Thomas Tuchel: Can English football embrace a German coach?

He didn't sing the anthem. Everyone knew he wouldn't. Thomas Tuchel said beforehand he had to "earn the right" to do so. It was a neat swerve of a somewhat heated question from a coach who has handled the unique off-pitch demands of the England job adeptly since October — without actually coaching a game until Friday.

"If he's leading the team then he should be singing it," England fan Chris Wilkinson told DW outside Wembley Stadium. "You’ve got to lead by example. I think there's always going to be controversy with it. But if he's a good manager for us, us English fans will accept him gracefully. Especially if he can take us that one step further."

The singing of the anthem has, to the bafflement of many, become something of a lightning rod in English football despite Tuchel not being the first non-Englishman to manage the country. 

Tuchel's warm Wembley welcome

As Tuchel finally got going on the pitch, with a 2-0 win over Albania in a World Cup qualifier in London, his welcome seemed warm enough, if not overwhelming. A prematch interview played on the big screens drew a smattering of applause, a song featuring his name failed to truly catch light and fans behind the goal unveiled a banner reading: "Welcome to the home of football, Thomas."

England fans unfurled a banner to welcome their new coach before kickoffImage: Alastair Grant/AP Photo/picture alliance

The notion of England as the "home" of football has become deeply ingrained in the culture, even if it's sometimes said, or sung, with tongue in cheek. The appointment of a German to the highest sporting office in the land caused something of a furor back in October. But for the majority of England fans at Wembley, Tuchel's nationality was of little concern.

"I'm not bothered. We all know he's German, that's his nationality and this is his job. Whether he sings the national anthem or not doesn't matter," said Katen Amin. "He should always be proud to be German. That's his heritage, that's his background. Now he's coaching England, that's his professional position."

While, for Tuchel, it may just be the next stop in a career that has included stints at Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, he is astute enough to realize that this is a little different. "I will do everything to show respect to this role and to this country. This is the biggest one in world football and everybody can be assured, no matter what nationality my passport says," he said.

"A dark day for England [as] Three Lions gamble on a GERMAN," ran the back page of the Daily Mail the day he was appointed. "Can there be a more depressing, or more obvious, sign of national decline than this utterly abject capitulation at the sport we love most – the game we invented, for God's sake – to our greatest rivals?" asked a column in the weekly magazine, The Spectator.

Tuchel plans to convince with 'results'

These publications know their market. In a country that, since Brexit, has become increasingly polarized and saw the right-wing, anti-immigrant Reform UK party win 14.3% of the vote in the 2024 general election, there are plenty that see a German coaching the English national team as an affront. Elements of the English press had "unloaded all their anger on him even before his first game," noted German publication Der Spiegel.

There are also plenty who lament that one of football's best-resourced national teams can't develop a homegrown coach with the pedigree of Tuchel. Gary Lineker, the former England striker turned podcast mogul considered by many to be a darling of the liberal left, was one.

"I genuinely believe national team football, particularly with the big nations, the manager should be from the national team. From the country that they are," he said. "I don't think it is imperative, I won't lose sleep over it, but my personal preference would be England have an English coach. I respect Tuchel as a coach, he is really clever."

Tuchel is also incredibly successful, having won the Champions League, Bundesliga, German Cup, Club World Cup and French Ligue Un. "We will try to convince them [those who oppose his appointment] by results and the way we play," he said. Some may take more convincing than others.

World Cup — Tuchel's only focus

His predecessor, Gareth Southgate, had nothing like that track record when he was appointed in 2013. But Southgate, as well as improving the team, managed to act as a statesman to the country and a father figure to his players: backing those who got racist abuse after missing penalties in the Euro 2020 final and speaking eloquently on societal issues in the country.

Gareth Southgate united England's team but could not quite break their trophy droughtImage: Hesham Elsherif/Anadolu/picture alliance

Though Tuchel is equally eloquent, in English and German, trying to calm the muddied waters stoked by his appointment is not his remit. He has been brought in to win the World Cup by the time his contract ends in 2026. He's now up and running. But it's not yet enough for the demanding tactician. 

"We can do better, we have to do better," said Tuchel of his first match. "I can understand it's not the most exciting watch, but we still needed to do what we needed to do."

So can England really embrace a German coach? Well, for now, it depends on which English person you ask. But if that German coach wins them the World Cup next year, you might struggle to find one that doesn't.

Edited by: Alex Berry