THOMAS TUCHEL has just finished watching a Netflix documentary focusing on the final season of Rafa Nadal’s career.
The England manager believes this is conclusive proof that even the greatest sportsmen suffer pain and insecurity.
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Harry Kane takes a penalty in England’s game against Croatia in Dallas Credit: EPA
England manager Thomas Tuchel prepares his team for their clash against DR Congo Credit: Getty
This takes us back a decade to two huge games – 37 days apart—that have had a massive effect on Tuchel and the England team.
Tuchel always questions himself – and that includes the unimpressive 1-0 warm-up win over New Zealand in Tampa – while he has never forgiven himself for a loss on penalties as Dortmund boss to Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich at the 2016 German Cup final.
And here is the spooky bit. Just a month later, England were humiliated by Iceland in the last 16 of the Euros in France.
Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford, who both featured in Nice, are set to start against DR Congo.
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John Stones and Jordan Henderson were on the bench for a truly humiliating moment for English football and they will once again be subs for a game England will surely win.
Lose against DR Congo, and Tuchel could find himself in a similar position to Roy Hodgson who got the axe after the 2-1 defeat to Iceland.
Asked about whether the English quartet will still have the scars from Iceland, Tuchel said: “Yes. But you will not find great athletes who didn’t suffer big defeats. You just don’t find them.
“I just finished a documentary with Rafa Nadal. I thought he just won every match, every year. But you see, wow, a year of injuries, a heavy loss there, another big defeat, doubts, sleepless nights, self-doubts and questioning and everyone around him doubting it. Even if you have scars, it is just the way it is.
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Tuchel pictured in 2016 as Borussia Dortmund coach alongside Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola Credit: Reuters
“There is no way you get through this without it. We all had our losses. We all had our big defeats where you doubt yourself. Ask me how I felt after our 1-0 win against New Zealand. I still remember thinking: ‘Am I good enough, am I good enough? Did I get this right? Okay, let’s keep on.’ It is just normal, but you accept it. And if you want to win a big prize, there is not an easy route to get there.
“Yes, we have some scars – it helps you, actually. It helps you to remember the moment, how painful it was. But it is always possible to redirect your energy. It is always possible to redirect your focus. I was not there in France 10 years ago, I don’t see how this has anything to do with what we do now. So go for it.”
Tuchel was asked whether he is ready for penalties having suffered a few defeats on spot-kicks, most notably, both domestic cup finals as Chelsea boss against Liverpool in the 2021-22 season.
And then, off he went, giving another remarkable insight. And Guardiola was involved.
He said: “I’ll tell you a funny story. A true story – not so funny for me. My first cup final in Germany with Dortmund in my first year and I played against Bayern and against Pep. It was a nightmare because Bayern and Pep, from 120 possible points they had 130 in the season or something! It was a joke.
England lost to Iceland in Euro 2016 in one of the most humiliating moments ever for the Three Lions Credit: Getty
Tuchel reference a documentary about Spanish tennis great Rafa Nadal Credit: AFP
“We had the next-highest number of points and were second. We prepared everything for this match. I prepared everything. We needed to twist the tactics, and they twisted the tactics. We twisted the structure and he twisted the structure. And it was like a fight and people got tired and it went into extra time, and we did this, and then we did this. And then the whistle went and I was just not prepared. I forgot to prepare for a penalty shout-out.
“So we ended up asking the players: ‘Do you want to shoot? Do you want to shoot? Do you want to shoot?’ And Bayern were ready for it. They were: one, two, three, four, five, we go. And we were absolutely not ready. And we lost it.
“So a very painful experience and a big, big scar on me, because I felt really, really badly that I had let myself down. So it was the first time. It will never happen again. So from there, we started our own programme, our own preparation.
“Now I go into the FA and I have – at the highest level, for years and years – a penalty programme that is so easy for me to pick up and wait for people to tell me who are the best shooters. This has become such an important part, a very special part of football now, that you can prepare and do the best to be prepared, which we did.
“We have assistant coaches, we have background staff who just set one of the best programmes in place that I have witnessed. So we know exactly what is going to happen.
“And the platform is there. There is still no guarantee that you will win it. I had crazy penalty shoot-outs. Against Liverpool, for example, with 11 penalties against 11 or whatever. But now it is at the highest level, thanks to the FA, of course, and thanks to my development. It is just another example that you sometimes have to have a painful experience to understand where to get better.”
And then the conversation ended where we started, with tennis. Tuchel was asked had he read Andre Agassi’s autobiography.
He said: “I need to read it again. It was so good”
So, it was more good stuff from Tuchel. In Atlanta, a place historically synonymous with boxing, the England manager has proved he can talk the talk. Now, he must walk the walk.
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