"David James and Gareth Southgate lined up alongside each other 83 times for club and country during the pair's illustrious playing careers. The duo were first put together in England's 2-0 friendly win over Mexico in 1997 and would go on to spend two seasons together at Aston Villa between 1999 and 2001. James' playing career would continue until a 2014 stint with Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters, by which time Southgate was well into his stint as England U21s manager."
"After three years with the U21s, Southgate was the beneficiary of Sam Allardyce's shock resignation after just one match, as the FA turned to the former Middlesbrough manager as their new boss. What followed would be the most successful stewardship of the England job since Sir Alf Ramsey's World Cup-winning stint, as Southgate would lead the Three Lions to the World Cup semi-finals and two European Championship finals."
"Having lost, you can imagine, it wasn't the best fun. But I sat next to Gareth and said, We'll get to Wembley again'. We both achieved that in different ways. For him to go from player to manager at such a young age, then become the England manager and, short of winning the trophy, arguably become England men's most successful manager, my admiration for him is massive."
David James and Gareth Southgate played alongside each other 83 times for club and country, first teaming up in a 1997 friendly and later at Aston Villa from 1999 to 2001. James continued his playing career until a 2014 stint with Kerala Blasters while Southgate moved into coaching with the England U21s. Southgate became England manager after Sam Allardyce's resignation and led the national team to a World Cup semi-final and two European Championship finals, marking England's most successful managerial period since Sir Alf Ramsey. David James expresses strong admiration for Southgate's transition and achievements.
Read at www.fourfourtwo.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]