As someone who once observed nearly 17,000 throw-ins as part of a year-long study, it’s fair to say that Anthony Barry is a detail-oriented person.
So it came as a surprise to hear that Thomas Tuchel’s right-hand man said the secret to England’s success at this summer’s World Cup was the “brotherhood” between the players.
Barry says it is this element, more than any technical or tactical detail, that will drive the Three Lions’ pursuit of World Cup glory, which begins next month when they face Croatia in Dallas.
“We wanted to make connections,” England assistant Barry told Mirror Football. “We wanted to build a brotherhood and we wanted to build a team that we wanted to be with.
“When I was playing club football, I knew which team was going to win from the moment I left Chelsea or Bayern Munich to go on international break.
“Because we could tell by the way they were coming through the door that they wanted to join their international teammates. Now, we wanted to create something here that our players would want to come here with.”
“We wanted them to come here and feel like it’s home and be familiar with it. We want them to not only have a connection with each other, but a connection with the game model. Because when Thomas and I took this job, we probably only had about 60 days of training leading up to the World Cup.
“So how much of an impact can we really have on them? Of course we want to give them a model of the game that they like, enjoy and that resonates with the Premier League.”
Barry added: “At the end of the day, we can only have so much impact and we believe team spirit and connection is the fuel that powers the car.
“That’s what makes the difference at the international level and we’ll be spending seven or eight weeks together in the US. We’ve got to go there with the right energy and with the people we want to spend time with. We think that’s the key difference maker in tournament football.”
Barry’s use of “brotherhood” and “connection” sends a powerful message. He was speaking to us less than 24 hours before Tuchel used the exact same words to justify some controversial choices in the 26-man World Cup squad announced on Friday.
High-profile players such as Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Harry Maguire were not selected, but the news leaked on the eve of England’s official announcement.
Maguire made his disappointment public on Thursday night, releasing a statement about his “shock”. But Tuchel, who won back-to-back trophies with Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, had no regrets about his appointment.
“When a team wins, it’s very simple. Most of the time it’s about energy, connection and collectiveness. What I know about international football is about cohesion and chemistry,” Tuchel said.
Bayern Munich’s Thomas Tuchel and assistant manager Anthony Barry. (Image: (Photo by Christina Pahnke – sampics/Corbis via Getty Images))
From the Wigan administration to working with Lampard
And in an exclusive conversation at England’s St George’s Park home base, Barry revealed his relationship with Tuchel, his rapid rise to the upper echelons of leadership and why he firmly believes England can finally end a 60-year blemish in America this summer.
Barry’s rise to the inner circle of Tuchel’s World Cup staff – which should be considered extraordinary given his relative speed in a career that only took him to League One – began with Accrington’s Under-16s, then moved up the ranks at Wigan Athletic, and continued until the Latics came into power.
“I thought this was one of the worst moments of my career,” Barry admits. “Everything we had built over the last three years with Paul Cook was about to come crashing down, and it turned out to be a sliding door moment.”
That moment came in the summer of 2020, when Barry was approached by then-Chelsea manager Frank Lampard.
Frank Lampard was impressed by Barry’s attention to detail when he met him on a coaching course in 2018 (Image: GETTY)
England centurion Lampard did not rub shoulders with Liverpool-born Barry outside the classroom while they studied together for their UEFA professional license, but the current Coventry City manager was particularly struck by a paper written by his fellow student during the later stages of the training module.
“I had no idea that[Premier League clubs]were paying attention, I didn’t even know who I was, but it turned out one of them was Frank Lampard’s Chelsea,” he says. “I was nobody in the game and had no real profile to become a coach.
“I was too nervous and too shy to try to be best mates with Frank Lampard[on the track]. We never got this close because I didn’t think he wanted to be best mates with me. I was too in awe of Frank to try to socialize with him.”
“It wasn’t so much a personal interaction as it was Frank’s assessment of what he had seen me do throughout the course. That was unexpected for me. I think he felt that I just had a different lens, a different way of working.”
