Gareth Southgate’s quiet leadership carried England to back-to-back Euro finals | OneFootball

Gareth Southgate fell agonisingly short of glory as England manager but his transformational work with the national team has earned him a knighthood in the New Year Honours list.

No manager since Sir Alf Ramsey won the 1966 World Cup has enjoyed as much success in charge of the men’s team, with the 54-year-old leading them to back-to-back European Championship finals.

England’s first continental showpiece ended in an excruciating Wembley penalty shoot-out loss to Italy and three years on was compounded by a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to swashbuckling Spain.

July’s Berlin finale proved Southgate’s 102nd and final match in charge of a country he led at four major tournaments and sparked a remarkable turnaround in having taken charge at their nadir.

England reached the World Cup semi-finals just two years on from their Euro 2016 humiliation against Iceland, with the manager helping to restore the team’s credibility as they became regular tournament contenders.

Southgate not only took the team within touching distance of glory on the field but led by example off it, resulting in his OBE being upgraded to a knighthood for services to football.

The merits of that honour are sure to be debated, just as so many of his decisions were during his eight-year stint at the England helm.

Few knew what it meant to represent the national team better than Southgate, who went to four tournaments as a player, won 57 caps and had a career-defining night at Euro 96.

The scars from that crucial semi-final spot-kick miss in a shoot-out loss to Germany at Wembley deeply impacted the introverted kid who spent his formative years in Crawley.

I am fortunate that I am the type of guy who you have to prod a lot to get a bark, probably something I get from my dad

Gareth Southgate

Born in Watford to Clive and Barbara in 1970, he credits his upbringing for shaping him into the person, and coach, he became.

“I am fortunate that I am the type of guy who you have to prod a lot to get a bark,” Southgate said. “That’s just how I am. I don’t know why that’s how it is, probably something I get from my dad. He always managed his emotions really well.

“He also had a coach’s mentality – he was always looking after other people. I think we all grow up looking at those figures in our lives and, whether it is subconscious or not, you mimic and take on those traits.

“I owe a huge debt to him for lots of things, but that’s why I am the way I am.”

Another defining factor is his drive to prove people wrong, which Southgate – who started as a midfielder like his hero Bryan Robson – first had to do after receiving a setback aged 13.

Knocked sideways by Southampton’s decision to release him, he dug in determined to prove them wrong and was picked up by Crystal Palace, where he impressed. But former youth team coach Alan Smith advised him to become a travel agent unless he toughened up.

Southgate did and built a strong bond with Smith, who would go on to make the youngster captain of the Eagles aged just 22, and they won promotion together from the second tier in 1994.

The defender got the nickname ‘Nord’ during his time at Selhurst Park as coach Wally Downes thought he sounded like TV host Denis Norden. It was something Southgate embraced, co-authoring the book ‘Woody & Nord: A Football Friendship’ with fellow youth team graduate Andy Woodman.

The pair remain close and the former England boss is godfather to Bromley boss Woodman’s son Freddie, who currently plays in goal for Preston.

Southgate met wife Alison during his time at Palace, who he left for Aston Villa in 1995 and broke on to the international stage ahead of Euro 96 – the first major tournament he went to as a player.

The centre-back enjoyed his time in the midlands, with a League Cup win the highlight, before making a £6.5million move in 2001 to Middlesbrough and captaining them to their first major trophy.

Boro were agonisingly close to adding to the 2004 League Cup triumph as Steve McClaren’s side lost the UEFA Cup final two years later – a match that brought the curtain down on an impressive playing career.

McClaren took over England after that European run and eyebrows were raised when Southgate succeeded him at Boro, especially as the freshly retired defender did not have the requisite UEFA Pro Licence qualification.

Handed a five-year deal and tasked with revitalising the squad in challenging financial conditions on Teesside, he guided them to 12th and 13th-place finishes before slipping out of the top flight in 2009.

Southgate was relieved of his duties that October and has not managed a club since, spending time doing TV work before joining the Football Association as head of elite development in February 2011.

The former defender contributed to the youth development review, with particular focus on changes to kids’ football, and also supported coaching strategies in the build-up to St George’s Park opening.

Southgate played a part in the ‘England DNA’ model and succeeded former team-mate Stuart Pearce as under-21s boss in 2013, overseeing victory in the Toulon tournament in 2016.

That success helped make him favourite for a job that he did not initially feel ready for after Roy Hodgson fell on his sword immediately after the Iceland debacle.

Southgate worked as a technical observer for UEFA during those Euros, but it was when he returned home and watched former Palace team-mate Chris Coleman fearlessly leading Wales to the semi-final that the penny dropped.

He watched their quarter-final win against Belgium next to his son, Flynn, at their Harrogate home knowing he had backed away from the England job – the kind of challenge he would have told his boy to take on.

That is part of the reason he stepped out of his comfort zone and into the limelight when Sam Allardyce departed, initially on a temporary basis, to change the course of English football.

Southgate’s quiet leadership saw him go from stopgap to a standard-bearer, showing a caring, self-deprecating nature and tactical acumen that some seem desperate to ignore.

The former defender fostered an impressive togetherness and team spirit, thanks in no small part to his willingness to back and stand alongside his players on societal issues such as racism.

England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 helped the national team reconnect with the country. They even won a penalty shoot-out.

Back-to-back Euros finals followed either side of a frustrating 2022 World Cup quarter-final exit to eventual runners-up France as England enjoyed unparalleled consistency on the biggest stages.

Southgate is in no rush to return to management after leaving the England post in July and has even suggested his next job could be away from football.

While his next step is unsure, the gratitude for his work with England was made clear with this knighthood.