Euro 2020

IT’S difficult to imagine ­Gareth Southgate being asked to sum himself up in one word and replying: “Genius.”That was the description his Italian managerial rival Roberto Mancini chose to describe his own character in a TV interview.
Roberto Mancini’s suave style has not gone unnoticed during the EurosCredit: Getty
Even if said in jest, it suggests a man of supreme confidence, perhaps even bordering on arrogance.
The two men in rival dugouts are as ­different as spaghetti carbonara and roast beef.
Take their sartorial styles.
Perma-tanned Mancini, 56, wears a ­tailored powder blue-grey Armani blazer that oozes sophistication and panache.
When the game kicks off, he takes off his jacket and rolls up his sleeves to allow for expansive ­Italian hand gestures. It also allows the former ­Manchester City boss to show off his 18-carat white gold Richard Mille watch.
After a game, Mancini strolls up to the interview podium with his jacket over his shoulder looking effortlessly cool rather than pretentious.
Southgate, 50, has ditched the familiar M&S waistcoats for a classic wool-blend two-piece suit costing £680 from British brand ­Percival.
It’s business-like, unflashy and ­suggests someone who likes to get the job done.
Italy boss Roberto Mancini has never been short of confidence…Credit: Getty
Gareth Southgate ditched the waistcoat for a polkadot tie this time aroundCredit: Getty
He also wears a lucky navy ­polkadot tie along with a white pocket square. The jacket stays on as Southgate encourages his team from the technical area.
The 50-year-old tends to wear the jacket throughout each game as he encourages his players with a gentle clap of his hands.
Then there’s their personal lives.
Southgate’s marriage to Alison — four years his senior — has survived the rigours of life in the spotlight of top-flight football.
The father-of-two has credited his ­family with helping keep him grounded.
He wrote in his 2003 autobiography: “On Saturday evening, our children are not too bothered whether Dad’s team have won or lost.
“Neither does Alison fret too much about football, and this is how I like it.
“Regardless of the result, it is up to me to ensure that no one’s evening is ruined because of things that ­happened on a ­football field. The agonising waits until Alison and the kids are asleep.”
After his famous penalty miss at Euro 96, one of Southgate’s closest friends, goalkeeping coach Andy Woodman said: “Alison was terrific.”
He recalled Alison comforting Southgate with the words: “F***ing football. It gets on my nerves.”
Roberto Mancini pictured with wife Silvia FortiniCredit: Getty
Gareth Southgate with his doting wife Alison on their wedding dayCredit: PA:Press Association
Mancini split from wife Federica in 2016 after almost 30 years together. He married Silvia Fortini in 2018. Before he settled down with his former wife, he played the field.
“I do not understand players drinking until they are drunk,” he once said when discussing English football’s drinking ­culture. We don’t have that culture in Italy. We would prefer to go off with a woman. That’s what I liked to do after a match, and I tell my players now it is better that they go with a woman than drink.”
The management rivals do have something in common, though.
They have both dragged international ­footballing fallen giants back to the pinnacle of the game.
Southgate took over an England side in ­complete disarray after the all-time low of losing to Iceland at Euro 2016 and Sam Allardyce’s ­resignation after a newspaper sting.
The Three Lions seemed more distant than ever from their fanbase and relations with the media were toxic. Southgate responded by taking an ­unfancied squad all the way to the 2018 World Cup semi-final.
It was the first time England had got that far in a tournament in 22 years. Relying heavily on youth, he was able to break the hex of England teams seemingly weighed down by history, rebuilding bridges with fans and the Press in the ­process.
Mancini took over as the Azzuris coach in May 2018 after the four-time winners of the World Cup had failed to qualify for that year’s championship in Russia.

Roberto Mancini admitted he used to play the field before settling downCredit: Offside Sports

Now, Italy are on a 33-match unbeaten run — a national record — which has swept all the way to ­Sunday’s final at Wembley.
Italy winger Federico Bernardeschi says “madman” Mancini was the only person who believed they could make the Euro 2020 final when he took charge in 2018.
Mancini is credited with transforming Italy from being ultra-defensive to playing a more attacking and entertaining game.
Southgate says: “They have been a top team for the last couple of years. We have ­followed their progress. We know how they play, with great energy and style. They are always difficult to score against.”
There is sure to be mutual respect between two men who both had top playing careers.
Watford-born Southgate — the son of a plant manager with computer giant IBM — initially played in midfield and then as a solid and unflashy centre- back for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and ­Middlesbrough.
His 57 England caps are overshadowed by that penalty miss at Euro 96 which saw England knocked out by Germany in the semi- final.
Gareth Southgate enjoyed a career with Palace, Villa and MiddlesbroughCredit: Hulton Archive – Getty
He took over as England manager after stints at ­Middlesbrough — from which he was sacked after relegation from the top flight — and with the Three Lions Under-21s.
Former altar boy Mancini, 56, was a ­dashing forward for Bologna, Sampdoria and Lazio — then four games for Leicester City to finish his career. He won 36 caps for Italy.
The furniture maker’s son was born and bred in Jesi, a small town 20 miles inland on the Adriatic coast.
Talented but volatile, in his first season at Sampdoria the then 18-year-old Mancini was involved in a training ground brawl with their new star ­signing, England star Trevor Francis.
Another former team-mate. Juan ­Sebastian Veron, revealed that he once swore in ­Mancini’s direction during an argument about a badly taken corner.
After the match, Mancini was waiting to fight him, stripping off to the waist.
“He is not an easy person, you know,” Veron says. “He has this complicated ­personality.”

