Tuchel deal delights FA - but timing has echoes of Capello decision

Thomas Tuchel's contract extension as England head coach will be celebrated as a coup by the Football Association, but comes with complications and a worrying precedent.

On the one hand, the FA can congratulate itself at securing the services of the elite coach who flawlessly guided England to World Cup qualification on a deal stretching to Euro 2028.

On the other, Fabio Capello.

The timing of Tuchel's new deal is intriguing, a move designed to tie down the 52-year-old German who oversaw England's route to this summer's showpiece, as well as avoiding any distractions around his future.

Whether the latter strategy is successful remains to be seen, and must also largely hinge on whether England justify their status as one of the World Cup favourites.

At first glance, it represents a good day's work by the FA, and indeed Tuchel, whose contract was scheduled to end after the World Cup, when some of biggest jobs in Europe may well be available.

Manchester United, for one, will have had Tuchel firmly in their thoughts as they decide on the long-term successor to Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford. Others may have mirrored their interest.

The FA will believe Tuchel's decision to commit to England heads off any future interest from elsewhere. The obvious delight is understandable.

And yet it begs the question, why now? Why not wait until after England's World Cup campaign?

This is why Capello's name has been instantly, and justifiably, attached as a rider to the mood of satisfaction around the announcement.

The Italian was handed a lucrative new deal by the then power-brokers at the FA virtually as England's plane prepared to take off for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Capello's name had been conveniently linked with a host of top clubs in Europe, which saw the FA react - perhaps prompted by panic - with an improved contract, which was designed to take him through to Euro 2012.

It was a move that backfired horribly as England performing badly in South Africa, going out to Germany in the last 16.

Capello and the FA were then stuck with each other in a loveless alliance that ended in February 2012, when the Italian took issue with the decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy.

Neither party appeared to harbour any regrets about the separation.

Tuchel's immediate predecessor Sir Gareth Southgate even referenced Capello's ill-starred new deal in his book when there was talk of his contract being extended after Euro 2024.

Southgate wrote: "I remembered Fabio Capello signing a new contract ahead of the 2010 World Cup and getting lambasted, actually putting the team under more pressure."

This is a different FA to 16 years ago and there is no suggestion Tuchel's new contract is anything other than a union of two parties delirously happy with each other, but there is certainly currency in the argument that the Capello affair must act as a cautionary tale.

FA CEO Mark Bullingham said: "We have taken away the potential distraction of contract negotiations around the tournament."

Would contract negotiations actually even take place around a tournament when the sole focus must surely be on the World Cup games?

Tuchel, befitting a coach of his record and reputation, has guided England through smooth waters to the World Cup, his team blossoming as the qualifying campaign took shape, while he looked more comfortable with every game.

Eight wins. No goals conceded. Perfection.

He has proved to be unflinchingly his own man, especially with his decision-making around Jude Bellingham, leaving Real Madrid's superstar out of England's squad for the friendly with Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia in October despite his desire to be included after injury.

Tuchel is laser-focused on his task, which is solely to win the World Cup. No star system, a fault of predecessors, will be employed.

On the surface this looks, as the saying goes, a "no brainer".

But what if England mirror the desperate efforts of Capello's team in 2010?

It would take some doing, but they have not been dealt the easiest hand if they get out of the group games in the United States unscathed.

If all does not go as hoped for, the new contract will weigh heavily on both the FA and Tuchel.

Will this contract development future-proof Tuchel and the FA against World Cup failure? Unlikely.

England have made a habit of progressing serenely through qualifying under a succession of managers. Competitive tournament football remains the acid test - and one Tuchel is yet to pass.

It may, at least, offer the FA some protection from covetous advances being made in Tuchel's direction from elite clubs, something which cannot be discounted should England's World Cup be a success.

Tuchel will also be diverting from his own history if he does stay as England head coach until the proposed date of 2028, making his tenure almost four years.

He has not been one for the long haul since spending five years in charge at Mainz 05 between 2009 and 2014.

Tuchel left Borussia Dortmund in May 2017 after two years in charge. He stayed a little longer at Paris St Germain, taking them to the Champions League final, before he was sacked in December 2020.

He won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 but was dismissed in September 2022 after only 20 months in charge. Tuchel was then at Bayern Munich for a little more than a year, winning the Bundesliga.

This may yet be a brilliant piece of foresight by the FA to keep one of the best, most single-minded, successful coaches in world football.

The final verdict, however, must wait until after the World Cup.