Unveiling of NEW England Head Coach Thomas Tuchel with FA CEO Mark Bullingham. Tuchel is sorry he has a German passport but is ready to get England that 2nd Star when he starts as manager in January
16/10/2024
Wembley Stadium, London, UK
16/10/2024
Wembley Stadium, London, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Okay, good afternoon everybody and welcome to Wembley Stadium for this unveiling of our
00:09new England senior men's head coach, Thomas Tuchel, who is joined here by FA CEO Mark
00:14Bullingham. We'll shortly start with some opening remarks before we open up to a Q&A
00:19from the floor, but before we do that, just a few housekeeping rules. We're going to keep
00:23it to two questions per person maximum, please, and also use the microphone available and
00:27state the name and organisation you work for before you ask your questions, and at
00:31the end we'll have a short section and bargain until 10.30pm this evening. So I'd like to
00:35hand over to Mark Bullingham. Great, thanks Andy. This is a really exciting day for the
00:41English game. We've appointed one of the very best coaches in the world and one of
00:47the very best young English coaches as his number two. Our aim is always to win a major
00:52tournament and we believe Thomas gives us the best possible chance to do that at the
00:57next Men's World Cup. We had a clear recruitment plan in place before the Euros and John McDermott
01:03and the team developed our ideal profile for an international coach and a shortlist if
01:09we needed it. After Gareth resigned, we executed that plan, we met and evaluated potential
01:15candidates. Thomas was absolutely outstanding, providing a really clear vision for the role
01:22and how he would work with our players to get the best out of them and to give us the
01:26best chance in the World Cup. We were delighted to sign contracts with Thomas last Tuesday,
01:32but wanted to wait for the international window to be over before we announced. We're also
01:37delighted that Ant is joining us, as one of the most exciting young English coaches around.
01:44Before I pass to Thomas, I'd like to thank Lee Carsley for stepping into the role for
01:48six matches. He's handled himself really well and I'm sure will continue to do so. Lee will
01:55manage the team for the November international window and then return to lead the under-21s,
02:00trying to defend their European Championship title. I'd also like to thank Gareth and Steve.
02:07The fact that we had such a high level of interest in this role is testament to the
02:11foundations they laid over their eight years with us. Thomas, would you like to say a few
02:16words? Of course, thank you Mark and hello to everybody. I'm of course obviously very
02:22excited and honoured to be here today as the new head coach of England. I just had
02:29the chance to read a quote from Pelé in the building in Wembley, who said that Wembley
02:35is the heart, the capital and the cathedral of football. I think he was absolutely right.
02:44So I want to take the opportunity to thank the FA, especially Mark and John for their
02:49trust and I'm very excited to start this journey in January with you, with the staff
02:57at St George's Park and at Wembley and of course with a very special and exciting group
03:03of players to make our dream come true in America.
03:07Thomas, congratulations. It's Rob Dawson from Sky Sports, nice to see you. You've had some
03:15huge jobs in football already. Is this your biggest challenge and with that in mind, would
03:22it be your biggest achievement if you led England to a major title?
03:27I understood very quickly that it's a big job. I think it's always the job you're in
03:32is the biggest job that you don't get and it does not make a lot of sense to compare.
03:39It feels big and it feels like a privilege. It is very new because I come from club football,
03:48so the rhythm, the responsibility, the role is a new role, which is also very exciting.
03:54I was very open for that and liked the idea of it. Once Mark and John made it clear to me that
04:03this job is about football, we never lost the momentum. Once I made a time frame up in my mind
04:11from January to the World Cup, I felt already excited and it suited my passion and my strife
04:22to push this group of players and to be part of this federation with such a strong record
04:29in the last tournaments to push it over the line and to try to put a second star on the shirt.
