Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder.

Gareth Southgate was born on 3 September 1970 in Watford, Hertfordshire.

He attended Padnell Infant School in Cowplain, Hampshire, along with Pound Hill Junior School and Hazelwick School in Crawley, West Sussex.

As a schoolboy he supported Manchester United and his football hero was Bryan Robson.

He left school with eight O-Levels at grades between A and C. He studied at Croydon College between 1987 and 1989, successfully completing a City & Guilds Certificate in Recreation and Leisure Industries as part of The Footballers Further Education & Vocational Training Society Youth Training Scheme.

Southgate played as a youth for 2 1⁄2 years for Southampton before being released as a thirteen-year-old.

Southgate began his career with Crystal Palace, making his debut in 1990, and was appointed club captain in 1993, winning the First Division championship that season.

Southgate began his career at Crystal Palace, making his professional debut as a substitute in a Football League Cup tie against Southend United in October 1990.

Southgate managed to make light of his blunder later that year by appearing in an advert for Pizza Hut, also featuring Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle, who had missed crucial penalties at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

His league debut came against Liverpool in March 1991.

Southgate became a regular in the first team during the 1991–92 season, making 39 appearances.

He became captain at the age of 23 and led the club to the 1993–94 First Division title, scoring nine goals from central midfield.

Having made over 150 appearances for Palace, he was signed by Aston Villa in 1995, winning the League Cup in 1996 and reaching the 2000 FA Cup final, before departing for Middlesbrough, where he won another League Cup in 2004 and reached the 2006 UEFA Cup final.

Internationally, Southgate made 57 appearances for the England team between 1995 and 2004.

After the South London club's relegation from the Premier League in 1995, Southgate moved to Aston Villa for a fee of £2.5 million, having made 191 appearances over four seasons.

His nickname at Palace was "Nord", given to him because his precise way of speaking reminded one of the coaches of Denis Norden's vocal delivery.

At Aston Villa, he was converted into a centre-back and was part of a formidable defence.

In his first season, he lifted the League Cup and Aston Villa qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Southgate made his debut for England as a substitute against Portugal in December 1995 under the management of Terry Venables, heading the ball against the crossbar with his first international touch.

He played every game of England's campaign in UEFA Euro 1996, though his penalty miss sent England out in the semi-final; he also featured in both the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000.

Southgate played every minute of their matches as hosts England reached the semi-final of UEFA Euro 1996, in which they faced Germany.

The match was determined in a penalty shoot-out; Southgate's penalty was saved, and England were eliminated when Andreas Möller scored the next German penalty.

Southgate played in every Premier League game during the 1998–99 season.

Southgate also played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000.

He continued to play for Villa in the 1999–2000 season as the club reached the FA Cup final, but handed in a transfer request just before playing for England in the European Championships, claiming that "if I am to achieve in my career, it is time to move on."

On 11 July 2001, Southgate signed for Middlesbrough for a £6.5 million fee.

He joined on a four-year deal and was the first signing by Steve McClaren, whom he knew as an England coach.

In July 2002, after Paul Ince left for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southgate was appointed the new Middlesbrough captain.

His 50th cap came in a 1–1 draw with Portugal at Villa Park in September 2002.

On 29 February 2004, he became the first Boro skipper in their 128-year history to lift a trophy, as they defeated Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup final at the Millennium Stadium.

Southgate rejected media rumours that he was set to move to Manchester United following Rio Ferdinand's ban for missing a drug test in January 2004.

He retired in 2006 at the age of 35, having made more than 500 league appearances across his three clubs.

His final appearance as a professional player was in the 2006 UEFA Cup final against Sevilla, which Middlesbrough lost 4–0 at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven.

He later committed his final playing years to Middlesbrough, signing until 2007.

Immediately following his retirement, Southgate was appointed manager of Middlesbrough, staying in the role until his dismissal in 2009.

He also managed the England under-21 team from 2013 to 2016, before succeeding Sam Allardyce as the senior team's manager in 2016.

He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016.

In his first tournament as England manager, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Southgate became the third manager (after Alf Ramsey and Bobby Robson) to reach a World Cup semi-final with the England team, which won him the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award.

At UEFA Euro 2020, he became the first England manager to reach the final of a European Championship and to reach any major tournament final since 1966; England eventually lost to Italy in a penalty shootout.

He also led England to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where they reached the quarter-finals.