For all that turning to a foreigner again is a tacit admission by the Football Association that something is wrong with its homegrown production line, it is at least positive that appointing Thomas Tuchel as England manager means that one of the sharpest young English coaches will be working within the national setup.
Those who studied alongside Anthony Barry on the FA’s Pro Licence course will not be surprised that Tuchel has asked him to be his No 2. Barry graduated with top marks and his dissertation, The undervalued set piece, for which he and his co-authors analysed 16,380 throw-ins, caught the eye. Frank Lampard, who shared a classroom alongside the Liverpudlian, was impressed enough to ask him to join his backroom staff at Chelsea in 2020.
It was a clever appointment, even though Lampard would not last much longer as head coach. Others at Chelsea appreciated Barry’s talent, his eye for detail at defensive and offensive set pieces, and he was kept on when Tuchel was appointed in January 2021.
So began a relationship that was crucial to Tuchel in his Chelsea pomp. The German prized Barry’s coaching, recognising it as a major influence in the club winning the Champions League. Barry’s work could be seen in the brilliance of Chelsea’s defending. He was not overawed by working with Thiago Silva, the Brazil centre-back. Chelsea were soon fielding inquiries from Football League clubs interested in appointing Barry as their manager; they sensed he was destined for the top.
Tuchel saw the talent. Fired by Chelsea in September 2022, he soon pitched up at Bayern Munich and asked Barry to join him. They won a Bundesliga title together and their bond grew stronger. Part of it is Barry’s character. People get along with him. “It’s impossible not to get along with him,” a source says of the 38-year-old.
People skills are vital in this environment. Barry, like Tuchel, had an unremarkable playing career. The former midfielder came through the ranks at Everton, playing alongside Wayne Rooney, and spent most of his time in the lower leagues. Coaching was a natural fit. The bug bit Barry early. He has devoted himself to his trade. He is like Tuchel: a pure coach.
It garners respect. Barry will not be dazzled by the star names in England’s dressing room. He has worked with the best at Chelsea and Bayern, where he got to know Harry Kane. He has also benefited from combining club duties with gaining experience in the international game. His first taste came in the Republic of Ireland setup and his ambition was underlined when he left them to link up with Roberto Martínez’s Belgium.
The opportunity to coach Belgium at the 2022 World Cup was too good to turn down. And although the tournament did not go well – a group-stage exit was a humiliation – Barry’s reputation survived. Martínez was soon asking his assistant to follow him to Portugal. Think England have too many egos in attack? Barry has worked with Cristiano Ronaldo – not that he has anything bad to say about the forward. He is simply impressed with Ronaldo’s enduring professionalism.
“We work now for the third time together,” Tuchel said of Barry on Wednesday, “and I’m very happy to have him at my side. He is on top of it English, full of energy, quality and a fantastic coach. He has a huge amount of experience in international football, being assistant coach for Portugal, Ireland and Belgium. I think that’s helped me already a lot to understand the schedule better, the nomination process better, to get a feeling for what we’re talking about here when the talks started.”
Barry possesses a thirst for knowledge. He has spoken about gaining insight into German techniques from Tuchel and Spanish ones from Martínez. He can bring valuable perspective to England. Crucially for the FA, he will bring a homegrown flavour to the setup. Tuchel is an anglophile, but Barry will inevitably have a better understanding of the English mindset. That could help with man-management in a notoriously difficult environment.
The main work, though, will come on the training pitch. After all the talk of coaching pathways, of the merits of Graham Potter and Eddie Howe, Barry is the man closest to the top. He is fiercely ambitious and is expected to become a manager one day – and if the ultimate aim is to promote from within, could Tuchel’s successor already be standing in front of us?
