KEEP THE 1966 DREAM ALIVE
Southgate’s men desperate for odyssey to continue
GARETH Southgate recalled the moment 18 months ago when he collected the England players together shortly after he had been confirmed as the manager and showed them a film of how the British Olympic team had been transformed from no-hopers in 1996 to heroic world beaters in 2016.
And in the aftermath of victory over Sweden and qualification for only the third semi-final in the history of the men’s team, he acknowledged that persuading the players to buy into his vision of what England could achieve was crucial to how they are playing now.
“I said to them that having success with England would be so much bigger than any success with their clubs,” said Southgate.
“That is maybe starting to register now. Maybe I tell the truth, most of the time!”
Yet, even then Southgate wouldn’t have expected such a spectacular turnaround from the mass walkout by England fans in Malta last September, where the players were abused by fans as they laboured in qualifying.
Even this team’s qualification for the World Cup was greeted with apathy in October at Wembley, when the crowd seemed more interested in throwing paper aeroplanes than celebrating the achievement. All that has changed and this team has reconnected with their public.
“There’s no question that their willingness to speak to the media, and be open about their stories, has been a help,” said Southgate.
“They’re all England fans. Some have been at tournaments as supporters. If not, their families have. They’ve all worn the shirt as kids, and are now proud to wear the shirts as players.
“As a group they’re tighter. A lot have come through the junior teams together. They’ve been able to park their club rivalries at the door.
“There’s an energy and warmth from home which perhaps a lot of the players haven’t experienced in the past. The chance to connect everyone (in England) through football and make a difference how people feel is more powerful than what we’re doing with our results.
“All these players come from different parts of the country, and they’ll be inspiring youngsters back home. I’d imagine there’ll be a party going on at home now. Not for us tonight, but the feeling of pride and satisfaction on the pitch at the end was enough for us.”
A Brazilian journalist asked him about the revolution in the English playing style.
‘’We’ve played some players who are very tender in years, in their careers, but we believe in them and we believe they can play at a higher level,” he said.
“Hopefully with what our junior teams are doing as well, that will be a sign to all clubs, at home and abroad, that English players have super technique. John Stones and Harry Maguire, bringing the ball out and playing with a composure we had not seen in previous years. That was symbolic and why I joined the FA five years ago. I believed that was possible.”
“I spoke to the lads today, and none of us fancied going home. We have to be here another week, and it’s up to us now which games we play in.
“To have gone to the depths emotionally and physically in midweek, and controlled the game and withstood the physical test, was a sign of resilience of a young team who are maturing in front of our eyes.”