⚽ ENGLAND vs ITALY EURO 2020 FINAL BETTING SPECIAL ⚽

Former Sampdoria team-mate and ex-England star David Platt said Mancini became unrecognisable on match days.
“I’d wonder what I’d done to upset him,” Platt said. “He was just in another place. And ­brutal at half-time if things weren’t going right — the most vocal member of the dressing room.”
Mancini’s will to win saw him become a highly successful ­manager, ­winning three Serie A titles with Inter Milan before taking over at ­Man City in 2009. In 2012, Mancini guided City to their first league title in 44 years.
He was sacked the ­following year after losing the FA Cup final to Wigan.
It is to Wembley he will return tomorrow for what will be the biggest night in both his and Southgate’s careers.
The men — who somehow embody the national characteristics of their nations — stand on the threshold of greatness.
Two very different managers competing for a prize that only one can win.
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England train ahead of their massive Euro 2020 final game against Italy More

PEOPLE have been mistaking Gareth Southgate for a cross between a kindly PE teacher and a Guardian columnist since well before he took the England job.And on the eve of the biggest match of his life, the Three Lions boss again spoke passionately about his vision of a diverse and inclusive modern England.
Gareth Southgate has urged England to draw on past courage against ItalyCredit: The Sun
The Three Lions boss has guided the country into their first final in 55 yearsCredit: Reuters
Southgate keeps his steelier side well hidden and he admits that few people wanted him to get the England job in 2016 because he was seen as a safe-pair-of-hands ‘FA man’.
But before Sunday’s final against Italy, there was a moment when Southgate let his mask slip and we saw the fierce competitor who played 57 internationals at centre-half and captained three Premier League clubs.
Southgate clearly hasn’t guided England into their first final in 55 years, merely by being – in his own words – ‘cuddly’.
After being asked about the experience of missing a penalty in the Euro 96 semi-final defeat, Southgate said: “There’s a really fine balance now, because we know young people need support and we’ve got to treat them in certain ways.
“But if you’re trying to achieve extraordinary things, which our players are, then you’re into an environment that is a lot more hostile, and it can’t always be supportive.
“You’ve got to play in front of 90,000 people, and you’re in the colosseum and it’s the thumbs up or the thumbs down, and that can’t always be a cuddly, warm environment.
“So you’ve got to develop resilience, but those experiences (like the penalty miss) can help shape you if you respond to them in the right way.”
So you’ve got to develop resilience, but those experiences (like the penalty miss) can help shape you if you respond to them in the right wayGareth Southgate
Asked what England meant to him, Southgate then surprised us by claiming that the fervent atmosphere inside Wembley for the historic last-16 victory over Germany, was partly inspired by the Second World War.
Those of us working on red-top newspapers stopped mentioning the war a quarter of a century ago – but here was the England manager getting all ‘we will never surrender’ on us.
Southgate spoke of great English inventors and traditions of decency.
But then he added: “Also people have tried to invade us and we’ve had the courage to hold that back.
“You can’t hide that some of the energy in the stadium against Germany was because of that. I never mentioned that to the players, but I know that’s part of what that story was.
“And for an island our size we’ve got an incredible influence on the world and we’ve got to keep that in a positive way.”

