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