Mark your statement was sorry I didn’t mean that way was a little bit flipping that wasn’t it I beg you pardon yeah um Mark your statement was unequivocal really in saying that you your your entire criteria your primary criteria was to appoint somebody that could could uh deliver a major a major trophy um is it an uncomfortable Truth for you though the fact that that Tomas isn’t English?
So Rob we were always really clear that we wanted the very best person for the job and we feel like we owe it to the players and the country to give them that support that leadership in tournaments that will help to get them over the line and give us the best chance of winning a trophy in the men’s World Cup. So we feel we’ve done that we feel delighted that Thomas has joined us.
Thomas Dan Rowan BBC um there’ll be many England fans who are very excited about your arrival given your vast experience the trophies You’ve Won your pedigree what would your message be though to those fans who would have preferred the England team to be managed by an English coach and do you understand that position?
I’m sorry I just have a German passport but I can just tell them and I maybe everyone all of these supporters also felt my passion for for the English Premier League my passion for the country how how how how I love to live here and how I love to work here.
So my memories are on the highest level of that that that played a huge role um and and hopefully I can convince them and show them and prove them that I’m I’m I’m proud to be the English manager I’m I will do everything to show respect to this role and to this country and the target for the next 18 months is nothing else and then um the the biggest one in in in in World football and everyone can be assured of no no matter what nationality my passport is.
Mark if I may ask you say in your statement you interviewed several candidates can you shed any light a bit more detail on that for example how many were any English was Lee Carley ever a realistic possibility? Can you give us any more details about who else you spoke to?
Sure Dan as you’d understand the whole process was confidential and I think I understand at times that might have been frustrating for for people but we had to maintain that confidentiality for us but also really more importantly for the candidates so I’ll say a few things but I’ll hold it at that. So we interviewed approximately 10 uh people um and we did interview some English candidates within that as to anything further you wouldn’t expect me to divulge any details really.
Thomas Steve Scott from ITV News um Chelsea fans will know you very well other Premier League fans will know you well but obviously England fans are a much bigger group than that so for those who don’t know you what sort of person are you can you describe your personality?
My personality.
Your personality.
Well maybe I try to describe my coaching personality but I I think it’s it’s pretty obvious I’m I’m very emotional and I I I love to be to be um I love what I’m doing I’m I’m passionate about football and uh um like like we said before this this task and and this role like just brought the the Young The Young me alive and it brought back the the the my my teenage days like to to get excited for for such a for such a big task for the three for the Three Lions for for playing matches at wemble for for working with this group of players so everyone can be assured that we will do it with passion and with emotions and we will try to install values and um and principles and and and rules as as quickly as possible to to make the dream to make the dream come true.
First we have to of course go through the qualification process to the World Cup but um it starts for us in in in January and um we will dive in completely.
Gareth Southgate developed a very specific culture within the England Camp will you try and maintain that or do you think you need to create your own one that’s more aligned to you?
No we will build on it we will build on it I think Gareth and DFA did a fantastic job in terms of stability and consistency look at the last results in the tournament it’s a quarterfinal semi-final and and and two finals in the last four tournaments it’s it’s outstanding the under 21s win titles the the younger teams are in in the competition to win titles the women team wins titles so we are there I think the Federation is there and it was a a big part of taking that job.
I am curious I want to learn I will have a different schedule than in club football but I it was a big part that that’s the the knowledge and the quality of of the Federation to to have that at my side and and uh to combine it with my ideas with our ideas um so we will build on on everything that Gareth built and DFA built and hopefully we can we can add a little bit of extra to to get it over the line.
Thomas welcome and congratulations you took an English team Chelsea to a Champions League final against Manchester City who were overwhelming favorites going into that and won. What does the prospect of 58 years of hurt mean to you and you relishing putting a second shirt star on an England shirt?
Like I said I I I I got very the Mark and John um made very clear that it’s about football and this excit me very quickly because I was not sure before we had this first talk if this is a role for me like an international football because it is the schedule is very different from from Club football but then we found so many similarities and so many things that that that suited my my Approach and my Hunger to to to achieve special things.
I always wanted to come back uh to England that was my big goal I have the the the best memories of of the country of the the league and of the players the attitude towards the game the attitude from the supporters who um that shapes the players and the the character of The Players was one of a kind and um that’s why the the offer came in the absolutely right time we kept the momentum in and within weeks we found a we found a a vision to share and and a project and an adventure that that I’m I’m very happy to be to be a a big part of and now I have to live up to it of of course and and um I know that there are some trophies missing um in in the Federation and of course I want to be I I I want to help to make it happen.
You just said in a social media post you said that you would like to put another star on our shirt you’re already pledging your Allegiance as it were u a big question for Leey had to answer will you sing the national anthem does an England man manager need to?
I understood from Mark that it’s a personal decision first of all if you if you sing it and there were managers who sang it and and others who who didn’t uh I have not made my decision yet I want to be very honest with you it your Anthem is very moving the English Anthem is very moving I experienced it several times here at Wembley and um even out with the players in the FA Cup Final so it was very touching no matter what decision I will take we have a bit time until March I I I will always show my respect to my new role to the country and and of course to a very moving me to a very moving Anthem but um as this is a new subject I will take a little bit time for for this decision.
Rob Harris from Sky News welcome back congratulations.
Thank you.
Are you prepared for the pressure and intensity that the England job brings and was that something that was on your mind in the past perhaps managers decided not to take this role because of the spotlight on their private life and things like that?
