Bold Thomas Tuchel has ripped up the England manager’s script

In one effortlessly eloquent first press conference Tuchel has already made a convincing case for England to rule the world

It was not just that Thomas Tuchel converted his sceptics with his signature blend of poise, charisma and impish humour. It was not simply that he rebuked the hand-wringing over his German passport with a level of diction and elocution in his second language to embarrass many of his English peers. It was that he expressed a clarity of vision often conspicuous by its absence amid the national team’s atmosphere of fear and loathing, leaving no doubt that his adopted country could – and should – be prime candidates to win the 2026 World Cup.
There was an effortlessness to how Tuchel handled his first inquisition in arguably the hottest seat in sport. He refused to give succour to the notion that he might not sing the anthem, saying only that he found God Save the King “very moving”. He introduced his own coinage to England’s language of yearning by promising to target a “second star”. 
And yet perhaps the most striking aspect of his Wembley performance was the eerie self-assurance. Where Gareth Southgate seemed to be tying himself in knots in his later press conferences, striving to please everybody but ultimately satisfying nobody, Tuchel disarmed from the outset with both his charm and bold statements of intent.
This is unfamiliar territory in light of England’s tortured recent past. Long-suffering fans are accustomed to seeing managers from Graham Taylor to Glenn Hoddle, Kevin Keegan to Roy Hodgson, go through all manner of mortal agonies in front of a microphone. Tuchel is, demonstrably, cut from different cloth. 
This poise can be ascribed, in part, to the places where he has already strived to turn doubters into believers: Borussia Dortmund, Paris St-Germain, Chelsea, Bayern Munich. But it also suggests a sincere and sympathetic communicator. 
If you are still unconvinced on this front, just try watching his dissection of the war in Ukraine during the days after Vladimir Putin gave the order to invade. It was a stirring study in empathy on its own terms, but doubly impressive given he was working for a Russian owner on the verge of being sanctioned.
You wonder how long this golden glow will last. Tuchel has the luxury of knowing his first competitive match with England is not until March, and only then will he discover that the honeymoon period in this job is shorter than that of a Labour front-bencher handed free tickets to Taylor Swift. 
But after all the gut-wrenching twists in the England soap opera, it feels apt to savour this moment of relative tranquility. For all the talk of international management as a lucrative sinecure, here is one office that tends to leave its holders ruined husks by the end. It is a relief, quite frankly, to see someone smiling for once.
In just 24 hours, there is a sense that the mood around England searching overseas to fill the most scrutinised role in the land has changed, possibly for good. The abstract theory that Southgate’s successor simply had to be English collided headlong with the reality of Tuchel’s rhetorical skill. 
He was by turns dauntless, forceful, humble and compelling, disabusing even ardent disciples of the “our best versus your best” school of thought of a few preconceptions. If an imported manager could be this commanding in a foreign tongue, what was there to fear?
The notional impossibility of managing England is rooted in the nightmarish diplomacy of it all, in the knowledge that a single gaffe can sabotage the noblest of intentions. But Tuchel, well-versed in winning over notoriously hard-to-please fans, did not seem to find the task unduly taxing. 
Even the potential elephant trap of an anthem question was one he spotted a mile off, as he replied he was still debating whether he should sing.
It helps that he has brought such an eye-catching club record to the challenge: at Chelsea and PSG in particular, he was shrewd in uniting dressing rooms of multiple nationalities, taking both clubs to Champions League finals. Galvanising England’s all-stars for the World Cup qualifiers should, hypothetically, be a bagatelle.
It will, of course, be nothing of the sort. The amateur dramatics around the England team ensure that even apparently routine matches take place in a molten heat. 
Tuchel looks, so far, to be the type who can operate in such a furnace, having achieved a win record at each of his past four clubs of more than 60 per cent. To illustrate how high that standard is, Sir Alex Ferguson’s equivalent ratio at Manchester United was 59.6 per cent.
Tuchel, acknowledging the ideological objections to his appointment, is asking only to be given a “fair chance”. Surely this is a fair deal: that once the initial indignation dies down, he is afforded a little grace to shape this team and to explore how far they can go. 
As he explained, Tuchel has done his best to demonstrate his affection for English football and its myriad idiosyncrasies, positioning himself at every opportunity as an Anglophile. With these claims about to be put to the ultimate test, he deserves, for now at least, to be taken at his word.
The most poignant moment came when he was asked to describe his personality. “I am very emotional,” Tuchel said. “And we will play with passion and emotions.” 
This alone should help to reinvigorate expectations around England, when you consider how much Southgate could irk critics through his circumspection. 
It is the essence of Tuchel’s quest over his 18-month deal: that if he delivers even half the intensity he promises, he can render the preoccupation with his passport a distant relic.
Thomas Tuchel is the best man for the England job – this is a coup