🔗 Share this article

Ten years back, the England assistant coach competed in League Two. Currently, his attention is fixed on helping the England manager win the World Cup next summer. His path from player to coach started as an unpaid coach coaching youngsters. Barry reflects, “Evening sessions, a partial pitch, organizing 11-a-side … deflated balls, scarce bibs,” and it captivated him. He had found his purpose.

Rapid Rise

His advancement is incredible. Beginning in a senior role at Wigan, he developed a standing through unique exercises and great man-management. His stints with teams included top European clubs, plus he took on roles with national teams across multiple countries. He's coached legends including world-class talents. Now, with England, it's all-consuming, the peak in his words.

“Everything starts with a dream … However, I hold that obsession can move mountains. You dream big and then you plan: ‘How can we achieve it, gradually?’ We dream about winning the World Cup. However, vision doesn't suffice. We must create a systematic approach that allows us to have the best chance.”

Obsession with Details

Obsession, particularly on fine points, characterizes his journey. Putting in long hours day and night, the coaching duo challenge limits. Their methods include player analysis, a plan for hot conditions for the World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and fostering teamwork. He stresses the national team spirit and dislikes phrases such as "break".

“You’re not coming here for a holiday or a break,” he explains. “We had to build something where players are eager to join and where they're challenged that returning to club duty feels easier.”

Driven Leaders

Barry describes himself and the head coach as “very greedy”. “Our goal is to master all parts of the match,” Barry affirms. “We seek to command the entire field and that’s what we spend most of our time to. We must not only to stay ahead with developments and to lead and innovate. It’s a constant process to have this problem/solution-finding mentality. And it’s to make the complex clear.

“We have 50 days alongside the squad prior to the World Cup. We have to play a complex game that offers a strategic upper hand and explain it thoroughly during that time. We need to progress from idea to information to know-how to performance.

“To create a system for effective use during the limited time, we have to use the entire 500 days we'll have from when we started. During periods without the team, we have to build relationships with them. We have to spend time in calls with players, we have to see them in stadiums, feel them, touch them. If we just use the 50 days, we won't succeed.”

Final Qualifiers

He is getting ready ahead of the concluding matches in the qualifying campaign – facing Serbia at home and Albania in Tirana. England have guaranteed a spot in the tournament after six consecutive victories without conceding a goal. However, they won't relax; quite the opposite. This is the time to build on the team's style, to gain more impetus.

“The manager and I agree that our playing approach should represent everything that is good about the Premier League,” he comments. “The athleticism, the versatility, the strength, the work ethic. The national team shirt must be difficult to earn but light to wear. It ought to be like a superhero's cape not protective gear.

“To make it light, we need to provide a style that allows them to move and run as they do in club games, that feels natural and encourages attacking play. They must be stuck less in thinking and focus more on action.

“There are morale boosts you can get as a coach in attack and defense – playing out from the back, attacking high up. But in the middle area of the pitch, those 24 metres, it seems football is static, particularly in the Premier League. All teams are well-prepared currently. They know how to set up – structured defenses. We are focusing to speed up play through midfield.”

Thirst for Improvement

The coach's thirst to get better is relentless. When he studied for his pro license, he felt anxious over the speaking requirement, as his cohort contained luminaries like Lampard and Carrick. To enhance his abilities, he sought out the most challenging environments available to him to practise giving them. Including a prison locally, where he coached prisoners in a football drill.

Barry graduated with top honors, and his research paper – focusing on set-pieces, where he studied numerous set-plays – got into print. Frank was one of those impressed and he recruited the coach on to his staff at Chelsea. When Frank was fired, it was telling that the club got rid of virtually all of his coaches except Barry.

Lampard’s successor with the club was Tuchel, and shortly after, he and Barry won the Champions League. After Tuchel's exit, Barry stayed on with Potter. But when Tuchel re-emerged in Germany, he recruited Barry from Chelsea to rejoin him. The Football Association view them as a partnership akin to Gareth Southgate and Steve Holland.

“I’ve never seen anything like Thomas {in terms of personality and methodology|in character and approach|