IT’S ALL CHANGE FOR SOUTHGATE
England boss: Time to alter our tactics, mentality and style
WHATEVER happens against Germany this evening, Gareth Southgate can at least take comfort in the fact that it is unlikely to end as badly as his previous encounters with the world champions.
Never mind his missed penalty in Euro 96 and a most uncomfortable afternoon in central midfield four years later in the last game at the old Wembley. Southgate meetings with Germany tend to mark the end of England managerial tenures, as proved the case for Terry Venables and Kevin Keegan.
Southgate should at least survive long enough to see Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Lithuania, even if his immediate predecessor might urge a degree of caution.
But the source of his own misery will be difficult to escape in Dortmund tonight when the man who saved his semi-final spot-kick will be sitting on the opposing bench. Andreas Kopke has been Germany’s goalkeeping coach for the past 13 years.
Southgate did not appear too concerned here at their training base in Essen, making light of the presence of his nemesis despite dropping his pen at the first mention of his name. Would he shake Kopke’s hand? ‘Well, I don’t normally shake hands with the opposition’s goalkeeping coach,’ he said. ‘But if he’s got his gloves on I guess I’ll know who he is.’
There was a serious point to bringing up Kopke, however, and it was one the new England manager appreciated. Southgate included his personal nadir in his presentation to his players at St George’s Park on Monday, and, while his focus is principally on executing the masterplan he unveiled, his own experiences as an England player could yet prove invaluable.
‘Obviously neither were good nights for me,’ he said, referring to the two games he has contested with the Germans.
‘The first one was something which helped shape me as a person. It builds your mental strength, gives you — years down the line — that feeling of, “What is there to fear in life in terms of sport and in terms of performing?” I’ve been through the worst and I think that gives me freedom when I’m managing players in allowing them to go and express themselves.
‘I’m always looking at what’s possible. How can we go and win rather than avoid failure? I think there is a difference in that mindset.’
Mindset — ‘the mindset we need to win’ — was something Southgate was keen to discuss last night, particularly when it came to comparing England with countries such as Germany and Spain.
He sees this evening as a chance not just for England to measure themselves against the best but to educate his players, particularly the younger ones such as Marcus Rashford, in a game he said he would use to test players he may not have examined during his four-match spell as caretaker.
‘I’m looking at a bigger picture right now, things that are way beyond tomorrow,’ he said. ‘ We want to come out of tomorrow having learned something.
‘Look at Spain. We’re an island, we’ve got to get off the island and learn from them. We’ve got strengths. We need to look in the mirror and change the way we do things tactically, with physical preparation, our style of play and mentality.’
They need to look, he said, at how Germany rebuilt themselves after they and England woefully underperformed at Euro 2000.
‘ Some of those things ( that Germany did) have started,’ said Southgate. ‘ The reform of the academies, the improved focus on coaching.
‘We’ve probably got some work to do in terms of the connection between the DFB and the Bundesliga, which is immensely strong.
‘I guess to highlight the difference, they postponed the start of the Bundesliga because they got a team in the Olympics. We can’t even get a team to the Olympics. I think we can learn from their mentality.’
Southgate will be judged in time on how England develop under his guidance but he can’t be faulted for the way he articulates his ideas and opinions.
Gary Cahill, his captain this evening, must have been inspired by his words as he sat beside him at the press conference.
‘I’m watching Gary on the ball now and he’s got that belief and confidence from the way he has been asked to play this year,’ said Southgate. ‘ Gary working with Antonio Conte reminds me of what Terry Venables gave me as a player: just stretching you into different challenges and doing things that improve you.
‘You are working in a different system and opening your mind. The best teams I played in with England had tactical flexibility. Teams have to be brave.
‘The supporters will judge us on the performance. They want an England team playing with calculated aggression and positive about what they do. We have to be tactically savvy.’
He would like them to be more like England’s rugby side, having spent some time observing Eddie Jones. ‘The detail, the way they work, is impressive,’ he said. ‘The culture in rugby I think we can take something from. They get the players to present the opposition analysis, rather than it being fed by the coach. And of course Eddie has a winning mentality. He is constantly asking for more. They were 18 games unbeaten and he said they were nowhere near ready to win a World Cup.’
An improvement on his last two meetings with Germany would be a start for Southgate.