Over a period of 28 years, Gareth Southgate (Watford, 53 years old) has suffered the wrath of English hooligans for two contradictory reasons for the courage to take a penalty that turned out to be fatal, in the semi-final against Germany at Euro 1996, and for the cowardice of imposing in the 2024 competition a vigilant, stingy and boring game on a team full of players eager to shine.
The manager who has led England to 2 European finals (lost in 2021 against Italy and this summer against Spain) and a semi-final at the 2018 World Cup and has recovered enthusiasm for the “three lions” to the entire country, announced his resignation on Tuesday. “As a proud Englishman, it has been the honor of my life to play for England and to coach the English national team. It has been everything to me, and it has given me everything,” Southgate announced. “However, the time has come for a change. The time for a new chapter,” he added. The decision was communicated to the federation on Monday evening, and the British media pointed to Eddie Howe, current Newcastle coach, as the future manager.
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Southgate’s great sin has been to convince the English that they could once again be the champions of the sport they invented and which other countries immediately appropriated to make it shine in their own way. Football is coming home, thousands of young and old have sung until they were hoarse in pubs across England, with the shared hope of winning the European Cup again almost sixty years after the 1966 World Cup.
The Times ‘ sports editor, Matt Lawton, admitted a few days before Sunday’s fateful final that Spain was an exceptional team, undoubtedly the favorites to win the competition, but at the same time he sensed that “England’s destiny was written in the stars”. It was probably Bellingham’s feat, with that miraculous last-minute overhead kick against Slovakia in the round of 16, the impeccable penalty shoot-out against Switzerland, or the wonderful goal in the semi-final against the Netherlands by the unexpected Watkins, who was brought on by the coach at the last moment, that caused this collective illusion.
However, England’s fate, and that of Southgate himself, was to come up against a team, Spain, that played with the freshness and freedom that the English never managed to enjoy.
England have never taken any risks during the competition. The manager has tried different methods to shake off a boring team that has played mediocre games. Southgate was criticized, booed, and even pelted with beer glasses by an angry minority of hooligans after the draw against Slovenia in the final group game.
Yet England dragged themselves back to a final, and Southgate once again sent fans on a high that was destined to fizzle out. Rise, fall, rise, and fall again for national enthusiasm.
“Gareth, I want to thank you personally. Not as the president of the Football Association, but as an English fan,” Prince William of Wales wrote on Twitter after learning of Southgate’s resignation. “Thank you for creating a team that has stood up to and been at the level of the best players in 2024. Thank you for showing humility, sympathy, and true leadership under the most intense scrutiny and pressure. And thank you for showing such grace. You must be deeply proud of what you have earned,” added the heir to the throne of the United Kingdom.
The Man Who Took Responsibility
Players who shared a dressing room with Southgate at Crystal Palace and Aston Villa remember a leader who was always willing to step up and take responsibility in difficult moments. His decision to take the sixth penalty in the shootout against Germany in 1996, when his teammates were staring at the ground or whistling, showed the strength of character, but the clumsiness with which he directed the ball, almost softly, into the hands of the German goalkeeper, was lethal. The “incident”, as Southgate called it for years, was the ultimate proof of the cruelty with which the English fans punish those who disappoint their expectations when victory is within their reach.
During his years as manager, he has been able to earn the respect of the players. The way he stood up for Rashford, Saka, and Sancho in 2021, after they missed their penalties in the Wembley final against Italy and suffered all kinds of racist abuse on social media, was a lesson in elegance. The then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in a new lesson in opportunism, ended up preventing Southgate from being knighted – Sir Gareth Southagate – which everyone, including himself, had demanded before the defeat. Three years later, despite the controversy created by England’s way of playing, everything suggests that the now ex-national manager will end up adding Sir to his business card.
