ENGLAND’S victories have ended 25 years of hurt for Gareth Southgate — and for his parents, his old pal Tony Adams has revealed.
And now Tony, England’s Euro 1996 skipper, believes his former lieutenant is going to lead the team to glory as manager, declaring: “It is time for us to tell the world: ‘It’s our time’.”
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Tony, 54, was set to take England’s next penalty against Germany a quarter of a century ago until Gareth stepped forward for the nerve-shredding task.
Gareth missed the spot kick to send his team crashing out and has felt guilty ever since.
By beating the Germans on the way to reaching this year’s final, Tony feels his mate has “laid to rest demons of the penalty miss”.
When he sent his congratulations in a text, Gareth replied: “Thank god my mum and dad don’t have to put up with all that pain anymore.”
Last night, Tony told The Sun: “I felt compelled to say it’s over and it’s just like Gareth to say, ‘I’m more pleased for my parents’.”
He revealed that his old mate always had the mental strength to cope with the trauma of being blamed for England’s defeat.
Tony says: “I have 25 years of therapy under my belt, but he seems to be able to process it.”
Both players have now found redemption since that loss.
Having suffered from alcoholism, Tony quit booze and went on to set up a charity to help football players with their mental health.
Meanwhile, Gareth, 50, is using the pain of 1996 to drive the national side on to success.
Tony says: “He was meant to be where he is today. Gareth has a purpose. He is very driven to making amends. Gareth is writing a story of redemption.”
What Gareth soaked up about group dynamics 25 years ago is paying dividends now.
But win or lose on Sunday, Tony and his charity Sporting Chance will be there if any of the team needs some mental health support.
He concluded: “It won’t hit this squad when they leave the camp.
“It will take a lot of emotional and mental support whether they win or not to make sure they are not affected like me and Gareth Southgate were.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
