LONDON – British soccer managers reacted with disappointment and a degree of resignation on Thursday after a German, Thomas Tuchel, was hired to take charge of England ahead of a homegrown coach.
Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said some English managers — he didn’t disclose the precise number — were interviewed for the role from a shortlist of “approximately” 10 names. Tuchel was ultimately deemed to be the best hope of leading England to a first major title since the 1966 World Cup.
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Tuchel, the former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich manager, is the third overseas coach — after the late Sven-Goran Eriksson of Sweden (2001-06) and Fabio Capello of Italy (2007-12) — to be appointed to lead England's men's team this century.
Russell Martin, one of six managers from Britain and Ireland currently leading teams in the Premier League, said there were “loads of English coaches really capable of doing the job as well.”
“Maybe English managers aren’t given enough credit,” the Southampton manager said, “or maybe they are deemed not good enough by the most important people.”
Martin, who got his chance in the Premier League after getting promoted with Southampton last season, questioned the effectiveness of the much-hyped coaching pathway at England’s national training center at St. George’s Park.
“It’s going to cause a lot of interesting discussion and conversation, especially at the FA, because we have a well-renowned coaching education system that people come from far and wide to do, and then we can’t appoint someone from that,” said Martin, an England-born former Scotland international.
Everton's English manager Sean Dyche, who confirmed he wasn’t interviewed by the FA, said it was “a reality of the modern game” after homegrown coaches were overlooked for the vacancy.
And Leicester manager Steve Cooper, a Welshman who led England to the title at the Under-17 World Cup in 2017, said he hoped British coaches will be ranked among the world’s best “over the course of time.”
“In the meantime, any opportunity we are given we have to take them and do a good job,” said Cooper, who has also coached Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. “Until we do that on a regular basis maybe we shouldn’t say so much.
“I really believe in British culture. I believe in the coaching education pathway as well.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer