Gareth Southgate is leading England at a major tournament for the fourth time at Euro 2024 as he looks to be the man who leads the Three Lions to their first piece of silverware since the 1966 World Cup.
The 53-year-old has been in the job since 2016 and only Sirs Walter Winterbottom and Alf Ramsey have taken charge of more Three Lions games than the former Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough defender.
While he's now one of the most recognisable people in the UK, FourFourTwo have dug up a few facts you may not know about him...
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His nickname used to be ‘Nord’
Any readers born after Euro 96 may not be too familiar with the work of former TV presenter Denis Norden, but in an era where there were only four TV channels and no internet, his ‘It’ll Be Alright On The Night’ TV show was at the centre of the cultural zeitgeist. And that’s how a young Southgate got the nickname ‘Nord’ from his Crystal Palace teammates, due to the similarity in the way the pair spoke and their shared love of grey Hush Puppies.
He’s never been afraid to mock himself
Southgate’s Euro 96 penalty miss was unfortunately one of the defining moments of his playing career, but he was at least able to make fun of himself, when he starred in a Pizza Hut advert alongside Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle, who had missed spot kicks in England’s Italia 90 shootout defeat to West Germany.
He should have taken his mum’s advice…
Talking of that Euro 96 penalty, he proved the rule that mothers are always right. Years later, Southgate told the Guardian that his mum’s reaction to the miss came in the form of a simple question: “Why didn’t you just blast it, dear?”
Even a Buddhist monk had a pop
We won’t dwell on the penalty miss much longer, but Southgate was even the victim of a ribbing from a Buddhist monk on the other side of the world after he saw his effort saved. Southgate and his wife Alison flew away on their honeymoon in 1997 and ran into a monk, who instead of imparting the couple with some mystic philosophy, he said: “It’s you, it’s you, isn’t it? England. Penalty miss.”
He couldn’t listen to Three Lions for 20 years
In a summer-time version of the Whamageddon game at Christmas, Southgate found that he couldn’t face listening to Three Lions for 20 years following Euro 96.
“Football’s coming home, I couldn’t listen to it for 20 years, frankly,” he told Sky News. “It has a slightly different feel for me, but it’s nice to hear people enjoying it again.
"I would just walk out of the room. It is an anthem and has followed the team for a long time, but involved some difficult moments as well. I don’t stick it on, it’s not on the playlist, but I can listen to it now.”
"That ended in disappointment and it is nice to be able to put a different frame on it now."
His first manager had alternative career advice
To make it as a professional footballer you have to learn how to deal with adversity and knockbacks. Thankfully, a 16-year-old Southgate did just that, as he refused to take the advice of his first Crystal Palace manager Alan Smith, who questioned the youngster over his life choices after he spotted him shaking hands with the opposition and thanking them after losing to a British Army XI.
“Gareth look, if I was you I’d become a travel agent because I don’t think football’s going to be for you, if you go on like this,” Smith recalls telling him. Thankfully, the young prospect took this advice on board.
Aston Villa’s most-capped Three Lion
Aston Villa have had plenty of England internationals turn out for them, but no Villan has won more England caps while at the club than Southgate. The centre-back turned out 42 times for the Three Lions during his time at Villa Park, ahead of the likes of Gareth Barry, David Platt, Darius Vassell and Jack Grealish.
He initially turned down the England job
Southgate initially turned down the chance to be England’s caretaker manager in 2016. His former Palace boss Smith picks up the story: “I don’t think he was convinced, the way that the job was being put to him… on a short term contract, on a salary that wasn’t conducive with being the England manager Gareth knows his worth. He’s no fool.”
He inspired an Atomic Kitten reunion
Whether you’re the kind to thank Southgate for reuniting 2000s girl group Atomic Kitten or not is up to you, but the trio’s original line-up reunited for the first time in ten years to record a version of their 2001 single ‘Whole Again’ after terrace fans had adapted the original lyrics to make it about the England boss.
You know how it goes: “Southgate, you're the one – you still turn me on, football’s coming home again.”
He has also been the subject of a hit West End play
Southgate’s journey as England manager also inspired a hit West End play. Titled Dear England’ after an open letter that Southgate wrote to England fans during the COVID-19 pandemic, the play begins with a Euro 96 flashback before running through the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, plus Euro 2020.
FourFourTwo went along and enjoyed it. Read our review here.
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