While the appointment of former Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Paris St Germain and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel has attracted plenty of interest, the appointment of his English assistant Anthony Barry has gone under the radar a little.
Liverpool-born Barry, who made 64 appearances for Yeovil Town during his career which started at Everton and included spells with Accrington Stanley, Wrexham, Chester City and Fleetwood Town amongst others, has previously worked with Tuchel at Chelsea and Bayern Munich. He has also had coaching roles with the national teams of Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Portugal.
He joined the Glovers in January 2006 at a time when Steve Thompson was looking to help the Glovers maintain their newly found League One status, following the departure of Gary Johnson to Bristol City
The following summer saw Russell Slade brought in as manager from Grimsby Town and Thompson reverted to the role of assistant which he had formerly held under Johnson, and Barry continued to play a part for the Glovers. In the 2006-07 season, he netted his only goal for the club in a Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie with Shrewsbury Town and he also appeared in both League One play-off semi-finals against Nottingham Forest, which the Glovers memorably defeated Nottingham Forest 5-4 over two legs. He then featured for Yeovil in the final against Blackpool, which the Glovers lost 2-0.
In 2008, he was released by Yeovil and returned to the North West to sign for Chester City and he spent the remainder of his career in the region, aside from two years spent at Forest Green Rovers between 2013 and 2015, as he appeared for Wrexham (twice), Fleetwood Town and he returned to Accrington Stanley initially on loan before signing permanently for Stanley in 2015.
Regardless of whatever views anyone might have on the appointment of a German in Tuchel as England manager, the appointment of Barry as his number two represents a great opportunity for a young English coach, who has already a fine track record for someone his age.
