🔗 Share this article

A decade ago, Barry was playing in League Two. Currently, he's dedicated on helping the head coach secure World Cup glory next summer. His journey from the pitch to the sidelines began as an unpaid coach coaching youngsters. He recalls, “It was in the evenings, third of a pitch, asked to do 11 v 11 … flat balls, not enough bibs,” and he was hooked. He realized his purpose.

Rapid Rise

His advancement is incredible. Commencing in a senior role at Wigan, he established a reputation with creative training and great man-management. His stints with teams led him to top European clubs, and he held roles with national teams for Ireland, Belgium, and Portugal. He's coached big names such as Thiago Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Cristiano Ronaldo. Now, with England, he's fully immersed, the “pinnacle” as he describes it.

“All begins with a vision … However, I hold that obsession can move mountains. You have the dream then you break it down: ‘How can we achieve it, gradually?’ Our goal is the World Cup. However, vision doesn't suffice. We have to build a methodical process enabling us to have the best chance.”

Obsession with Details

Dedication, particularly on fine points, defines Barry’s story. Toiling around the clock under the sun—sometimes the moon, too, he and Tuchel challenge limits. Their methods involve psychological profiling, a plan for hot conditions for the World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and fostering teamwork. Barry emphasizes “Team England” and dislikes phrases such as "break".

“It's not time off or a rest,” Barry says. “We needed to create an environment that the players want to be part of and where they're challenged that returning to club duty feels easier.”

Ambitious Trainers

The assistant coach says along with the manager as extremely driven. “We want to dominate every aspect of the game,” he states. “We want to conquer the whole ground and that’s what we spend long hours toward. We must not only to stay ahead of changes but to surpass them and create our own ones. This is continuous with a mindset of solving issues. And it’s to make the complex clear.

“We get 50 days alongside the squad ahead of the tournament. We must implement a sophisticated style that gives us a tactical advantage and we must clarify it during that time. We need to progress from concept to details to knowledge to execution.

“To develop a process enabling productivity in that window, we must utilize all the time available from when we started. When the squad is away, we have to build relationships with them. We have to spend time communicating regularly, we need to watch them play, understand them, connect with them. If we just use the 50 days, it's impossible.”

Upcoming Matches

He is getting ready on the last two of World Cup qualifiers – versus Serbia in London and in Albania. England have guaranteed a spot in the tournament by winning all six games with perfect defensive records. Yet, no let-up is planned; quite the opposite. Now is the moment to build on the team's style, for further momentum.

“The manager and I agree that the football philosophy must reflect all the positives about the Premier League,” he comments. “The fitness, the flexibility, the robustness, the honesty. The national team shirt needs to be highly competitive but light to wear. It must resemble a cloak instead of heavy armour.

“To ensure it's effortless, we need to provide a style that allows them to move and run as they do in club games, that resonates with them and lets them release restrictions. They need to reduce hesitation and more in doing.

“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 in that part of the ground, we believe play has stagnated, particularly in the Premier League. All teams are well-prepared now. They know how to set up – mid-blocks, deep blocks. Our aim is to increase tempo in that central area.”

Drive for Growth

Barry’s hunger for improvement is relentless. While training for the top coaching badge, he was worried over the speaking requirement, especially as his class included stars like Lampard and Carrick. So, to build his skill set, he went into tough situations imaginable to improve his talks. Such as Walton jail locally, where he coached prisoners in a football drill.

He completed the course with top honors, and his research paper – focusing on set-pieces, for which he analysed thousands of throw-ins – got into print. Frank was one of those won over and he recruited the coach to his team at Stamford Bridge. After Lampard's dismissal, it was telling that the club got rid of virtually all of his coaches except Barry.

The next manager with the club took over, within months, they claimed the Champions League. After Tuchel's exit, Barry remained under Graham Potter. Once Tuchel resurfaced with Bayern, he got Barry out away from London and back alongside him. English football's governing body view them as a partnership similar to Southgate and Holland.

“Thomas is unique {in terms of personality and methodology|in character and approach|