Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TEAM TRIBUTE
ENGLAND’S friendly at Wembley may have failed to give fans much hope of success at Euro 2024, but it did bring together some legends from the Euro 96 squad.
Saturday’s game against Brazil, which England lost 1-0, was the Three Lions’ first since Terry Venables, manager from 1994 to 1996, died in November, aged 80.
He helped make household names of the Euro 96 squad, who went out on penalties – naturally – to Germany in the semi-final at Wembley.
In the 28 years since, most have stayed involved in the game, but we have also been entertained by their shenanigans in the entertainment world – one of them involved in different kinds of pitches on Dragons’ Den and another branching out as a tree on Masked Singer.
Paul Gascoigne, 56, was among the Euro 96 legends at Wembley to pay tribute to Venables, joining the crowd in an affectionate standing ovation before kick-off.
The absolute star of Euro 96, Gazza has since battled drink and mental health problems, but he was still the star most fans wanted to see on Saturday night.
His former Euro 96 team-mate
Jamie Redknapp, 50, posted a picture of himself and Gazza and told how back in the day Venables would tell the squad “just get the ball to him”.
Redknapp’s playing career ended in 2005 due to injuries, and he has since become a football pundit for
Sky and the BBC, and is also a team captain on Sky gameshow A League of Their Own.
But he is no match for Alan Shearer when it comes to success as a pundit. Shearer, 53, who won the Euro 96 Golden Boot with five goals, has been a regular on the BBC’S Match of the Day since he ended his playing career at Newcastle in 2006.
Venables might have counted Gareth Southgate as one of his greatest proteges. His missed penalty cost England a place in the finals in 1996, but he has tried to atone since becoming England manager in 2016, leading the team to the final of Euro 2020. England lost – on penalties again – to Italy. But Southgate, 53, now has the chance to finally bring it home in 2024.
He is not alone in moving into management. Phil
TRIBUTE
Neville, 47, who made his England debut shortly before Euro 96 kicked off, headed up David Beckham’s MLS franchise Intermiami, before landing another top job with Portland Timbers. He had previously coached the Lionesses.
His brother Gary Neville, 49, played alongside him in the Euro 96 squad and is now a pundit for Sky Sports, where he’s not afraid to discuss Manchester United’s shortcomings. He has built up a £100million portfolio of hotels, restaurants and pubs and co-owns Salford City. This year he has made guest appearances on Dragons’ Den, investing in sports recovery
company Myomaster, and a personal cinema pod idea.
Paul Ince, 56, also moved on to management, but was sacked from Reading in April 2023, after the team lost eight games in a row.
Stuart Pearce, 61, has also worked as a club manager and coached England’s U21 squad. He left West Ham, where he was first-team coach under David Moyes, at the end of the 2021-22 season. Now he can often be heard on TALKSPORT sharing his opinions on the Premier League.
And he showed he was a born survivor in 2016, when he appeared on Bear Grylls: Mission Survive alongside the actor Neil Morrissey.
Liverpool legend and Mirror columnist Robbie Fowler, 48, most recently managed in the Saudi second tier, and previously coached in Thailand, Australia and India. He is a
successful businessman, and has owned a sports promotion company since the 1990s. He is also involved in horse racing, and has a property empire, believed to include more than 100 homes recently estimated at more than £13million.
Ian Walker, 52, is a goalkeeping coach at Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIP. Nick Barmby, 50,was recently inducted into the Hull City Hall of Fame after managing the team.
David Seaman, 60 – England’s second most-capped goalkeeper after
Peter Shilton – has tried not to let celebrity slip away from him, winning the 2004 show Strictly Ice Dancing and competing on Dancing On Ice, where he met his wife Frankie.
In late 2005, he had his trademark ponytail cut off on live telly for charity.
Striker Teddy Sheringham, 56, competed on the Masked Singer in
2020, where he was dressed as a tree. He came ninth.
Arsenal legend Tony Adams, 57, appeared on Strictly in 2022, but had to pull out due to injury. Off the pitch, he is most well known for establishing the Sporting Chance Clinic, after struggling with an alcohol addiction.
Darren Anderton, 52, who is believed to be living in California, still acts a Tottenham ambassador.
Sol Campbell, 49, tried to move into politics. He announced his intention to run for Mayor of London as a Tory candidate. But he wasn’t shortlisted. Bit of an own goal, that one.