Thomas Tuchel has opened up on his relationship with Jude Bellingham, admitting it has gone through constant ups and downs. The England manager then revealed how he came to call up the midfielder’s younger brother Jobe for the first time, acting on the insistence and advice of the Real Madrid star.
Promoting the England Under-21 captain to the senior squad for the Nations League clashes with Croatia and Spain ranked among the biggest surprises of Tuchel’s latest selection. The Bellingham brothers now stand on the brink of a long-awaited dream: becoming the first siblings to play together for England since Gary and Phil Neville in 2007. Jude once called it “the biggest dream of his life”.
Tuchel took himself back to his first training camp and his conversation with Jude, when he told the midfielder how special it would be to line up alongside his brother one day. That has become reality thanks to Jobe’s rapid development at 21, and plenty of nudging from his older brother, as he told ESPN: “We spoke about his brother because I knew very well that this was his constant dream. Jude would keep telling me: watch him, watch him, he is excellent and he can get here, and I would always reply: yes, yes, we are already watching him.”
Those conversations show just how much Jude believes in his brother’s talent. They also mark a clear improvement in his relationship with his German manager, with the Real Madrid man twice named England’s best player since Tuchel took charge. The coach had been forced to apologise last year after claiming the player’s mother found some of his conduct on the pitch “shocking”.
Fears of a rift between the pair rumbled on, even during the run to World Cup bronze. Now the storm has passed. “The relationship saw some ups and downs of course, but we are now in an excellent place,” Tuchel said. “I love being his coach, he is a top-class and highly influential player, and I think the feeling is mutual, because if Jude did not feel comfortable he would not have delivered this exceptional level. At the moment you can see his happiness at joining the camp and with his role within the team, he is fully committed, and getting the opportunity for the two brothers to be together is simply the next step.”
England sit second in Group Three of League A in the Nations League, behind Spain, with three wins and a single defeat to their name.
One point from their final two matches would seal a place in the quarter-finals. Those ties are set for a two-legged format next March, with the finals to follow in June.