Berhalter v Southgate: How contrasting Palace experiences shaped World Cup managers

The two never shared a dressing room but did share memories of their time in south London, Southgate as a successful Crystal Palace captain and Berhalter as new signing forced to deal with turbulent times on and off the field. Both, though, looked back with the same fondness and warmth.

It’s strange to think that, all these years later, the two men will shake hands once again, but this time on the world’s biggest stage as they lead their respective nations at the World Cup in Qatar. It’s certainly a long way from Beckenham.

Few others can feel this synchronicity quite as acutely as Alan Smith, who coached both players during two stints as Palace manager. We suggest that he may be the only manager in the world able to watch two former players face off at the tournament. He laughs uproariously.

“Reflected glories,” Smith says. “It’s funny: at the time you just want to do your best with the players you have got, and then they go on to do what they do, like with Chris Coleman and Wales. It’s a good feeling, it’s what you are trying to achieve as a coach.”

His memories of Southgate and Berhalter present an interesting contradiction, however; his admiration for both knows no bounds, but while the former brings endless pride, the latter brings a tinge of regret.

Southgate graduated into the first-team of a club whose spirit knew no bounds, but when Berhalter arrived in south London Smith was trying to swim up-stream. Financial issues caused a perilous few seasons living on the edge.

“On reflection I feel a little bit sorry for him,” Smith remembers of Palace’s first player at a World Cup finals. “The club was in turmoil, but despite that he just got on with it and was professional enough to think: ‘I’m just going to do this myself.’

“It was just a shame that we weren’t in the best position at the time – I don’t mean league position. But it didn’t really affect him. He just got on with being a really good professional.”

Plying his trade in Holland before moving to south London, Berhalter was recommended by Chief Scout Barry Simmonds.

“We went out and looked at him,” says Smith. “He fitted the bill perfectly. He came over and was a really good lad.

“Very much an all-American boy. It was quite bold what he had done, because I can’t remember now other Americans that were playing in England at the time.

“I liked him. There wasn’t anything about his attitude or his personality I didn’t like.”

Fellow defender Danny Granville greeted Berhalter’s arrival with some suspicion – after all, it meant his place was less secure. Soon enough though, the American’s intelligence shone through.

“Competition,” Granville grins, remembering his initial reaction. “But a nice lad – a bit of a student of the game. Someone who was quite intelligent and knew his stuff.

“You could just tell he was someone who thinks about the game. Very articulate and a good talker – a clever player with a good left foot.

“It was quite obvious at the time that you could see someone like that going into the other side of the game.”

There must have been something in the water in south London: Berhalter’s international teammate Jovan Kirovski joined Palace a year later, and now sits as Technical Director of LA Galaxy. For Smith, players like Berhalter were a godsend.

“It’s absolutely key – if you haven’t got that, you are done,” he says. “With Gareth, we had a lot of players like that. We didn’t have a bad professional under his captaincy, and he wouldn’t have allowed it.

“Dean Austin was captain for the second period, and he knew the standard. He was a good professional, a good leader. But there were others who didn’t have that for whatever reason.

“Gregg just had his own standards which he got in Holland. He was determined and just got on with it. He was by far one of the best trainers, always in first.

“He was also a bit of a fitness fanatic, he was always at the gym. When training finished he didn’t go home.

“He rented a house in Beckenham. He was self-sufficient – you could see that he had played abroad, that he had been somewhere different, that he was quite well-rounded.”

Granville remembers his independence, looking on his experiences abroad with admiration.

“It’s invaluable to go and witness and experience different styles and cultures,” he says. “The English game was a bit more robust in comparison to the Netherlands or America.

“I wish I did that. I spent my career on these shores. I spoke to other players who spent time abroad and it is invaluable.”

Perhaps it was the Dutch influence; perhaps it was the long journey from home. Either way, Berhalter was becoming a leader in the dressing room not by virtue of having the loudest voice, but through his ideas.

“He was a bit of a football purist,” Granville remembers. “He was quite opinionated, but in the right way. He listened to other people’s points of view.

“He was outspoken, I suppose, but about the beautiful game. Where some players are win at all costs, he was a bit of a thinker. He liked a nice playing style.”

Smith saw similarities with Southgate: a man popular with his teammates and leading by example, rather than through fear.

“Gareth was always like that. It wasn’t so much what Gareth said, it was what he did and the way he conducted himself.

“[Berhalter] wasn’t so outspoken but he was a leader in the way he carried himself, in what he observed and what he said out loud. Just a very nice guy.

“He was very popular. An all-round good player but you could see even then that he would have made a good coach. He understood what it was about.

“[Future coaches] are good with their teammates. They are good communicators. He was both of those things. He was first in at training, and he made quite a big impact.”

“Man management is key,” adds Granville. “If you can deal with the players, if you have their respect, you are halfway there.”

When Smith looks back at his two protégées, he sees constant similarities. Their personalities echo one another, despite their different circumstances.

“Gareth never really got the credit for what he did at Palace,” he says. “It all got bypassed. There is something about his low-key personality.

“We all talk about Jim Cannon and Geoff Thomas, but people don’t talk about Gareth in that category. I would put him up there with Jim and Geoff, and I hold both of them in the very highest regard.

“Gareth is one of those guys that seems so unassuming that people think he is normal, but he is actually a pretty steely bloke.

“What he has done, and I like to think he has taken that from Palace, is he has got a great atmosphere with the squad, which we had when he was captain at Palace, and before under Steve Coppell.

“We’ve always tried to breed a unit that was enjoyable and fun. We had lots of bonding trips. We were more than just a football team; we were a fighting unit. Gareth has adopted that.

“It is more of a club team than an international team. They do give the appearance that they are playing for each other.”

Could Berhalter have thrived at Palace with greater stability? Smith certainly believes so.

“I don’t remember [Gregg] ever having a bad game. Every time he did play he played well, but because of the inconsistency of everything going on, he didn’t really play the number of games he should have.

“The fans liked him, and that’s always a good sign. He had that ‘give it a go’ attitude.

“I think it’s good that Gregg is getting a bit of credit. We should have done more for him at Palace than we did.

“He was just very unfortunate to be with us in that period. Had he joined a year before or a year after, he would have really been outstanding.”

Smith will sit down to watch England v USA with mixed emotions: pride, admiration and regret.

“To just play 19 games at a club and be as good as [Gregg] was meant we drew up a bit short. I know we did our lot for Gareth and he would turn around and say: ‘Palace made me,’ whereas with the other lad…” he trails off. “I’m always disappointed looking back that we couldn’t have done more for him than we did.

“With Gareth I know that we couldn’t have done more as a club. He once said: ‘The great thing about Palace is I joined as a boy and I left as a man.’ I think that was a real tribute to Palace to say that.”

Reflected glories indeed.

“It will be nice to see them both,” Smith concludes. “I will probably ponder the thought even more on Friday…”