A FORMER Yeovil Town player will help usher in a new era for the England national team.
Anthony Barry was revealed as England’s assistant manager following the announcement today (October 16) that German born and ex-Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel will lead the Three Lions from January 2025.
Barry spent just two seasons at Yeovil Town from 2006 to 2008, providing four assists in 64 appearances and scoring his only goal in a 2-1 defeat to Shrewsbury Town in the Football League Trophy in 2006, before moving on to Chester City.
He went into management following his retirement in 2017 – first being the assistant manager of Wigan Atheltic before being selected to support Frank Lampard’s Chelsea in 2020.
Barry stayed on as assistant manager to Lampard’s successor, before being asked to stay at the club Thomas Tuchel, and then subsequently Graham Potter.
Throughout this time, Barry held several part-time dual coaching roles with national teams including the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Portugal.
Barry must have proved his worth to Tuchel, as following the German’s appointment as Bayern Munich manager he bought Barry from Chelsea for £1m and was put in charge of the club’s set pieces.
Speaking on his appointment, Anthony Barry said: “For any Englishman in football, working with the national team is the pinnacle and I didn’t hesitate when Thomas asked me to come and join him again.
“I know what a great place St. George’s Park is and how much of an advantage it gives our England teams, and the support it gives to coaches.
“This squad is very talented and have done so much to bring the country together, I look forward to meeting and working with them on this exciting project.”
The decision to recruit Tuchel and Barry was approved by the FA Board early last week, with Tuchel signing his contract on October 8.
The announcement was delayed to minimise distraction around the international camp that has just concluded.
The pair will begin work on 1 January 2025 ahead of the qualification process for the following year’s FIFA World Cup finals, due to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
A spokesperson for England Football said: “Tuchel will be reunited with Barry, having worked closely with the Englishman at Chelsea and Bayern and where together they won four trophies between both clubs.
“Liverpool-born Barry, who is a UEFA Pro licence holder, has significant international pedigree, notably working with Belgium and Portugal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2024 respectively.”
The pair will bring a small backroom team with them to St. George’s Park, with a further coaching update expected in the near future.
FA CEO Mark Bullingham said: “We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him.
“Our recruitment process has been very thorough.”
Thomas Tuchel said: “Working closely with Anthony as my assistant coach, we will do everything we can to make England successful and the supporters proud.”
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