How Gareth Southgate became The One – and made the whole of England again

Gareth Southgate was sitting in front of Keith Lamb and his anger increased with every word he heard. The previous night, Middlesbrough had beaten Derby at Riverside Stadium. An hour after the final whistle, Southgate was sacked as club manager.

When he met with President Steve Gibson in the conference room, as a result of a celebratory drink with his staff, he asked himself when it was time to ask an attacker loan. Then Gibson announced the news. Despite the 2-0 win against the Rams in October 2009, Southgate was absent. "I had no idea that I had problems," he said later. "I was too stunned to mount a defense."

Instead, he went home and sat alone until 3 am, trying to treat everything by compiling a list of items he needed to return to the club, methodical until the end . "You have not been fired, is not it?", Joked his wife when she ventured downstairs to find out why he was not at home. bed. "Yes," he replied. "J & # 39; have."

If Southgate had been too shocked to fight in his corner after hearing the news, the situation was different when he went to the training ground the next day and spoke with the Middlesbrough general manager.

In an attempt to explain the timing of the decision, Lamb revealed that he had interviewed Gordon Strachan two weeks earlier. After presiding over Boro's relegation from the top, Southgate was sacked after a league match in Reading. But they won 2-0 and Gibson did not have the guts to do it.

"Keith was lucky that I was calmer than some managers because they could have taken a momentum," said Southgate. "It was a delicate meeting," said Lamb. "I was not surprised to read this quote about wanting to hit me. He felt that it was the wrong decision and let me know in no uncertain terms. He did not want to be considered a failure for the first time in his life. "

For seven long years, it seemed that this was perhaps the only Southgate job in senior football: the end of his managerial career at the highest level. Yet on July 7, 2018, he found himself in the middle of a pitch in the Russian city of Samara, leading England fans to song and celebrating his country's victory in the Cup semi-finals. of the world.

Far from being a failure, he had become a national hero. After the way things ended in Middlesbrough, he always knew that he had a point to prove.

Set up of the stand

At the age of 35, Southgate had been a surprise rendezvous as Boro boss in the summer of 2006.

Martin O'Neill and Terry Venables both gave up their chance to succeed Steve McClaren after he left to lead England. Although Southgate was the only skipper to win a major trophy for Boro, many fans wanted the local hero, Tony Mowbray, to impress Hibernian.

"It was a surprise when he became a manager, but he was my captain when I was young and everyone respected him," Wheater said. Four out of two, having been part of this Middlesbrough team at the time.

"I remember being 16 and doing something wrong at the gym, but he did not scream at me. He just spoke softly in the locker room, which, in my opinion, was a great way to handle things. He was so calm and collected, but you would never want to hurt anything, he had an aura around him. Everyone knew him as "Gate". It was weird to call him "gaffer". "

When long-time teammate Ray Parlor jokingly asked if he could call Southgate "Big Nose" instead, the new manager was not too impressed. Already a small player, Parlor no longer played for Boro.

A lack of coaching qualifications meant that Southgate needed a special waiver from the Premier League to assume its new role. He soon started his coaching courses but had to learn the hard way: at work.

Middlesbrough improved their league position in their first season at the helm, from 14 places to 14th place in McClaren's last campaign at Riverside.

A year later, they finished 13th, beating Manchester City 8-1 on the last day thanks to Afonso Alves' hat trick. However, the Brazilian recorded a £ 12.5 million flop, as the manager's acquisitions were not particularly successful. Mido did not recover his best form after his arrival at the Spurs and now admits that he and some senior players had reservations on Southgate.

"The players liked him well, but they knew he could not take care of his job." FFT. "Players are smart and can feel that kind of thing. Sometimes he panicked a little during games – he did not know how to manage the team and it was a difficult time for him.

"But he was a nice man. It's not easy to retire and have to manage all your teammates the next day. Yesterday, you were their teammate and now you have to find the right balance between a manager and a friend.

