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Tuchel warns 'repulsive' Jude Bellingham urged to turn fire on opposition not teammates
The Guardian
|June 12, 2025
Thomas Tuchel has told Jude Bellingham to concentrate on intimidating the opposition rather than his England teammates as he opened up on what it was like to manage one of the game's "special" talents.
The England head coach talked about Bellingham's "edge", which can make him erupt during matches - even at colleagues - and come across in a way that "can be a bit repulsive".
Tuchel admitted his mother sometimes had "mixed emotions" when watching Bellingham play.
But Tuchel made plain that he would count on the Real Madrid midfielder in his mission to win the World Cup next summer and that it was vital to harness the fires that rage within the 21-year-old on the pitch.
"Jude has a certain something," Tuchel said in an interview with TalkSport. "He brings an edge, which we welcome and which is needed if we want to achieve big things. The edge needs to be channelled towards the opponent, towards our goal and not to intimidate teammates or to be overaggressive towards teammates or referees.
This story is from the June 12, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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