“We tried to appoint Anthony as our manager,” says Fleetwood Town’s chief executive Steve Curwood about Anthony Barry, England’s new assistant boss.
“He was keen to engage with us. This was when Frank Lampard left Chelsea [January 2021] and I think Anthony thought he was going to be out of the door.”
In fact, Barry was kept on at Stamford Bridge and went on to forge such a strong relationship with Thomas Tuchel, Lampard’s replacement, that the German took him to Bayern Munich before the new England boss named him as his assistant on Wednesday.
Liverpool-born Barry, 38, spent 13 years as a midfielder in England’s lower tiers, playing for Yeovil Town, Fleetwood Town, Accrington Stanley and Wrexham among others.
After serious injury at the age of 24, he decided to concentrate on his coaching badges and five years later took charge of Accrington Stanley Under-16s in 2015.
“I remember my first session so clearly,” Barry told the Euros Essential Football Podcast, external in June.
“It was a Tuesday night, there were around 10 players, I had a third of a pitch, and not enough balls and not enough bibs!
“But I simply fell in love with coaching, and on that night I knew it was absolutely everything I wanted to do.”
Nine years on from Accrington Stanley Under-16s, Barry’s thoughts are turning towards the 2026 World Cup as he gets ready to begin his new role on 1 January 2025 alongside Tuchel.
