Rob Mason - Zero to Hero: The Gareth Southgate Story

FROM ZERO TO HERO

by Rob Mason

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all the England fans who travelled to Russia for the World Cup, behaved themselves and enjoyed making friends with the people of Russia. They showed that football, and indeed all sport, is a force for good in the world.

Thanks to Jules Gammond, Barbara Mason, Gordon Cox, Jeff Brown, Dave Middleton, Rob Bishop and all players and coaching staff who have helped with this biography.

ISBN: 978-1-782-81-8199

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in the retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, with the prior permission of the publishers.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information within this publication but the publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the publishers.

From zero to hero. Football has the power to make people heroes or villains and can transform you from one to the other with the kick of a ball. In 1996 a talented, young player Gareth Southgate deflated the nation when his tame penalty meant that football wasnt coming home, despite the excitement surrounding Englands hosting of the European Championships.

The country that gave the most popular game on the planet to the world had only ever reached the last four of the World Cup in 1966, when it was won on home soil, and in 1990 when penalty defeat ended Englands hopes at the semi-final stage. As a young and inexperienced squad jetted off to Russia in 2018 few people realised what a spirited, exciting team Southgate had assembled and instilled such belief in.

Having shown the strength to deal with being the man who suffered for having the bottle to take a pressure penalty at Euro 96, Southgate has now re-emerged as the darling of the nation, its waistcoat manufacturers and most of all the hero who has brought back belief, pride and optimism in the national team.

His story from hero to zero and hero again, for club and country, is told here through the eyes of many who have played or worked with him throughout his career. From his first experience of international football, when he changed in the back of a cattle truck for his school team on a trip to France, to the peak of the World Cup semi-final, the story of Gareth Southgate shows that in football if you believe in yourself you can always be a hero.

Long looked at as the home of football, Englands stock on the global stage had fallen to the point where while it might be viewed as the home of the game, it was increasingly looking as if that home was an old folks home, a place of fading memories.

Gareth Southgate was not alive on the sole occasion England laid claim to being world champions. The country that had given the game to the world hadnt even bothered entering the first three World Cups and eventually won it at their fifth attempt, but even then only with the help of home advantage and a linesman from the old Soviet Union. As Southgate was a young player starting to make his way in the game Bobby Robsons side of Gazza and Lineker were thwarted on penalties in the semi-final at Italia 90, since when reaching the quarter-finals of the worlds top tournament had been considered good going.

England had fared no better in the European Championships. Semi-final penalty defeat when host nation in 1996 represented the solitary occasion the Three Lions had reached the last four since being semi-finalists in 1968. As the person who infamously fluffed the decisive spot-kick in 96 Southgate remembered that disappointment only too well, even if he didnt want to.

Having finished bottom of their group with just one point at the previous World Cup, and lost dismally to Iceland at Euro 16, Englands stock on the world stage was that of a feeble team with delusions of grandeur.

As referee Wilmar Roldans watch ticked past the 90-minute mark in Englands opening game against Tunisia in Volgograd on 18 June it looked as if the world would continue to see England as also rans. England had dominated but were drawing 1-1 after missing chance after chance, particularly in the first half.

Southgates side though were to score a deserved injury-time winner, rattle in a record breaking six in their next match five before the break and go on to win a World Cup penalty shoot-out for the first ever time, dominate a successful quarter-final and lead with just 20 minutes to go of their semi-final.

Suddenly the watching world had to recognise and respect a young, vibrant England schooled by Southgate to play with style. Weve come from the embarrassment of losing to Iceland at the last Euros to getting to the semi-final of the World Cup playing good football smiled Alan Shearer. His fellow TV pundit Rio Ferdinand was equally delighted. Praising Southgates switch to a 3-5-2 shape following the qualification stage, Ferdinand observed, He made a bold decision after the qualifiers of going to three at the back and showing the boys how to play that way. This bunch of players has brought the nation together. You wanted this time to come out of the tournament with an identity, a way of playing and they have done that. We meet a lot of former players from around the world at games at the World Cup and they have been coming up and saying England are playing good football from the back.

In his own playing days Ferdinand was as good a defender on the ball as the nation has produced since the days of Rios fellow West Ham graduate Bobby Moore. Rio was the sort of footballer Southgate would give his eye-teeth for. It was a quirk of fate that saw Southgate handed the keys to the international kingdom after Sam Allardyces contract was terminated. There is more to Big Sam than the stereo-typical image of him having his teams simply hoof the ball to a big lump up front but had Allardyce taken England to Russia would those former internationals have been complimenting Englands style in the way Ferdinand reported?

For this, Gareth Southgate deserves enormous credit. I think the way that we kept playing, he smiled in response to a question about what pleased him most after his side had grabbed a late winner in their opening fixture. Even when the clock was running down we stayed patient he continued. We didnt just throw the ball in the box. We waited for good opportunities and I think we deserved the win. We made so many clear-cut chances especially in the first half and had total control of the game in the second half. We were strong on set plays all night and Im really pleased. Even if we had drawn the game, which I know would have made life more difficult for us, Id have been proud of the performance. The pleasing thing was the movement, the pace, the interchanging of position. The control from the back with the ball. In the end you wear teams down and thats what happened. Good teams score late goals partly because if you dominate the ball like that the opposition tire.

With time ticking down and Tunisia ready to celebrate holding England the Three Lions sealed the three points as three of the men whose stock would rise during the tournament combined. Englands prowess at set-pieces would come to be feared. A large part of that was down to the quality of Kieran Trippiers delivery allied to Harry Maguires rugged determination to be first to the ball. As Maguire headed Trippiers corner goal-wards Harry Kane was there in a flash to net the winner, his second of the game and set himself off in what became a successful pursuit of the Golden Boot, even if the Spurs goal machine didnt appear to be firing on all cylinders in the latter stages.