England manager Thomas Tuchel averaged 51 cliches per press conference at the World Cup, making him the fourth worst communicator among the tournament’s 48 coaches, according to a new study.
The research, conducted using an AI-powered tracker developed by communications company Sinch, ranked Australia’s Tony Popovic as the biggest offender. Popovic averaged 60 cliches per press conference, regularly falling back on phrases such as ‘a special group’, ‘the first step is done’ and ‘we still have a lot of work to do’.
Tuchel’s most-used phrases included ‘it’s always a team effort’, ‘we believe and trust in this group’ and ‘that just what it is’. The study noted that his reliance on such language drew criticism from England fans, particularly following the team’s semi-final defeat to Argentina.
Spain’s winner among the worst
World Cup winner Luis De La Fuente of Spain also ranked poorly, averaging 45 cliches per press conference on his way to lifting the trophy. The tracker recorded a 9 percent increase in his cliche use after the semi-final, suggesting managers lean more heavily on stock phrases as pressure rises.
France’s Didier Deschamps showed a similar pattern. He averaged 24 cliches across the tournament but that figure jumped 29.2 percent to 31 in the semi-final, which France lost.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, former Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa averaged just six cliches per press conference, making him the tournament’s most direct communicator despite Uruguay’s early exit.
‘Pressure shapes how we communicate’
Robert Gertsmann, co-founder of Sinch, said the pressure facing international football managers is unique but the communication challenge is not. He said that while coaches like Bielsa make original communication look easy, many leaders naturally gravitate toward familiar phrases that feel safe when the stakes are highest.
Gertsmann added that the coaches who stood out throughout the tournament were not necessarily the funniest or most charismatic, but those who explained their decisions with clarity regardless of the outcome.