"He was unlucky because the president chose to cut the budget and let big players like Yakubu and Mark Viduka leave. He was young and had to work on a small budget with no management experience – it was unfair. It was his first job in management and I think he has evolved a lot since then. "

While Jonathan Woodgate, Mark Schwarzer and George Boateng left Teesside for Tottenham, Fulham and Hull respectively, the team lacked leaders. Southgate has therefore trusted a promising group of young people coming out of the club's academy.

"He gave us a chance," says Wheater. "Steve McClaren gave me my debut, but Southgate was the one who put me in and stayed with me. Later, he also entrusted me with the post of captain. I was probably not ready for that at 20 or 21, but he trusted me and I wanted to pay him back. "

The fall

Southgate was named manager of the month in the Premier League after the start of the 2008/09 edition of Boro by defeating Spurs and Stoke. He lost only late to Liverpool. But they soon began to struggle for goals. A 14-game win without a win plunged Boro into danger of relegation and they never recovered. They scored only 28 goals all season and their 11-year high flying was over.

They started well in the championship – winning five of their first seven league games – but West Bromwich Albion won 5-0 at the Riverside in mid-September. It was the first of three home defeats on the rotation, as the crowd dwindled and the number of boos increased. Strachan was lined up and we showed the door to Southgate, despite this victory over Derby, leaving them 4th in the table, one point down the line. Under Strachan, Boro would finish 11th.

"It was a surprise to all guys when he was fired," Wheater recalls. "Some of us had gone to a bar after Derby's game, and he called me to tell me he had lost his job. As a senior player, he thought I should know it. It was a shock – I did not really know what to say. Later, he sent me a handwritten letter wishing me good luck, saying that I would be fine if I did things right. It was a pretty long letter and an adorable gesture. "

Now endowed with a UEFA professional license and three and a half years of experience, Southgate hoped that his next position in management would be different. There was, however, a problem: no one would give him the next job. When he was applying for vacancies in championship clubs, he often did not even get an answer.

He joined the FA as an elite development manager, with a view to a long-term future in an administrative role. He excelled so much that at the end of a year he became the main candidate for the leadership of the first technical direction of the FA, no longer arguing, fearing to return to work for which he did not feel experienced enough.

Southgate left the FA, realizing that he was not ready to give up the executive career in which he had committed to Boro.

When Sheffield United became available in 2013, Gareth threw his hat into the ring. He knew some of the Blade directors – their children attended the same school as his – and the interview seemed to be going well. It was devastated when the board opted for David Weir. So he asked a friend to ask why he had been forgotten.

The comments left him dismayed. The club had decided that he was too kind. The directors stated that when he would drop his children to school, he would make sure to greet the other parents. "What am I supposed to do, tell my kids to get out of the car and leave?" He replied.

Pain of a man

The big break from Southgate was the same as his term at Boro: with a man sitting at the table of his employer, dismayed that he was relieved of his duties despite winning his last match . Sam Allardyce was the victim of this attack, but for very different reasons.

Southgate suddenly found himself England's most unlikely coach in history: he did not want the job and half of the country did not particularly want him either. A national newspaper published a survey asking readers how he thought he would become an acting chief. Possible answers included: "Do not worry – I left England" and "God help us all".

He returned to the FA as England's under-21 boss in 2013, although the results were not remarkable enough to convince everyone that he was ready for the top job.

There were, however, signs of promise – signs that young players were reacting to his management and ownership approach. Remembering perhaps the awkwardness of the players calling him "gaffer" in Middlesbrough, he did not insist as much this time.

"Everyone called him Gareth rather than gaffer," admits goaltender Jonathan Bond, of the under-21 team at that time. "We all loved it. From the beginning, he wanted to be bold and do things a little differently – play at the back, more at the European. Everyone bought in it.

"What surprised me was how close everybody was. It did not look like a normal locker room, it was like being in school with your friends. Gareth created that. The guys who were under 21 for years said it was not the case before: it was more detached. But we were constantly together – no one wanted to be in his room. I would look forward to these two weeks on an international mission. "

Southgate's management style did not immediately translate into tournament results: England came out in the 2015 European Championship group stage, tilting against Portugal and Italy.

