Thomas Tuchel: My mum finds Jude Bellingham's attitude repulsive

Times

a day ago

The England head coach, Thomas Tuchel, has said his mother finds the 'fire' and 'rage' within Jude Bellingham 'repulsive' and warned the midfielder his aggressive streak could intimidate his team-mates.
In a remarkable assessment of the Real Madrid star, Tuchel said England needed Bellingham at the core of their team in order to win the World Cup next summer but added that the 21-year-old also needed to channel his 'edge' correctly.
Bellingham exploded in anger at the final whistle after Tuesday's 3-1 friendly defeat by Senegal, having had a late goal, which would have made it 2-2 at the time, ruled out after a VAR review for handball by Levi Colwill.
Bellingham booted the ball across the City Ground pitch, kicked a drinks cooler, and then made a beeline for one of the officials before being intercepted by the captain Harry Kane.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Tuchel said it was that element of Bellingham's on-field demeanour that needed to be improved, claiming it could 'intimidate' his team-mates, and also that it was a turn-off for the German's parents.
Tuchel said he saw Bellingham as a central figure in his plans and then expanded on this, saying: 'I think he has a certain something. He brings an edge which we welcome and which is needed if we want to achieve big things.
'It needs to be channelled. The edge needs to be channelled towards the opponent, towards our goal and not to intimidate team-mates or to be overaggressive towards team-mates or referees, but towards opponents and always towards the solution, meaning towards winning. And we are on that, yes.
'He has the fire. He has the fire. I don't want to dim this down. He should play with this kind of fire. That's his strength.
'But the fire comes also with some attributes that can intimidate you, maybe even as a team-mate. You see sometimes the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game, so if he can channel this in the right way and we can help him in this, then for sure he has the something that we need and he has a certain edge that is hard to find.
'He's a nice kid and very open, very intelligent. I struggle to see that [England would be better off without him]. I struggle to see that. I think it has to be the other way around. How we can have the best version of him . . . but I see that it can create mixed emotions.
'I see this with my parents, with my mum, that she sometimes cannot see the nice and well-educated and well-behaved guy that I see and the smile.
'If he smiles, he wins everyone [over]. But sometimes you see the rage, you see the hunger, and the rage and the fire, and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive. For example, for my mother, when she sits in front of the TV [watching him].
'But in general, we are very happy to have him. He's a special boy.'
How and when Tuchel addresses the subject with Bellingham is unclear. The midfielder is likely to miss the September games against Andorra and Serbia as he is scheduled to undergo surgery on a long-standing shoulder injury after this summer's Club World Cup.
Tuchel also addressed which position Bellingham is best suited to as he looks to find a convincing formula after two disappointing performances — the defeat by Senegal and drab 1-0 win over Andorra — which have brought scrutiny only four games into his tenure.
Bellingham played in an advanced position against the European minnows on Saturday and then came on in more of a central midfield role against Senegal, although he quickly bounded forward.
'That is a good question [about his best position] that applies to many of our players because from the outside I thought for many years that he could be a No6 or No8,' Tuchel said.
'Then he had this amazing season where he played like a false nine at Real Madrid and scored and scored and was involved in chances. I still see this hunger. If you look at our first match against Albania and his diving header in the box, the hunger to go with his body in front of the defender to dive into this ball without any fear.
'It just shows me the determination that he has to be on the scoreboard . . . what I normally see only in strikers. I think now he's more a 8-10 than a 6-8, maybe a 10.'
'I'm more convinced than ever of Henderson's value'
Tuchel also espoused the importance of selecting Jordan Henderson, who turns 35 next week, despite criticism from supporters, and indicated that he was looking to stay in the job beyond next summer when his contract expires and lead England into a home European Championship in 2028.
On Henderson, Tuchel said: 'I am, until now, not aware of it [criticism for calling Henderson up]. We were convinced about this move to bring him back and, since I met him in person and since I saw him, observed him in camp, I am more convinced than ever that he is a very, very important addition to this group. Especially when we talk about setting standards and keeping the group up to the standards, then he is, at the moment, the man I don't want to miss.
'He is still lean, he is still fit, he is still ready to push on a level that matches the international level. I am convinced he is still ambitious. He pushes the group, he takes care of training, he takes care of the attitude. He brings players together.
'We see different, best versions of players when Jordan is in camp, than if he is not in camp.'
Having been brought in by the FA to win the World Cup, it was widely expected that Tuchel, 51, would leave were he to fall short. However, he has now said he would like to stay for longer.
'I will always be tempted to stay, because I love the group and I love the opportunity,' he said.
'It's an honour to be England's head coach. I know what is coming after [the World Cup], a huge tournament in England. I will always be tempted. I can tell you that, even after the disappointing result yesterday.
'If you ask me today, yes, [he will stay, even if England don't win the World Cup]. Because, like I said, I feel that I am in the right place. I wanted a new challenge. I wanted a new environment.
'I feel the support, I feel the trust and the respect of the people in the federation. I love the group of players. I want to push them and it just feels right.'
Tuchel acknowledges need to improve
Tuchel, meanwhile, has admitted that he needs to improve his own performance as England head coach as he battles to prevent his reign from unravelling.
Speaking after the ramshackle 3-1 loss to Senegal at the City Ground, he said: 'If you know me, then you know after a loss I will never say, 'Yes, it's a good start.' Never. I will never allow that to myself.
'With a job and building an atmosphere and building a group and being a leader it's about more than just results but of course I'm judging myself also on results. I want to win every match. So it's not perfect.
'We need to get better. I need to get better. There's still a long way to go. Next week is not the World Cup. It's in one year and next World Cup qualifier we're smarter than we were today. I still stand by the decision to select this team and see these players in these combinations and take the responsibility for it.'
The rude awakening over the past week should, if nothing else, serve to focus Tuchel's mind and fast-track his thought process on what he wants his England team to look like.
In particular, that affects Kyle Walker, who was criticised for his display against the Senegalese, and Jack Grealish, who was not selected for the squad. Tuchel wants players performing regularly at club level if they are to remain in his plans but both players are surplus to requirements at Manchester City and need to secure moves.
'For sure I hope this for everyone,' Tuchel said. 'Everyone gets his place back in any club where they play. I just said it to the players.
'You have now, unfortunately, a long pause but I expect you to be fit when you start pre-season with your club, I expect you to get your place, wherever you play, and I expect you to be in the right mindset when we start in the World Cup season in September.
'It will, by nature and also by fixtures and the timeline, get more competitive in the nomination process. It will be more streamlined.
'It will be more competitive. That's where I want it to go anyway, no matter the result, and, therefore, we needed more images of the players, more experience with the players under pressure and under stress. We will take this into account.'