04:36Good luck. Mark, your statement was unequivocal in saying that your primary criteria was to
04:52appoint somebody that could deliver a major trophy. Is it an uncomfortable truth for you
04:59though, the fact that Thomas isn't English? So Rob, we were always really clear that we
05:04wanted the very best person for the job and we feel like we owe it to the players and the country
05:10to give them that support, that leadership in tournaments that will help to get them over the
05:14line and give us the best chance of winning a trophy in the Men's World Cup. So we feel we've
05:19done that. We feel delighted that Thomas has joined us. There will be many England fans who
05:26are very excited about your arrival given your vast experience, the trophies you've won, your
05:31pedigree. What would your message be to those fans who would have preferred the England team
05:36to be managed by an English coach? Do you understand their position? I'm sorry, I just
05:41have a German passport but I can just tell them and maybe all of these supporters also felt my
05:47passion for the English Premier League, my passion for the country, how I love to live here and how
05:54I love to work here. So my memories are on the highest level of that, that played a huge role
06:02and hopefully I can convince them and show them and prove them that I'm proud to be the
06:07English manager. I will do everything to show respect to this role and to this country and
06:14the target for the next 18 months is nothing else. The biggest one in world football and
06:21everyone can be assured of no matter what nationality my passport is.
06:26Mark, if I may ask, you say in your statement you interviewed several candidates. Can you
06:29shed any light, a bit more detail on that? For example, how many? Were any English? Was Lee
06:37Carsley ever a realistic possibility? Can you give us any more details about who else you spoke to?
06:43Sure Dan, as you'd understand the whole process was confidential and I think I understand at the
06:48times that might have been frustrating for people but we had to maintain that confidentiality for
06:53us but also really more importantly for the candidates. So I'll say a few things but I'll
06:58hold it at that. So we interviewed approximately 10 people and we did interview some English
07:03candidates within that. As to anything further you wouldn't expect me to divulge any details really.
07:10Thomas, Steve Scott from ITV News. Chelsea fans will know you very well, other Premier League
07:18fans will know you well but obviously England fans are a much bigger group than that. So
07:22for those who don't know you, what sort of person are you? Can you describe your personality?
07:27My personality?
07:28Your personality.
07:30Maybe I try to describe my coaching personality but I think it's pretty obvious. I'm very
07:36emotional and I love what I'm doing. I'm passionate about football and like we said
07:46before this task and this role just brought the young me alive and it brought back my teenage
07:57days to get excited for such a big task. For the three Lions, for playing matches at Wembley,
08:05for working with this group of players. So everyone can be assured that we will do it
08:09with passion and with emotions and we will try to install values and principles and rules as
08:19quickly as possible to make the dream come true. First we have to of course go through
08:25the qualification process to the World Cup but it starts for us in January and we will dive in.
08:33Gareth Southgate developed a very specific culture within the England camp. Will you
08:39try and maintain that or do you think you need to create your own, one that's more aligned to you?
08:45No, we will build on it. I think Gareth and DFA did a fantastic job in terms of stability and
08:51consistency. Look at the last results in the tournament, it's a quarter-final,
08:56semi-final and two finals in the last four tournaments. It's outstanding. The under-21s
09:03win titles, the younger teams are in the competition to win titles, the women's team
09:08wins titles. So we are there, I think the federation is there and it was a big part of
09:13taking that job. I am curious, I want to learn, I will have a different schedule than in club
09:18football but it was a big part. The knowledge and the quality of the federation to have that
09:27at my side and to combine it with my ideas, with our ideas. So we will build on everything that
09:36Gareth built and DFA built and hopefully we can add a little bit of extra to get it over the line.
09:44Thomas, welcome and congratulations. You took an English team, Chelsea, to a Champions League
09:50final against Manchester City, you were overwhelming favourites going into that and
09:55won. What does the prospect of 58 years of hurt mean to you and are you relishing putting a second
10:02star on an England shirt? Like I said, Mark and John made very clear that it's about football
10:12and this excited me very quickly because I was not sure before we had this first talk if this is
10:20a role for me like in international football because the schedule is very different from
10:24club football. But then we found so many similarities and so many things that suited my
10:32approach and my hunger to achieve special things. I always wanted to come back to England, that was
10:40my big goal. I have the best memories of the country, of the league and of the players.
