BOSTON — Football managers need more media duties like a hole in the head. There are now so many pre-match and post-match interviews to contend with that coaches at the highest level barely have time to think.
So when Fifa requested that someone be put up for interview during the half-time interval of World Cup matches, England manager Thomas Tuchel rightly insisted he be kept clear of them.
Nations have been using an unused substitute or a member of the backroom staff to fulfil the requirement.
Tuchel’s most trusted confidant Anthony Barry drew the short straw for England’s group opener against Croatia.
An arduous formality, Barry was expected to just get through them, throw in some space-filling cliches, and move on.
His damning assessment of England’s first-half against Croatia instead has won him an army of admirers back across the pond and within the camp.
“Anthony’s very honest, straight to the point and I think that’s the best way to be,” full-back Nico O’Reilly said.
“You need it. I mean, if you’re not doing something right, or you’re not doing so well, someone there to tell you, I think it’s the right thing to do.”
Tuchel, Barry and the coaching team have taken care to pick the right group, for a variety of reasons.
Eyebrows were raised en masse as stellar names such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Harry Maguire were left at home.
Part of Tuchel’s thinking, however, was getting players with the right personality to succeed, as a group, at a major tournament.
One essential trait was that of O’Reilly – who had never even played left-back a few years ago and is now England’s first pick in that role – an ability to be able to take criticism constructively.
Maguire’s reaction to his omission, immediately releasing a statement to condemn the decision before doing an interview on Gary Lineker’s Rest of Football to go even further, perhaps suggests he did not meet that criteria.
Barry is to Tuchel what Steve Holland was to Gareth Southgate. But unlike the nice-guy culture fostered by Tuchel’s predecessor, Barry is taking no prisoners this summer.
From Wigan to England
There are few coaches in world football with more experience and unfathomable dedication to the cause.
After a mediocre playing career, Barry – who was born in Liverpool – has gone from Wigan Athletic assistant to Chelsea, where he first worked with Tuchel.
He then undertook roles with the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Portugal national teams, Bayern Munich and now England.
He has famously watched 16,000 throw-ins to help England gain an additional edge on set pieces – where the Premier League was essentially won and lost this season.
In a bid to improve his communication skills when starting his role at the FA, Barry went to speak at prisons, schools and even comedy clubs in a bid to become the orator he is today.
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The decision for Barry to be thrust in front of the camera is therefore one that not was taken lightly.
The players know what is coming. If they don’t pull their weight, they will be called out. But that is OK.
“I’m so happy if he does that at half-time – and then I don’t have to do it,” Tuchel added.
“I’m so happy if he speaks. And you see the quality. The guy is a top coach. He is an inspiration, he pushes me, helps me and supports me. It’s just top level.
“I hear a lot of people speaking, so he gets a lot of banter for it. I can imagine it makes sense what he said, and he spoke hopefully from his heart and from his knowledge because he’s just a top coach.”
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