After excellent performances at two major tournaments, it is always worth remembering that Southgate is an accidental England manager.
He turned down the chance to step in as caretaker boss after Roy Hodgson quit in the wake of Euro 2016 humiliation by Iceland, then reluctantly took that role following the one-match reign of Sam Allardyce.
And Southgate is aware that his stepping up from the Under-21s job was not greeted with enthusiasm.
When it was put to him that he didn’t really want the job, Southgate agreed: “No, because I knew that when we have had difficult tournaments as a country, the FA come under scrutiny, so there is not going to be any enthusiasm for an FA man getting the job and I know people saw me as an ‘FA man’.
“I don’t mind that, by the way, because I think what the FA actually stand for – from grassroots football upwards, then if that’s what being an FA man is, then I’m happy to be accused of it.”
I think what the FA actually stand for – from grassroots football upwards, then if that’s what being an FA man is, then I’m happy to be accused of itGareth Southgate
Southgate has grown into this unique multi-faceted job – succeeding as a statesman but admitting that none of his words about wider society would have any impact if his team didn’t win football matches.
He said: “There are things that have helped me – having played for England and lived through tournaments and been able to experience what the role has looked like for other managers.
“But there are so many other facets to the job. Today there were messages with opportunities to help charity projects.
“So there’s the influence you can have in those areas, the leadership aspect which I know is important for the country at the moment because I know we can make people’s lives happier.
“But then we’ve got to get the game tactically right because although there is great pride in what we are doing and people are speaking really nicely about us, the professional in you knows the tactical role has to be spot on.
“We’re playing a team that hasn’t lost in 33 games. So the need in this role to flip in 20 minutes – meetings I have that go from intense tactical discussions to something about junior teams to the NHS – I think that’s unique.

⚽ ENGLAND vs ITALY EURO 2020 FINAL BETTING SPECIAL ⚽

“The big clubs have massive scrutiny but we’re always the biggest show in town when we play – so in those moments we’re even higher than our biggest clubs.
“It’s a wonderful privilege to be able to make a difference. But it’s no use being able to speak about other areas of society, if we don’t get the tactical bit right, the selections right, if we don’t manage the players the right way, the house falls down.
“I know now this is a lovely period in many ways but we’ve got to get Sunday right.”
Sir Geoff Hurst says Gareth Southgate is key to England success at Euro 2020 More

GLENN HODDLE was up in the Wembley stands two weeks ago when he saw Italy’s Achilles heel.Just over an hour into their last-16 clash against Austria and the Italians thought they had conceded their first goal of the Euros.
Italy have been sensational all tournament… but they do have an Achilles heelCredit: Reuters
Marko Arnautovic’s looping header on 65 minutes was originally given before a two-minute VAR check ruled it out for offside.
And in the minutes that followed their near escape, Italy were rattled — something former England manager Hoddle took note of.
He said: “I saw a panic in them.
“They hadn’t conceded before and they panicked.
“There was a 15-minute spell where a really good side may have took them.
“They are a youngish side and their emotions took over, they were losing their shape. That is their Achilles heel — that hasn’t been found out yet.
“If it wasn’t for Jorginho, who has had a good tournament, they would have struggled.
“It was interesting when they went into extra-time and Austria were better and fitter. But they regained their emotions. It went their way.”

⚽ ENGLAND vs ITALY EURO 2020 FINAL BETTING SPECIAL ⚽

The Italians showed they were rattled against the AustriansCredit: Getty
Glenn Hoddle believes England have what it takes to win the EurosCredit: The Mega Agency
Goals from Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina in extra-time — before Sasa Kalajdzic’s Austrian consolation — saw Italy through to the quarter-finals.
And after seeing off Belgium, then Spain, they now face the Three Lions in a mouth-watering final tomorrow night back at Wembley.
Hoddle has great memories of facing Italy — his most famous clash against them in charge of England was a 0-0 draw in Rome in 1997 to qualify for the 1998 World Cup.
And the 63-year-old is confident Gareth Southgate’s men have what it takes to beat a side that struggles to compare to the talented Azzurri outfits of the past.
Speaking at a Betfair event, Hoddle said: “Roberto Mancini has them functioning as a team. The system is more powerful than the individual.
“They came into the tournament right under the radar. No one really took any notice that they had all these games unbeaten and hadn’t conceded.
“Strangely enough, I did have a bet on them way back to reach the semis and final — but I didn’t see them winning it.
“They are a side that are evolving and are not the finished article.

Glenn Hoddle believes England have a better chance if it goes to extra-timeCredit: Reuters

“Lorenzo Insigne is a good player but he’s not world class. He is not a Roberto Baggio or a Gianfranco Zola.
“Their best players have been Leonardo Bonucci, who is different class, and Jorginho. Two experienced players with good tactical play and positioning and keep things ticking over.”
England come into the final having had one day’s less rest but their last-four win over Denmark was the first time they had been forced into extra-time.
Italy have played 120 minutes twice already and Hoddle feels that England could actually be at their strongest if the game goes the distance once more.
Especially with attacking stars like Jack Grealish and Phil Foden possibly to come on.
He added: “No one would want to play us in extra-time. If you had Jack Grealish and Phil Foden coming on or Mason Mount and Jadon Sancho coming on, that is scary.
“Looking at those style of players they are all good penalty-takers, too. These are key things.
“You never know who is going to still be on the pitch so you can’t really pick your takers but I would back them if they can keep their nerve.”
THIS Euros Betfair is now offering ‘no cash out suspensions on match odds markets. Find out more at www.betting.betfair.com/football/euro-2020
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England train ahead of their massive Euro 2020 final game against Italy More

