Gareth Southgate Accidentally Reveals Why His Team Were Never Winners

Forbes

6 hours ago

Former England's national football team head coach Gareth Southgate poses with his medal after being ... More appointed as a Knight Bachelor (Knighthood) during an Investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on June 25, 2025. (Photo by James Manning / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JAMES MANNING/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) POOL/AFP via Getty Images
After being handed the greatest honor available to a regular British citizen, former England coach Sir Gareth Southgate was asked about his next job in soccer.
Looking slightly taken aback to face a question more commonly reserved for a sporting rather than royal event, he paused thoughtfully before offering an answer.
'I'm excited about the future. Obviously, I've had 37 years in football, so it's a long time and I've enjoyed taking a step back and being involved in other things,' he said after being knighted by the King of England.
Since leaving the biggest role in the country, the South Londoner has focused his energies far from the soccer field, working on projects that support young men and raising awareness of the importance of role models.
Part of this distance, he revealed, was deliberate. He didn't want to loom over the team he'd so recently left.
'I think it's important that I am on that sofa and out of their way, you know. It's theirs to take on now, and I think it's important that I give the team as much space as possible,' he added.
The journalists outside Winsor Castle pressed him on whether he missed parts of the job, and Southgate's answer was surprising.
'It is a little bit strange [watching the team] but also I'm not missing it,' Southgate told the BBC.
'I think it's hard to describe because until that weight's gone, you don't necessarily realize just on a day-to-day basis, you know, every hour of my day was thinking about how do I make England better, what's happening with the players, how do we do things differently,' he added.
'So I think [that like] any leader of big organizations, you're constantly thinking about how to do your job as well as you can.'
Many managers at the top of the game have spoken about the toll the job brings. Modern greats like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have discussed how energy can be drained.
As a consequence, both coaches have taken sabbaticals at different stages of their careers. Although, to be honest, Southgate doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath; he's not of the same caliber.
In statistical terms, he's been a success as England manager. But his sides have only inspired excitement by progressing in tournaments.
The turgid manner in which his achievements were achieved made the ride underwhelming throughout, and this is why he repeatedly came unstuck in crucial moments against braver, smarter teams. More than a Manager
DORTMUND, GERMANY - JULY 10: England head coach Gareth Southgate celebrates 2-1 victory after the ... More UEFA EURO 2024 semi-final match between Netherlands and England at Football Stadium Dortmund on July 10, 2024 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by) Getty Images
The lack of identity dogging his team was referenced by his replacement, Thomas Tuchel, after taking charge.
His assessment of their Euro 2024 run to the final was withering. England 'were more afraid to drop out,' he felt, 'than having the excitement and hunger to win it.'
Southgate isn't one for a confrontation and certainly wasn't going to taint his big day by exchanging barbs with his replacement.
When asked to comment on the German's assessment, he said: 'I don't think it's important how I took it [Tuchel's criticism] or what I think,' Southgate said.
'I think what's important is for me to give the team, the manager, the space to operate. I think that's the right thing to do.
'I've had an amazing experience leading my country, but it's time for them to take it forward now, and I'll be a fan at home supporting it.'
The reason for Southgate's knighthood goes beyond anything that happened on the field, however.
His cherished national status has been achieved because he succeeded in presenting a version of inspirational English pride to the world in a manner no coach has really managed since Sir Bobby Robson in 1990.
His dignified leadership often went beyond soccer, and he will be remembered for that.
The BBC's article reflecting on his knighthood explained: 'Southgate was not just England's manager; he was the perfect ambassador for the FA when the game's waves spread beyond what happened on the pitch.
It added: 'Southgate not only placed England back on what had become unfamiliar territory by leading them to the latter stages of showpiece tournaments, but he also lightened the load of a shirt that was too heavy for so many before he took charge.
'He made players relish playing for England again, making a somewhat unloved national team popular once more, with the peak of that feelgood factor coming between the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, which was largely played at home.
'Southgate established himself as a mature, measured and civilized leader, who had a hinterland that stretched beyond football, proving priceless in moments when diplomacy was required.'
Those soft skills meant he succeeded in the ambassadorial capacity that few English managers have.
But it may also be the reason he never won that elusive trophy. The lack of hunger to get back into the game and show what he can do now suggests what we always suspected: he was lacking that killer edge to get over the line.