England should ignore the safety first option and hire a foreign manager again | Football

The 53-year-old has presided over a resurgence in England’s major tournament fortunes, guiding his side to the latter stages the 2018 and 2022 World Cup as well as successive European Championship finals.

However, the Three Lions heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Spain in Berlin on Sunday has seen Southgate call time on his tenure and leaves the Football Association with a huge decision on their hands.

The perceived wisdom, especially after the largely unpopular and hugely unsuccessful tenures of Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, is that the national team is best served by an English manager.

In that department, however, there appears few standout candidates.

Such drawbacks, therefore, may leave the FA mulling over the possibility of appointing a foreign manager to take charge of the team.

Klopp, Tuchel and Poch are too good to ignore

It would undoubtedly represent a risk – only one foreign coach has ever won a men’s Euros or World Cup, after all – but after a series of near misses under Southgate, perhaps it’s a gamble they should be willing to take to get England over the line.

While hopes of luring Jurgen Klopp out of his year-long sabbatical or poaching Pep Guardiola from reigning Premier League champions Manchester City may be fanciful, there are other attractive names who England could certainly tempt.

Mauricio Pochettino, fresh of his surprise sacking by Chelsea, represents an obvious candidate. The Argentine has managed extensively in England and led both Tottenham and Chelsea to domestic cup finals during his respective spells.

Thomas Tuchel, who won the Champions League with Chelsea, is also likely to be considered. The German can be a divisive and sometimes disruptive figure but has tactical nous that many believe Southgate was lacking when England came up against the very best international sides.

Perhaps crucially in the consideration of any potential foreign appointment is the reformed – and less toxic – culture surrounding the national team that they would inherit.

On top of his on-pitch success, one of Southgate’s lasting legacies must be the way in which he has worked with the media to reshape the discussion around the national team away from the pressure-cooker environment that used to stifle teams of old.

There will still be expectance for the new boss to deliver, but the fervent and unscrupulous scrutiny that hampered both Eriksson and Capello in major tournaments should be a thing of the past.

Could Sarina Wiegman manage the England men’s team?

In Sarina Wiegman, furthermore, England also have a shining example of the benefits of their own foreign appointment to the women’s post.

The Dutch coach was a marquee hire in 2021 having just won the Euros with her home country,  but has risen to the challenge, transforming the Lionesses and guiding them to victory in the 2022 Euros and the final of the World Cup the following year.

The journey under Southgate has taken England from rock-bottom to genuine and constant contenders on the international stage and the departing boss has worked wonders to establish that blueprint.

But now the job requires a different approach and if England are to finally end their long-running drought they must avoid the temptation to play it safe.

Hiring an established foreign manager is not a guarantee for success, far from it, but perhaps at this stage of England’s journey it’s a risk worth taking

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