"We were too worried about the results and we moved away from what we had developed in qualifying," said Bond. "We lost our style of play because we were afraid of losing. However, it seems that Gareth has learned from this. It is detached from all current pressures and focuses solely on performance because it will bring long-term results. At the World Cup, the team has always tried to do the right things.

"When I look at England, it's all this under-21 setup: the same players, the same staff, the same physios and the same masseurs. All players who have qualified for the senior team will have all been very familiar. "

As he had done in Middlesbrough, Southgate sent letters to all his players after the tournament, thanking them for their efforts. "It meant a lot to me and my family," Bond said.

A year later, the U21 Southgate won the tournament in Toulon, Ruben Loftus-Cheek scoring the winner of the final against France. By the time of the 2018 World Cup, 10 of Southgate's top players had played for him in the U21s. Six of them – Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane – were in his first choice from the XI. Trust had been built years earlier.

Basically

Southgate had been reluctant to leave the under-21s. When Roy Hodgson resigned after Euro 2016, he insisted that he did not have enough experience to assume the position of interim goalkeeper for the senior team, again fearing a repeat of Boro.

When Allardyce left, the FA had only five days before the selection of the next team, and Southgate had to step in. He soon found himself enjoying the job and coping with the situation better than he expected.

A few days after a 3-0 win against Scotland and a promising performance at a 2-2 draw against Spain, he sat in front of a panel of the United States. St George & # 39; s Park interviews: Greg Clarke, Martin Glenn, Dan Ashworth, Howard Wilkinson and Graeme Le Saux. makes his case to be permanently appointed. He not only earned the position but also sold a long-term vision to the committee. "I said," He has to be in that job for at least six years, "Wilkinson explained. "Gareth will get better and the players will get better."

Southgate quickly set out to build a team spirit by taking his team to a Royal Marines camp in Devon, where they handed out their smartphones and camped in the moonlight. The gaffer even showed that he was ready to sink into the water to immerse himself in one of the exercises.

On the field, he made tactical adjustments after confirmation of the World Cup qualification. He went three to the back, while many managers might have thought that it was safer to use the system that drove them to Russia.

Then came a trip to Minneapolis in February – a trip that would bring dividends to the World Cup in more ways than one. Southgate went to an NBA game and spoke with staff at the Minnesota Timberwolves to learn about basketball blocking techniques. They were used to doing good, England having scored nine goals in the World Cup deciding shots, the record of the tournament team since 1966.

Southgate and the FA press team also took part in the Super Bowl and pre-game media day, during which all players on both sides were available for interviews. The manager had identified the tension between the players and the press as a problem in previous big finals: when England outshot Iceland 2-1 at Euro 2016, Steven Gerrard admitted that He had spent the second half worrying about the reaction of the media if they lost. With such thoughts swirling around the players' heads, the team froze.

"Sometimes the relationship between our collaborators and the media has been conflicting, and I do not think that's necessarily the case," said Southgate. "The Super Bowl is more relaxed."

A few days before England's departure for Russia, the press was invited to St George's Park and all 23 players were available for an interview. "The press has been saying for years to the federation that they need to improve their relationship," said Henry Winter, editor-in-chief of football The temperatureexplains to FFT.

"There were one or two people around the players who were not particularly helpful at previous tournaments, saying," Do not talk to the press. "But the more interviews you have, the less there will be. stories about a story, all the guys will not say, "Well, let's have a big debate on Wayne Rooney."

"The 23 players came in and we could see that they benefited from it. The FA had a clock and after 60 minutes the interviews had to stop. But in fact, many players have just been hanging around chatting – even Sterling, who had recently been in the papers about the tattoo story.

"It created a relationship of trust between the players and the media and altered the perception of many players by the public. Danny Rose revealed her depression problems. If the players did not perform well, there would have always been criticisms, but if there was human empathy, the fans will be much more understanding. "

Trust yourself

The relaxed atmosphere was maintained once in Russia, families being regularly allowed to visit the team hotel in Repino. To make his team feel comfortable, Southgate has not only built strong relationships with the players themselves, but also with their loved ones. Everyone has been made to feel part of the English family.