10:45The attitude towards the game, the attitude from the supporters that shapes the players and
10:52the character of the players was one of a kind and that's why the offer came in the absolutely
10:59right time. We kept the momentum and within weeks we found a vision to share and a project
11:07and an adventure that I'm very happy to be a big part of. Now I have to live up to it of course and
11:16I know that there are some trophies missing in the federation and of course I want to help to
11:24make it happen. You just said in a social media post that you would like to put another star on
11:30our shirt. You're already pledging your allegiance as it were. A big question for
11:37Lee Carlsen he had to answer. Will you sing the national anthem? Does an England manager need to?
11:44I understood from Mark that it's a personal decision first of all if you sing it and
11:48there were managers who sang it and others who didn't. I have not made my decision yet.
11:54I want to be very honest with you. Your anthem is very moving, the English anthem is very moving.
12:00I experienced it several times here at Wembley and even out with the players in the FA Cup final so
12:07it was very touching. No matter what decision I will take we have a bit of time until March.
12:13I will always show my respect to my new role, to the country and of course to a very moving
12:20anthem. As this is a new subject I will take a little bit of time for this decision.
12:33Are you prepared for the pressure and intensity that the England job brings?
12:37Was that something that was on your mind in the past? Perhaps managers
12:40decided not to take this role because of the spotlight on their private life?
12:44This is always the last thing I think about because I'm up for the pressure on the
12:52sportive side. I'm up for the big challenge. I'm up for the task. I'm up for these 18 months to
12:58work with this group and be part of this amazing federation. These are all the reasons to jump in.
13:06The pressure on the personal side or the pressure that comes from media and that could arise if
13:12things don't go so well is never part of the decision making and I don't feel it so much.
13:19I feel it of course in the process but it's always a privilege and my love and my passion
13:26for the game is always much more than the downside of it. From watching England at recent tournaments
13:33how do you think you can make the difference and turn this team into trophy winners?
13:37I think first of all they are there. We are there. The group of players proved that they
13:43are there. The consistency of quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals is impressive and it shows
13:51that we have players who compete in the strongest league in the world day in and day out.
13:57So we have the ingredients and we fully trust that this is the moment to install
14:06also from club football patterns, behaviours, principles that can maybe help to push the team
14:17over the line. We will need luck, we will need the momentum, we will need to be lucky to not have
14:23injuries and so on and little decisions within the games that is a given.
14:28But we feel confident to add something from our experience in club football that can
14:34maybe help. But most important is to, even if we speak out now very openly what the target is
14:42about the second star, we have to prove ourselves all the time. You're a national player every
14:48single day, I will be a national coach every single day and not only when a camp is. So we
14:54have to live up to these standards but I'm very confident that everybody is used to that. So
14:59this is what I demand from myself and then we need to show it in qualification and build an
15:07atmosphere with the supporters and the country that extra special things can happen.
15:13Rob Brumby, ARD Television, German TV, London Bureau.
15:17There are people who say that a national coach has to come from England.
15:25How can such prejudices be overcome?
15:29I think they have a point.
15:31Shall I translate?
15:33English questions from now on.
15:36I think everyone has its opinion and I can understand even an opinion when someone says
15:44I would fancy an English coach more for the English team. I can understand it but I think we
15:52deserve a fair chance, we deserve the credit for having a good record in the country, for never
15:58being shy of how much we love to live in the country and how much we enjoy to live in the
16:05country and how much we enjoy to work with the players in the Premier League. Maybe this counts
16:11a little bit for a British edge on my German passport. So we will try to convince them by
16:21results and by the way we play.
16:23In English then.
16:25Gareth Southgate was described by many people as sympathetic, human and emotionally intelligent.
16:33How would you describe yourself?
16:35I think we are all human.
16:37This is a big part of the job.
16:41Like I said, I am impressed of the record that Gareth provided with this team.
16:51I am very well aware of what he built together with Mark and John in the Federation as a
16:57foundation. Now it is on us to leave our own marks, to leave our own footprints.