GARETH SOUTHGATE was only 35 when Steve Gibson promoted him from captain to become Middlesbrough’s manager 15 years ago.The rookie boss became the youngest in the Premier League in 2006 and initially he could only sign a 12-week deal because he did not have the Uefa Pro licence.
Gareth Southgate was given the Middlesbrough job aged just 35Credit: PA:Press Association
Yet even then, Boro midfielder George Boateng recognised his fresh-faced, fledgling boss was destined for greatness.
The Dutchman, now 45, inherited Southgate’s captain’s armband and saw the boss learning his trade in the toughest league in the world.
But Southgate also had the guts to take the captaincy off Boateng — his most senior player — once he decided it would benefit Boro.
Boateng believes that difficult apprenticeship, which saw Southgate sacked three seasons in, provided the steep learning curve which ultimately led him to become England’s most successful manager since Sir Alf Ramsey.
Now coach of Aston Villa’s Under-23s, Boateng says there is no better man to lead the Three Lions into their first European Championship final than his former team-mate and gaffer.
He said: “Gareth would admit he found the early days of his coaching career very difficult — but who doesn’t?
“I am in the early days of my coaching career and even with youngsters it’s not easy as you’re learning your trade from a different perspective.
“What made it even more difficult for Gareth was the fact he was managing players he had just played with, for five to six years in some cases.”
George Boateng knew Southgate was going to rise to the very topCredit: Rex
The England boss is now on the brink of greatnessCredit: The Sun
Boateng believes Southgate survived those difficult first months at Boro because he earned the respect of his players — something he has continued with England.
He revealed: “Gareth was very much a man-management coach from the start.
“His door was always open and whether it was a personal issue or an on-field issue — you could always speak to Gareth.
“It didn’t matter if you were a youngster or a veteran pro, the great thing about Gareth is how approachable and likeable he is.
“When a player goes in to see a manager there is always a barrier as they hold all the power.
“But even in his early days Gareth removed that barrier. He’d make time for the least important member of the squad and treat him like the most important.
“He was the good cop and, as captain, I was kind of the bad cop!
“I had tunnel vision for performances with no room for failure.

Southgate took the captaincy from Boateng when he became Boro bossCredit: PA

“I fell out with our striker Joseph-Desire Job once because he made a mistake at a set-piece and we conceded a goal.
“I was livid and so angry with Jo that after the game he went to Gareth and said, ‘Please have a word with George because he’s still giving me the eye’.
“Gareth came and said, ‘Be easy on Jo, he’s still learning a new role’.
“So I spoke to him and we made up — but if it hadn’t been for Gareth I’d probably still be angry with Joseph to this day!
“It’s the same with England, where he has managed to get everyone on board, playing together as a team. The players trust Gareth and he trusts them.”
That bond allowed Southgate to take off Jack Grealish in the semi-final win over Denmark, even though the Aston Villa midfielder had come on as a sub himself.
Southgate also took the decision to remove Boateng as captain when he felt it was affecting his — and Boro’s — game.
Boateng added: “It was difficult for both of us. He was an inexperienced boss and I was an experienced player. He felt I was taking on too much off the park.
“We were a family club and I wanted to organise two Christmas events — one for the players and another involving the girlfriends, wives and children. You can imagine the organisation involved.
“Gareth appreciated what I was trying to achieve but felt it was affecting my form.
“It wasn’t a one-off conversation, he had three meetings with me and he was open and honest.
“He basically said he would let someone else take care of the armband but he still wanted me to keep the group together.

⚽ ENGLAND vs ITALY EURO 2020 FINAL BETTING SPECIAL ⚽

“I’m a team player and I realised if it was best for the club, then so be it and so I agreed, even though it hurt at the time.
“But at the end of my second season under Gareth I left, after six seasons with Boro.
“We had an exciting crop of young players and, at 32, I realised the club wanted to go with the kids and I wasn’t certain to start.
“Gareth wanted to keep me but the decision was ultimately made between me and the club and I left, along with other big earners like keeper Mark Schwarzer.
“Too much experience was lost and the following season the team suffered and Gareth was sacked.
“My final game for Middlesbrough was an 8-1 home win over Manchester City in the last game of the season — which also turned out to be Sven-Goran Eriksson’s last game in charge of City.
“So much for Gareth being a cautious, ‘boring’ boss!”
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England train ahead of their massive Euro 2020 final game against Italy More