The same quality that had cost Southgate the work of Sheffield United now helped to create an environment in which players could produce their best potential in a major tournament – well.

Of course, things could have been different if Harry Kane had not nodded as the winner of the first match against Tunisia, but Southgate had prepared his players for each scenario, explaining to them how they should react if things go wrong. did not go as planned.

Panic seemed to be the solution against Iceland in 2016: this time, they calmly continued to play their game of possession, saving themselves until the winner arrived.

There were no such problems against Panama in Nizhny Novgorod, when these NBA techniques – Ashley Young subtly blocked the John Stones marker for the first goal – helped England to win 6 -1. Southgate's only concern was to know how to make a handgun with one arm, after dislocating his right shoulder while running this week.

He had quietly dealt with a potential problem before the match: a photographer taking pictures of the assistant Steve Holland holding a piece of paper, supposed to contain the starting XI.

"It does not bother me at all, it was just a list of players," Southgate insisted. "Of course, our media must decide whether they want to help the team or not," he added, his message being delivered politely but firmly. He had helped the media access the players, so he did not want that to be thrown in his face.

"He's very respectful, but tough, too," said Winter. "He sets the tone at press conferences, which is rather rare, because the media usually tries to set the tone for the head.

"I think it would have been more worried if we had talked about the fixed sets that they were going to use, and there were several opportunities during the World Cup where we had information about it, but not the planes were not headed, there was so much respect for Gareth.

Southgate had forged many years of media relations: they remembered how he had bravely conducted interviews immediately after his 96 Euro penalty and how he had played cricket with them on Rimini Beach. before a match in San Marino. during his punditry days.

His preparation has always been meticulously meticulous. As a player, he refused to travel with his teammates to meet Nelson Mandela before a friendly match in South Africa, to make sure he was ready for the match. He scored after 36 seconds and England won.

Redemption

In Russia, it's the penalties that Southgate's attention to detail has made the difference. The former British leaders had decided not to prepare for the shooting, but Southgate remembered the pain of the year 96 and did everything in his power to avoid the same fate to one of his teams.

When the time came against Colombia, Jordan Pickford had notes stuck surreptitiously to a bottle of water, allowing him to check before each penalty. Once he had refused Carlos Bacca, it was up to Eric Dier to convert the spot and end the hoodoo of England. "We have been practicing since our meeting," said Dier. "I felt confident."

So what did Southgate tell its players in the locker room after this historic victory? "Nothing," said Kyle Walker. "He came the next day and said he forgot to talk to us later because he was very moved. He does not need to say anything. It was a big party. "

After another decisive goal against Sweden, England qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1990. After its work in the media, Southgate returned to the field and is presented in front of the English fans still in the stadium. the moment.

It was a dream that no one would have predicted for a summer more successfully than anyone would have dared to hope.

Calmly and effectively, Southgate overcame the pitfalls that thwarted former English leaders. Qualification for a major tournament? Made with ease. Off-field scandals? No chance. Problems with the press? Solved Cliques in the locker room? Not anymore. Fear of penalties? Overcome. Stupid red cards? Not under his watch. Shine his team on the biggest stage? Absolutely. S 'support a fantastic summer successfully in the League of Nations of UEFA? Damn all right.

It took a long time to achieve, but in the end, England did not need a manager with vast experience, nor a successful past at the highest level.

To finally shine in a big tournament, they just needed a man who understands the problems of England and knows how to solve them. A man allegedly sacked by Middlesbrough. A man who has been neglected by everyone. A man named Gareth Southgate.

Additional reports: Marwan Saeed • This article was originally published in the January 2019 FourFourTwo magazine

Now read …

DANIEL STOREY What success – or failure – of the League of Nations could mean for England

ANALYSIS Is Virgil van Dijk the favorite of this year's Ballon d'Or?

While you are here, why not take advantage of our brilliant subscribers' offer? Get the best football magazine in the world for just £ 9.50 per quarter – the best stories and the best game journalism right on your doorstep for less than two pints. Cheers!

New features you would like on FourFourTwo.com