Legendary coach Thiago Silva talks about ‘how to defend better’ at Chelsea
But given that Barry reached this level without the support of a top-level playing career, how difficult was it to get the buy-in of elite footballers, many of whom were always destined for the top level?
“I think my identity as a coach developed pretty quickly,” he says. “And the way I coach hasn’t changed. It came naturally to me.”
“I found that voice and the way I interacted with players and that style was always mine. It probably accelerated my career.”
“You have to grow in terms of being around these great players and big teams. You’re in a very rich environment that allows you to grow and it makes you grow.”
England head coach Thomas Tuchel speaks with assistants Anthony Barry and Justin Cochrane (Image: The FA via Getty Images)
“Of course, I always say that when I joined Chelsea at 33 or 34, the big challenge for me was Thiago Silva.
“He’s probably two years older than me and I was teaching him how to defend the box and how to defend certain things, mainly working on the defensive side.
“Thiago didn’t speak English so he faces all these challenges as a young coach, but he just has to learn fast.
“We make mistakes, but we are lucky to have elite coaches like[Belgium’s]Roberto Martinez and Thomas Tuchel. It’s important to understand their methodology quickly.”
Barry and Tuchel’s relationship began when he was retained by Chelsea in January 2021 after Lampard was sacked. Less than six months later, Londoners are celebrating a Champions League victory, and it has been a steep learning curve for the manager, who turned 40 just last week, but a hugely rewarding one.
“It was six months where I became a sponge for one of the most elite coaches in the world. As time goes on, I hope that eventually you can prove your worth,” Barry says.
“The mission is clear – win the World Cup.”
“I think a lot of people will say it’s great to be able to learn in an environment like this and that’s definitely part of it, but at some stage you have to stop learning and show your worth. That’s what I try to do every day.”
“For me and him, I sometimes wonder how we were so close, both professionally and on a personal level. It didn’t start out that way. He came to Chelsea as one of the most elite coaches in the world, and when Frank left, Chelsea asked me to stay and join Thomas’ staff.”
“He came in with a world-class coaching staff: one player from Paris, two from Germany and one player from Hungary. He was a world-class manager. So at first I was just on the periphery, trying to learn and fit into this staff that was already built.”
“But like I said, over time, it was about proving my worth, growing and trying to become one of the most talented coaches in the world.
“This has always been a challenge for me. Whether I achieve it or not is for others to decide, but these were demands I placed on myself. Over time, Thomas and I became increasingly close in our working capacity.”
“I think it also helped Thomas that I worked with Belgium and worked with Portugal and learned other methodologies that we can bring back to us.
“So it was a natural progression and we got closer and closer.The day he left Chelsea was a difficult day for me personally.
“I had no idea whether I would work with Thomas again, but I stayed back to continue working with Graham Potter.
The call ultimately came when Tuchel accepted the Bayern Munich job in 2023, and the pair are now planning world domination with the Three Lions, who will be based at the Swope Soccer Villas in Kansas City, Missouri, during the tournament.
“There was a period in the last 15 or 16 months where it felt like the World Cup was never going to happen,” he says. “It felt so far away, I didn’t get to spend much time with the players and at times I didn’t really feel like a coach.
“But there is an inner belief among the staff that we can do it and an even greater belief among the players, which is also pleasing.
“Obviously there are a lot of hurdles to overcome, like eight games, the weather and a lot of travel. But we’re trying to overcome them one step at a time and we’re just happy that it’s here now.”
“We’ve got to have belief and we’ve got to have confidence from the way we qualified and the way this team has grown together since our first two camps, March and June. Thomas and I understood the culture of free agency, understood the team dynamics and did a lot of experimentation.”
“I think we wanted to bring in 40 to 45 players early on and create this connection and identity in September, October and November. I think we got that. And that’s why the performance turned out the way we did.”
“Really at this point in time, at the end of November, we thought this group of players and staff was on track and growing as we thought they would.
“So, of course, we hope to arrive in the United States with a healthy and fit group – injury-free so far, full of excitement and belief and determination to get through.
“Thomas and I have never run away from that mission since day one. We are here to win the World Cup. We are here to wear the second star on our shirts.”
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