🔗 Share this article

A decade ago, Anthony Barry was playing at a lower division club. Now, he is focused on helping Thomas Tuchel secure World Cup glory next summer. The road from player to coach started as an unpaid coach coaching youngsters. He remembers, “It was in the evenings, third of a pitch, asked to do 11 v 11 … flat balls, not enough bibs,” and it captivated him. He had found his purpose.

Metoric Climb

The coach's journey stands out. Starting in a senior role at Wigan, he built a name with creative training and strong interpersonal abilities. His club career included Chelsea and Bayern Munich, while also serving in coaching jobs abroad with the Republic of Ireland, Belgium, and Portugal. He has worked with stars like Thiago Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Cristiano Ronaldo. Today, as part of Team England, he's fully immersed, the top as he describes it.

“Dreams are the starting point … Yet I'm convinced that obsession can move mountains. You have the dream then you break it down: ‘What's the process, each day, each phase?’ We aim for World Cup victory. Yet dreams alone aren't enough. It's essential to develop a methodical process so we can to maximize our opportunities.”

Focus on Minutiae

Dedication, especially with the smallest details, characterizes his journey. Toiling around the clock day and night, the coaching duo challenge limits. Their strategies involve mental assessments, a strategy for high temperatures ahead of the tournament in North America, and fostering teamwork. Barry emphasizes the national team spirit and dislikes phrases like “international break”.

“It's not time off or a break,” Barry says. “We needed to create an environment that attracts the squad and where they're challenged that returning to club duty feels easier.”

Ambitious Trainers

Barry describes himself along with the manager as “very greedy”. “Our goal is to master each element of play,” he states. “We seek to command the whole ground and we dedicate many of our days on. Our responsibility to not only anticipate of the trends and to lead and create our own ones. It's an ongoing effort focused on finding solutions. And to clarify complicated matters.

“There are 50 days with the players ahead of the tournament. We must implement an intricate approach that gives us a tactical advantage and we have to make it so clear during that time. It's about moving it from idea to information to understanding to action.

“To build a methodology for effective use in that window, we must utilize all the time available after our appointment. When the squad is away, we need to foster connections among them. We must dedicate moments in calls with players, we need to watch them play, feel them, touch them. If we limit ourselves to that time, it's impossible.”

World Cup Qualifiers

Barry is preparing for the final pair in the qualifying campaign – against Serbia at Wembley and away to Albania. The team has secured a spot in the tournament with six wins out of six and six clean sheets. However, they won't relax; quite the opposite. This period to strengthen the squad's character, to maintain progress.

“Thomas and I are both pretty clear that the football philosophy must reflect everything that is good of English football,” he comments. “The fitness, the versatility, the robustness, the integrity. The national team shirt should be harder than ever to get but light to wear. It ought to be like a superhero's cape instead of heavy armour.

“For it to feel easy, we need to provide an approach that enables them to play freely as they do in club games, that feels natural and allows them to take the handbrake off. They must be stuck less in thinking and more in doing.

“There are emotional wins you can get as a coach in the first and final thirds – starting moves deep, closing down early. Yet, in the central zone of the pitch, those 24 metres, we believe play has stagnated, particularly in the Premier League. All teams are well-prepared these days. They understand tactics – defensive shapes. We are focusing to focus on accelerating the game in that central area.”

Drive for Growth

The coach's thirst to get better knows no bounds. When he studied for the Uefa pro licence, he had concerns over the speaking requirement, as his cohort featured big names like Lampard and Carrick. So, to build his skill set, he sought out tough situations he could find to practise giving them. Such as Walton jail locally, where he also took inmates during an exercise.

He earned his license with top honors, and his dissertation – focusing on set-pieces, in which he examined numerous set-plays – became a published work. Lampard included impressed and he brought Barry to his team at Stamford Bridge. When Lampard was sacked, it said plenty that Chelsea removed most of his staff except Barry.

His replacement with the club took over, and shortly after, they claimed the Champions League. When Tuchel was dismissed, the coach continued in the setup. However, when Tuchel returned in Germany, he brought Barry over away from London to work together again. The Football Association see them as a double act like previous management pairs.

“Thomas is unique {in terms of personality and methodology|in character and approach|