17:03We will try to take the next step from there.
17:07It has been widely reported that you have signed an 18-month contract. Is that true?
17:15Secondly, how do you feel about potentially only having one shot at a tournament?
17:23Let's see. It is 18 months and then we agreed to sit together and then we will see.
17:29I have good experience with 18 months, unfortunately.
17:37Sometimes I am working on my long-term game.
17:41You never know.
17:43The point was in this particular case that it was important for me to have a frame around it.
17:51It was a little bit of a step into the unknown for me.
17:53I am used to work on a daily basis with the staff.
17:57I am used to work on a daily basis on the team.
17:59To have the influence on 60-80 people in a training camp every single day.
18:05To be three days a week away in hotel rooms and prepare matches.
18:11This will be very different.
18:13The last piece of bit for me to understand that this is something that can really excite me to the fullest
18:25was the time frame of 18 months.
18:29Also to demand for myself to not lose the focus for all of us.
18:35I think it is a good time frame because it will help us to focus.
18:39We are focused on the qualification and on the World Cup.
18:43It will help us in the nomination process.
18:45It will help us in the communication towards the players within the staff.
18:49I think this is now very streamlined and very easy to explain.
18:53We are here to work on the best possible outcome for the World Cup 26.
18:59Then let's see.
19:01Whatever comes, comes.
19:04You obviously came in at Chelsea and had an immediate impact.
19:08You won the Champions League in a matter of months.
19:10Do you think that experience is translatable to England and the time frame you have now?
19:16I think so, yes.
19:18I am not fully sure because I have to feel into it.
19:22The schedule will be different.
19:24The workload will be different.
19:28I wanted this.
19:30I wanted exactly this.
19:32Marc and John presented me the opportunity and made it very clear that it is about me.
19:38They trust me with this process in pushing this team.
19:44I was very happy now to have the chance to learn on this process.
19:52To have the strong foundation and stability and quality of the federation.
19:58To get better, to get smarter.
20:00And to get better while I am on this job.
20:07This was a big part of it.
20:19Hi Thomas, Henry Winter, World Soccer.
20:21First, congratulations.
20:23Secondly, you know Harry Kane well.
20:25Did you speak to him before taking the job?
20:28And will he remain your captain?
20:31I did speak to no one.
20:33We kept the process very confidential between Marc, John and me.
20:42I did not speak to Harry.
20:45I did not speak to Gareth.
20:47Normally I never do this to get my own feeling for it.
20:51And get my own point of view.
20:53And let it sink in and reflect on it.
20:55No, I have not done it yet.
20:57It is too early to answer these kind of questions.
21:01You know how highly I think and feel for Harry.
21:05And how much I fought to bring him to Bayern Munich.
21:09He is already on his way to be a legend in English football.
21:16But now I think it is also very important to give the respect to Lee.
21:22And the upcoming camp in November.
21:25To take his decisions free and without me interfering.
21:30And then we will answer this question in March.
21:38You said it was a goal to get back to England.
21:40Can I ask why?
21:41Say again?
21:42You said it was a goal to get back to England for you.
21:44Can I ask why you chose England over Manchester United?
21:48Which would also have been England.
21:52But why the other national teams?
21:59Because the idea and the way John and Mark presented it.
22:05Was very fast, very exciting.
22:09And it was very confidential.
22:11It was very trustful.
22:13It was very straight forward.
22:15And that was basically a decision for this job.
22:22And not a decision against anything else.
22:24You will understand that I will not comment on individual players today.
22:28And for sure not comment like always on any other clubs.
22:32Can I ask Mark, were you rejected by anyone?
22:36Or was Thomas the only person you offered the job to?
22:40We ran a really clear process.
22:42We spoke with approximately 10 people throughout the process.
22:46Clearly some were more up for the role than others.
22:49But we were absolutely delighted to end up with Thomas.
22:53And we believe he gives us the best chance of winning the World Cup.
22:56So we believe we have the best candidate for the job.