This is always the last thing I think about and um because uh I’m I’m up for the pressure on the sportive side I’m up for the Big Challenge I’m I’m I’m up for the task I’m up for these 18 months to work with this group and be part of this amazing in Federation so these are all the reasons to to jump in the the pressure on the personal side or the pressure that that that comes from from media and that could arise if things don’t go so well is never part of the of the decision making and and I don’t feel it so much I feel it of course then in the process but it’s always um yeah it’s always a privilege and and and my love and my passion for the game is is always much more than than the downside of it.
And from watching England at recent tournaments how do you think you can make the difference and turn this team into Trophy winners
I think first of all they are there we are there the players proved the group of players proved that that they are there. The the consistency of quarterfinals semi-finals finals is is uh is impressive and it shows that uh we have players who compete in the strongest league in the world day in day out so we have the ingredients um and uh we we we fully trust that this is a that this is the moment to install maybe also from Club football um patterns behaviors um um principles that can maybe help to to push the to push the team over the line we will need luck we will need the momentum we will be we will need to be lucky to not have uh injuries and and and so on.
And and little decision within the games that is a given but we feel confident to to to add something from from our experience in club football that can maybe help but uh most important is to to even if we speak out now very openly what the target is about the second star we we have to prove ourselves um all the time you’re a national player every single day I will be a national coach every single day and not only when a campus so we have to live up to these standards and I’m but I’m very confident that everybody is used to that so this is what I demand from myself and then we need to show it in qualification and and build an atmosphere with the supporters and the country that extra extra special things can happen.
I think every everyone has its opinion and I can understand it even in in opinion when someone says like I would fancy an English coach more for for for the english team I can understand it but um I think we deserve a fair chance we deserve the credit for for having a good record in the country for never being shy of how much we love to live in the country and how much we enjoy to uh work with the players in Premier League so um maybe this counts a little bit for for for a British uh Edge on on on my German on my German uh passport and so we will try to convince them by results and by the way we play.
Gareth Southgate was described as by many people as uh sympathetic human and emotionally intelligent how would you describe yourself?
I think we’re all human I mean we’re all human and and this is a big part of the job I think like I said I I’m I’m uh I am uh impressed of of the record that that Gareth provided with this team and uh I am very well aware of uh what he built together with Mark and John uh in the Federation as a foundation and now it’s on us to to to leave our own marks to leave our own Footprints and uh yeah we will try to to take the next step from there.
Hi Thomas um congratulations! Um it’s been widely reported that you’ve signed an 18 month contracts is that true firstly and secondly if so how do you feel about potentially only having one shot uh a tournament well?
Let’s see let’s see it’s 18 months and then we agreed to sit together and then we we we see I mean um I have good uh experience with 18 months personally unfortunately also sometimes I’m working on my long-term game but uh um you you never know um the point was in this particular case that it was important uh for me to to to have a frame around it because it’s a little bit of step into the unknown for me I am used to work on a daily basis with the staff I’m used to work with a daily basis on on on the team to have the influence on on 60 80 people in a training camp on a every single day to be three days a week away on in hotel rooms and and and prepare matches.
And and this will be very different so like like the the the last piece of bit for me to to understand that this is something that that U that can really excite me to to the fullest and and um was the time frame of 18 months to not also and and to also to demand from myself to not lose the focus for all of us so I think it’s a it’s a it’s a good time frame because it will help us to focus we are focus on the qualification and on the World Cup it will help us in the nomination process it will help us in the communication towards the players within the staff so I think this is now very streamlined and very easy to explain. We are here to to to work on the best possible outcome for for the World Cup 26 and and then let’s see um whatever comes comes.
You obviously came in at Chelsea and had an immediate impact won the Champions League in a matter of months do you think that experience is translatable to England and the time frame you’ve got now?
I um I think so yes but I’m not fully sure because I have to feel into it the the the the the schedule will be different the the workload will be different um but uh I wanted this uh I wanted exactly this once Mark and Sean presented me the opportunity and and made it very clear that it’s about me and that they trust me with this uh process in in in in pushing this team um I I was very happy now to have the chance also to um to to learn to learn on this process to to to have the strong foundation and and stability and quality of the Federation to get better to get smarter and um to um yeah to to to get better while I’m while I’m on this job so that this is was a big part of it.
Hi Thomas Henry Winter World Soccer first congratulations and secondly you know Harry Kane well did you speak to him before taking the job and will he remain your captain?
I did speak to no one we kept the process very confidential between uh Mark John and uh and me I did not speak to um to Harry I didn’t speak to Gareth I also normally I never do this to get my own feeling for it and and get my own point of view and let it sink in and reflect on it so no haven’t done it yet um you know it’s it’s too early to answer these kind of questions you know how highly I think and feel for for for Harry and how of how how much I fought to bring him bom Munich and uh so he is um he is uh already on his way to be a legend in in English football and but now I think it’s also very important to um to to give the respect to Lee and and and the camp the upcoming camp in November to take his uh his decisions free and without me interfering and then the we will answer this question in latest in March.
You said it was a goal to get back to England can I ask why say again you said it was a goal to get back to for you can I ask why you chose England over say Manchester United who you’ve been strongly linked with?
Which would also have been England but uh in in the country National um because the the the the idea and and and the way John and Mark presented it uh was very fast very exciting and it was very confidential was very trustful it was very straightforward and um yeah that was basically a decision for this job and not a decision against anything else you will understand that I will not comment on on individual players today and and for sure not comment like always on on any other clubs.
Can I ask Mark um were you rejected by anyone was Thomas the only person you you offered the job to?
We we ran a really clear process we spoke with 10 like I said approximately 10 people throughout process clearly some were more up for the role than others but we were absolutely delighted to end up with Thomas and we believe he gives us the best chance of winning the World Cup so we believe we’ve got the best candidate for the job.
