Anthony Barry on ‘surreal’ appointment to Three Lions staff

Anthony Barry can’t wait to get stuck in after being named Thomas Tuchel’s assistant head coach of England men.

The 38 year old has previously formed part of Tuchel’s staff at Chelsea and Bayern Munich, as well as working in international football setups with Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Portugal.

Here is what the experienced coach had to say upon his Three Lions appointment...

Anthony, congratulations. How does it feel to be named assistant head coach of the England national team?

"Pretty incredible, really. Quite surreal. It’s been a fantastic process and Thomas and I have loved every minute of it. As soon as I’d seen the project had captured the imagination of Thomas in the way it did, we were back and forward sharing so much energy towards it and imagining what we could do with these players.

"Of course there’s the extra layer for me of being an Englishman. I’ve worked for lots of federations around the world and they’ve all been a privilege, but to come home and represent the FA and England is something that’s the proudest moment of my career."

How important will that experience of international football be?

"Hopefully it will help us. I have been fortunate in the last few years to work for some of the biggest teams in the world, whether that’s in club or international football.

"For such a young coach I have quite a lot of experience and I hope it can help us. Thomas has already spoken about the fact we want to move quickly and be streamlined with our processes and part of that will hopefully be my experience in international football."

Coming here to Wembley must evoke memories of being a young fan?

"It feels amazing, it’s an incredible stadium. I read a famous quote from Pele saying that Wembley is the heart, capital and cathedral of football. I think he’s right.

"This stadium is so celebrated as the home of football and for me it’s amazing to be back. I have memories of EURO ’96, coming down here with my father to watch the games. I have memories not so good, too, of losing a play-off final here. I’ve won and lost here as a coach but I can’t wait to be standing on the sideline wearing the Three Lions."