Former Chelsea Thomas Tuchel  boss is regard as one of the brightest minds in football. But has not always easy to work with

The 2021 Champions League final was not a classic. It was settle by the odd goal, slid into empty net by Kai Havertz.

The highlights package is a nine-minute showreel of Timo Werner misses and last-ditch tackles on Manchester City forwards in the Chelsea box.

To all but Chelsea fans, European football’s second Covid showpiece was an utterly forgettable affair. And yet, with the appointment of its architect to the England post this week, it is about to get a whole lot of airtime.

At the final whistle in Porto, Thomas Tuchel dropped to his knees, the wire-frame in the Deloitte-boy gilet having upset the odds and Pep Guardiola as well.

The FA has not made Tuchel the new England manager solely.

Because he led Chelsea to the Champions League three summers ago, but that triumph neatly encapsulates the ultimate vision for the 51-year-old’s reign.

The FA’s hope is that Tuchel will the man to ยูฟ่าเบท get this nearly-England “over the line” (a phrase he used three times during Wednesday’s unveiling), A coach good enough to find a way even. If England come up against a superior Spain or a cannier Italy next time silverware is on the line.

When football’s greatest game is next play in New Jersey on July 19, 2026. The first German coach of England is desperate to be there, in a Marks & Sparks outfit, with a Three Lions baseball cap on his head and the World Cup in his hands.

If the appointment of Tuchel was not in itself enough confirmation that, after steady progress under Gareth Southgate, England is in win-now mode, then the accompanying comments of FA chief Mark Bullingham made the point clear.

“Thomas and the team have a single-minded focus on giving us the best possible chance to win the World Cup in 2026,” Bullingham said. With a home Euros only two years beyond that, the laser-focus on a closer target is significant.

Much of the praise of Tuchel’s appointment led on the idea that he is a “proven winner”

Which is true in so far as we have proof of him winning things: the German and French leagues and domestic cups, as well as the Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup at Chelsea.

He has, though, also lost plenty: a Champions League final with Paris Saint-Germain, three domestic finals with Chelsea. He arrives as, most recently, a disappointment, having led Bayern Munich to their first barren season in a dozen years.