How Tuchel wowed the FA during secret meeting at Munich airport

"In 2024, when the Football Association was tasked with finding Gareth Southgate's successor, Mark Bullingham hired two external data companies who built a profile of what successful international managers looked like then tailored it to mesh with England's player base. The top 50 coaches in the world were matched against the criteria and a shortlist emerged."

"But actually it was incredibly valuable to see the relative strengths and weaknesses and there are some amazing things you can do with data, like looking at which coaches are good at developing players, which are good in knockout tournaments and so on. Playing style was important; tactical flexibility was important. Being a proven winner was important and a proven winner relative to the resources they had."

"It's a bit like xG for managers. With the budget and players available, did they over or underperform? It's looking at the details and seeing if they added value. Three distinct categories emerged from this process. There were coaches with high potential who were still developing their careers, elite coaches already achieving top results and demonstrating top-level qualities, and finally the super-elite those at the pinnacle of their trade who had won big, managed big and were recognised as being among the very best in the world."

"Then came a crucial piece of filtering. Excluded were coaches who had not worked at the top of the English game and demonstrated a knack with English players. This left five super-elite candidates, the best of the best in terms of fitting the FA's needs."

In 2024, the Football Association used two external data companies to build a profile of successful international managers and tailor it to England’s player base. The top 50 coaches worldwide were assessed against criteria covering playing style, tactical flexibility, and proven winning relative to available resources. The process enabled analysis of strengths and weaknesses, including coaching ability in player development and performance in knockout tournaments. Three categories emerged: high-potential developing coaches, elite coaches already producing top results, and super-elite coaches at the pinnacle with major wins and recognition. Further filtering excluded candidates without experience at the top level of English football and a demonstrated knack with English players, leaving five super-elite candidates.

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