Anthony Barry has revealed how he and Thomas Tuchel have managed to bring out the best in Jude Bellingham by giving him the freedom to express himself on the pitch.
England boss Tuchel regards Barry as vital to his set-up, with the pair sharing an incredibly close bond and understanding. The England No2 puts on coaching sessions which push the players' boundaries and has deep sessions with Tuchel about tactics and players.
Freedom to Roam
Between them, they have unlocked Bellingham's full potential for England, with three assists and a goal in the 7-0 thrashing of Croatia showing his sky-high level right now. No-one doubts his talent and we are seeing him perform on the highest stage with complete freedom on the pitch.
Barry, 40, said: “The structure allows him to play more from his intuition… less from being locked down or caged in a certain position. It allows him to roam and operate in spaces that he thinks he can be dangerous and so far it’s brought out the best in him.
“It is a challenge because he can do them all. He can play six. We've had many players for England like that in the past. Steven Gerrard was similar. Paul Scholes, played six, 10, played on the left wing.
“Jude can play any of those positions comfortably, and play on a high level. So the challenge is then to give him a space where he can do it all at once inside of one game. Right now, in a short sample, it seems like we found a solution to unlock all of the potential that Jude has.”
Passion and Pride
Barry says he cannot contain his “passion and pride” working for England. He made himself a TV star during the World Cup with his half-time interviews and he was nearly in tears when he talked about the players having “broken hearts” in the third place play-off with France.
Barry says he was just being “authentic” when he spoke but it was also why he was such a hit with armchair fans back home because they appreciated his honesty. But it also gave an insight into the Liverpudlian who is assistant to Thomas Tuchel. He has also worked alongside Tuchel at Bayern Munich and Chelsea while Barry also worked as a coach with Portugal and Belgium.
Barry said: “I would say passion is part of it. I think certainly when you work for England, once you wear this (pointing to the badge), I think when I worked for Belgium, Portugal, whatever, it's a privilege.
“But when you really put the England shirt on and you're in a World Cup representing England, then there's another level of passion and pride and affection.
“Let's say we have affection for this group of players. Thomas and I both fell in love with them from the minute we started working with them. But inside of the camp for seven weeks, it was pretty special, and I think you've seen that come out in the France game for me.
“I couldn't hide it and didn’t want to hide it because these players just deserve so much, and the seven weeks we spent together for everyone would be a special memory for all of us, and for me to represent England in any moment is incredible
“I think it would have been hard for me to change if I was just going to be authentic. To then stop being authentic would have been difficult to pull off, I would imagine. It was just part of my role and responsibility in the World Cup.
“If it was received well, which obviously I know now it was, then that's a nice thing for me. It's a nice thing for fans if it was giving them feedback that they understood and liked. But for me, it's just part of my roles and responsibilities. So I decided to execute them the best I could.”
