Meet Anthony Barry, England’s new right-hand man
- Anthony Barry has been appointed as England assistant manager.
- This coach has experience with top teams.
- He is personally close to Thomas Tuchel.
“We tried to appoint Anthony as our manager. He was keen to be involved with us. That was when Frank Lampard left Chelsea (in January 2021) and I think Anthony was going to leave as well,” Fleetwood Town chief executive Steve Curwood said of Anthony Barry, Thomas Tuchel ‘s assistant to new England manager.
In fact, Barry is still at Stamford Bridge and has formed a strong relationship with Lampard’s successor Tuchel, with the German bringing him along to work at Bayern Munich. Before being named as an assistant in the England squad on Wednesday
Barry, 38, was born in Childwall, Liverpool, and started his career as a trainee at Everton before moving to Coventry City. Where he spent most of his time in the reserves. Before venturing into midfield for a number of lower league clubs, including Yeovil Town, Town, Fleetwood Town, Accrington Stanley and Chester City.
Barry’s first league appearance came for Yeovil in 2007, two days before his 21st birthday. When he played at Wembley in a League One play-off final against Blackpool, winning 2–0. In 2010, he angered former Wrexham manager Dean Saunders. When he passed a medical and was ready to sign, but opted instead to join lower-flight side Fleetwood Town.
However, Barry helped Fleetwood Town to promotion to the Football ทางเข้า ufabet https://ufabet999.app League. Playing alongside former England striker Jamie Vardy , now playing for Leicester City, with Fleetwood boss Mickey Mellon saying: “He (Barry) is meticulous in everything he does. So when I see him as a coach now I’m not surprised.”
“I wouldn’t sit down and say I expected him to be England assistant manager. You can’t say that to anyone. But looking back and knowing the quality of what Barry is the professionalism. The real study of football, I’m delighted he’s had the opportunity to work for the national team.”
After rejecting Wrexham early in his career, Barry eventually got his chance to play for the club in 2016-17. But he soon retired at the age of 31 due to persistent injuries, and went on to take up a position as assistant to former Wigan Athletic manager Paul Cook in League One.
Barry’s career as an assistant has continued to grow, with spells at Chelsea and previous assistant managers at the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Portugal. Where he has worked with the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“From where I started, it’s been seven or eight years. That have gone by so quickly that I certainly didn’t expect it,” Barry said. “I’m standing in front of world-class superstars who I’ve only just watched on TV. But you have to adapt very quickly. You have to treat them like any other player you’ve ever worked with, with love, with warmth and with a desire to develop them.”
Barry completed his FA’s Pro Licence in 2020 and received top marks for his writing and attention to detail. His thesis focused on throw-ins. Which required him to analyse 60 hours of video footage of each of the 16,380 throw-ins taken during the 2018-19 Premier League season.
“He’s a well-respected coach, he wouldn’t have lasted long in this environment and has been supported by the people he’s been around over the last few years,” Curwood added. “Anthony is a great all-rounder and has a reputation for attention to detail and I’m delighted for him.”
Meanwhile, Barry has built a strong relationship with Tuchel both on and off the training pitch. And after Bayern were beaten 4-2 by Hoffenheim on the final day of last season. Tuchel opted not to fly back with the rest of the squad and instead drove back with Barry, who was unable to fly due to knee surgery.
Tuchel said: “It’s not just about solidarity. We wanted to give something back to Antony. It was our last away game and he agreed to come with us despite having to undergo surgery. That’s why me and coach Nicolas Meyer drove him back to Munich.”