Thomas Tuchel wants Chelsea coach Anthony Barry to join them at Bayern Munich

Thomas Tuchel was appointed Bayern Munich head coach yesterday, and as usual, he will be accompanied by his long-time assistants Arno Michels and Zsolt Lőw, both of whom left Chelsea* at the same time last September.

But they want their fourth musketeer as well, with Tuchel confirming in his introductory press conference that he wants Anthony Barry to join him as well. Unlike Michels and Lőw, Barry has only worked with Tuchel at Chelsea, but clearly he’s made an impression.

“Arno Michels and Zsolt Lőw, who have been working with me for over ten years, will be there. We’re hoping to add Anthony Barry, who is currently at Chelsea.”

Speculation about Barry began as soon as the Tuchel news broke, though the 36-year-old had rejected multiple overtures in the past, including a full-time management offer from lower league Fleetwood Town as well as a chance to join Frank Lampard at Everton. Barry has worked part-time with the Republic of Ireland and Belgium national teams in the meantime as well.

Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images

That said, the appeal of Tuchel and Bayern may be too much, especially given all the changes at Chelsea. Pretty much everyone that Barry used to work with is gone now and the remit at Bayern will be a very familiar one indeed.

“The DNA of FC Bayern is all about winning, also about the way you play football. This squad is one of the most talented and best squads in Europe. I’m looking forward to working with this squad. You can compete for every title with this squad.

“Winning all titles is still possible. Therefore, it will be all about the details. I have an idea of ​​what to do and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s about playing for all titles. The position that Julian created with the team, that we have a chance of winning the title in all three competitions, has to be exploited. Of course there are also risks involved. But we love the pressure and the stress.

“On Tuesday evening I started thinking about the squad. In England and in Paris, they rate Bayern extremely highly. Nobody wants to play against Bayern Munich. The size, the strength of the club is undisputed.”

-Thomas Tuchel; source: Metro

Tuchel & Co set out to create a Chelsea that was “hard to beat”, and they delivered on that promise nearly flawlessly. Would expect similar success this time around as well.

*Data analyst Benni Weber, the fifth musketeer, who had also worked with Tuchel since their Mainz 04 days, was recently appointed as sporting director at SC Paderborn.