In a bid to end its decades-long wait to win a second World Cup, England has put its fate in the hands of a German. It’s fair to say the appointment of Thomas Tuchel was not universally well received.
“I’m sorry I have a German passport,” the serial-winning former Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach quipped at his official unveiling in 2024.
He had woken that morning to some unflattering headlines in the British media.
The Daily Mail described it as a “dark day for England” and said the national team had gambled on a “GERMAN.”
The leader of the right-wing Reform Party Nigel Farage asked on X: “Why can’t we have an English manager?”
Never mind that Tuchel was a Champions League winner who had lifted trophies in three different countries. Or the fact that England has gone down the foreign route before: a Swedish coach in Sven-Goran Eriksson and an Italian in
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