Driven and adaptable: Why England chose to appoint Thomas Tuchel
This week, the 51-year-old was elected as the man to kickstart the post-Gareth Southgate era, signing an 18-month deal starting in January.
In doing so, the German will become just the third non-Englishman to take charge of the Three Lions after the late Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
The appointment, though, has caused a frenzy with plenty of observers questioning the Football Association's (FA) decision to hire a foreign manager.
Tuchel set about to instantly get everyone onside in his unveiling by looking to address England's lack of recent silverware, targeting the 2026 World Cup.
It is a bold aim considering Tuchel is embarking on his first foray into international management, yet his performances at club level suggest there is substance behind that goal.
Proven track-record
Tuchel is already a well-known name in England from his time with Chelsea, but it has been a case of building up his credit throughout his career.
His stock rose in Germany during his five years with Mainz which earned him the Borussia Dortmund job in 2015, having been identified as the top replacement for Jurgen Klopp.
In his two seasons with Dortmund, he won the 2017 DFB-Pokal for the first major trophy of his career and had a 62.6 per win rate, overseeing 67 victories in 107 matches.
Joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2018, Tuchel continued to add to his cabinet by winning two Ligue 1 titles, two Trophee des Champions, a Coupe de France and a Coupe de la League.
Tuchel left PSG in December 2020 with a career-best 74.8 per cent win rate but didn't have to wait long for his next job when Chelsea came calling.
He embarked on a 14-game unbeaten run to open his account and guided the Blues to Champions League and FA Cup finals, beating Manchester City in the former but losing to Leicester in the latter.
Tuchel earned the club's first FIFA Club World Cup win the following campaign and reached the EFL Cup and FA Cup finals, but they were beaten in both by Liverpool on penalties.
Departing Stamford Bridge in September 2022, Tuchel ended his tenure with a 60 per cent win rate – the fourth-highest by a Chelsea manager to take charge of 100 games.
Tuchel returned to Germany in March 2023 to head Bayern Munich after Julian Nagelsmann's exit and guided the club to its 11th Bundesliga title in the last few games of the campaign.
However, Tuchel's Bayern stumbled to a third-place finish one season later – the club's worst league position since 2010 – and left following Bayer Leverkusen's invincible title win.
Among the elite
Tuchel's trophy cabinet obviously speaks for itself and as such, his guidance of his clubs on big stages puts him alongside some of modern football's best in management.
Since joining Dortmund in 2015/16, Tuchel's 65.6 per cent win rate is only bettered by Pep Guardiola and Massimo Allegri among managers to take charge of 200 or more games in Europe's top five leagues.
His record also transfers well on the European stage and displays why he managed to beat City in the 2021 final so early in his Chelsea tenure.
Tuchel has won 40 of 67 Champions League matches (59.7 per cent) with Guardiola and Louis van Gaal having superior win rates from a minimum of 50 games managed.
In terms of Premier League football, his 55.6 per cent win record is bettered by just eight managers.
It puts him on a list featuring Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger and the aforementioned Guardiola and Klopp.
Seizing control
Tuchel has often intrigued in terms of his style of play and being flexible in his ways when needed.
He mainly utilised four-man defences during his stints with Dortmund and PSG but mostly used a back three at Chelsea.
There can't be a guarantee of how he will set England up, though you already get the sense that variation and proactivity are on the cards.
But one thing that will be a non-negotiable for Tuchel is his players dominating possession to control games.
At Chelsea, Tuchel's side emerged as a possession-dominant team by having 62.2 per cent of the ball on average each game.
That is the second-highest figure out of all managers from a minimum of 50 games, trailing only City's Guardiola.
Tuchel's teams have typically been quite structured to achieve this and having a solid platform is key to international football, both offensively and defensively.
Keeping the ball can be the best form of defence and Chelsea had a period where they were extremely organised under Tuchel, clocking up impressive numbers.
The Blues kept an incredible 18 clean sheets in their first 24 games under him and those are the kind of numbers Tuchel will be looking to replicate with England.
Kane reunited
One of the England players that could earn a huge benefit from Tuchel's appointment is captain Harry Kane – the pair already being well-acquainted with each other.
Kane played under Tuchel at Bayern, putting together an impressive recent campaign by registering 44 goals in 45 games.
Of those, 36 came in 32 Bundesliga games giving him a goal-per-game average of 79 minutes, which is his best ratio under any manager in his top-flight league career.
Among players to play 2,000 minutes for a manager in the Bundesliga, Kane is only bested by Robert Lewandowski under Hansi Flick.
The 12 assists Kane recorded last season shouldn't go unnoticed either with it becoming well-known just how complete his overall game has become.
Kane has emerged as one of the best passers of the ball and often drops in deep to showcase his variety and range.
Yet it hasn't always come off for Kane for England, particularly at Euro 2024 where there weren't too many outlets for him to pick out.
It has led to debates as to whether a top striker should be taking themself away from dangerous forward areas, but that's an issue Tuchel can resolve.
At Bayern, Tuchel made sure to support Kane by surrounding him with runners and direct players and that is something he can replicate with England.
There is an abundance of attacking talent at his disposal, but it is just a case of Tuchel fitting the pieces together while striking a balance.