Our European Finalists: Sir Gareth Southgate on South London, England & European dreams

This interview was initially published in the Crystal Palace v Shakhtar Donetsk Bumper Edition programme on 7th May 2026 - you can buy previous issues of the matchday programme by clicking HERE.

2025/26 will go down as the longest season in Crystal Palace history (60 matches) – a few longer than the 1994/95 season, when the Eagles played 57 times in total. On that occasion, Sir Gareth Southgate – a national treasure, made in South London – played every single minute.

It’s fair to say a lot has changed for both Southgate and Crystal Palace since he last pulled on a red and blue shirt.

That is to be expected. After all, it was over 30 years ago: 14th May, 1995, against Newcastle at St James’ Park on the final day of a season that ended with relegation from the top-flight.

Southgate was then still over a year away from Euro ’96, where he was one of England’s best players in that glorious summer. Of course, the ending to that tournament would change his life, both for the worse – with well documented significant personal pain – and subsequently for the better, with redemption through his time as England manager.

In his playing career he went on to win trophies at both Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, feature in a European final – in the 2006 UEFA Cup – and end up with 57 caps for his country.

Then there was just the small matter of eight years as manager of England – after three leading the Under-21s – going on to become the Three Lions’ most successful manager since Alf Ramsey. Epic nights in Moscow, Wembley and Dortmund followed, working with and against the best players in the world.

But throughout that rollercoaster ride, through all the accolades, he’s never forgotten the club who first handed him an opportunity.

His starting point was in South London after he was previously released from Southampton’s academy as a 13-year-old.

As Southgate is the first to point out, without the guidance and mentoring of Alan Smith, Steve Coppell and others at Palace, the rest of his remarkable story would not have happened.

“I wasn’t a super confident young player,” he recently told the matchday programme. “To go from playing schoolboy football to football being my job, I found that quite tough.

“But it was also the making of me. I have a huge amount to thank Steve Coppell and Alan Smith for. We did a lot of physical strength training, but the environment gave me mental strength for the rest of my life really.

“There were lots of hungry players from the youth system, lower leagues or Non-League.

“But I played over 100 reserve games before I played in the first team. It was a period where the first team were doing well, establishing themselves in the league and then the year where they finished third.

“For those reasons I think Steve was reluctant to put youngsters in. I’m sure if he’d have thought I was ready he’d have put me in. I just kept biding my time and learning in the reserves."

After fine-tuning his craft, Coppell gave him that first taste of senior football in a League Cup tie back in October 1990. The venue? Southend’s Roots Hall, a far cry from Wembley or the Olympiastadion.

“I’d been playing at right-back at the time,” Southgate explains. “But that night I went on as a centre-back and I’d only played there a little bit in the reserves.

“Obviously, I ended up playing midfield in the main at Palace, so it wasn’t what I was expecting.

“On the face of it you could say it was brave from Steve. It was half-time, we were only 1-0 up I think, he must have a lot of trust in young players.

“In fact we were 8-0 up from the first leg! I came away thinking, ‘did he think we’d lose by nine if I started?’

“If you make your debut as a substitute in that scenario, you just want to get through it without any dramas really. I just about managed that.”

Southgate became a regular under Coppell the following season, emerging as one of the Eagles’ most promising young talents.

Ahead of the 1993/94 season, his mentor Smith, who was in the front row when Southgate gave his prestigious Richard Dimbleby Lecture last year, was installed as Manager with the task of winning promotion to the old Division One.

When captain Andy Thorn was ruled out with injury, Southgate was then handed the armband at the age of just 23.

“I’d worked with Alan for some years by that point,” he says. “And I think he knew I’d fight for him within the set-up.

“But I was very conscious of the senior players within the set-up and trying to bring them with me as the captain. There were some strong characters, so it wasn’t a straightforward task.

“It helped that we played well quickly. We won the league that season, I think I scored nine goals from midfield, so you’re able to lead from the front to a degree – that helped the transition.

“The first thing for any captain is to make sure you play well and I think, that year, I did. But Alan always had that belief in young people and he wanted to develop them. It was part of his ethos.

“He would have that impact on me and I think with several of us around that time, he cared about you as a person, not just as a player.

“He’d occasionally get you doing a bit of work experience for his property company, so he was a little bit different to other football coaches – he had experience in other walks of life.

“But that gave us a rounded development. He’s someone I still speak to today and he’s had a huge impact on my life.”

Asking someone who played over 150 games and spent seven years at the club to select just a few highlights is a difficult task.

But his goal against Portsmouth from the promotion campaign, perhaps the best of his career, deserves a mention. For those too young to remember, make sure you watch it.

Southgate had a knack for finding the net that year, hitting 12 goals in total. “I had a little run that season,” he recalls. “And the season after actually, where I managed to get a few from outside the box.

“In those days if you had two midfield players, one attacked, the other sat in. It was a bit more fluid.

“But I think winning the league that season would have to be the highlight. To win any league, at any level, it’s a long haul.

“We got to the last few weeks and at that stage every night of the week you’re just thinking about the next game and getting over the line. We’d worked so long for it.

“There was also the [FA Cup] semi-final against Manchester United at Villa Park. We took them to a replay after a 2-2. That was a brilliant one-off occasion.

“There were so many moments I was grateful to be a part of, but winning the league stands out.”

Southgate was a regular again at Selhurst Park – as he was at so many Premier League stadiums – during his eight years as England boss.

What would prove to be his final major tournament at Euro 2024 saw Palace have more representation than any other side in the Three Lions squad, with four players.

His critics while leading the national team would question whether he was bold enough with certain selections. Yet picking the uncapped Adam Wharton, who had been playing in the Championship earlier that season, was arguably the boldest selection of any England Manager since Sven-Göran Eriksson took Theo Walcott to the 2006 World Cup.

“Well, they are great people firstly,” Southgate says. “Adam was somebody who really caught our eye. It would have been nice to have more time with him actually, but you could see his potential.

“We didn’t have all the evidence we’ve got now on how good he is. But his ability to play forward shone through. It’s difficult to throw someone into such big games at that stage. But there aren’t many players in the country with his attributes.

“Ebere [Eze] and Marc [Guéhi] have carried themselves so well in high-profile situations for club and country. Dean [Henderson] I’d obviously worked with before when he was making his way through and playing in our junior national teams. He’s a great person to have around.”

After a penalty shootout loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final Southgate would take the squad closer than any England manager to winning a major tournament on foreign soil in 2024, only to suffer that heartbreaking defeat to Spain in the final.

Having dedicated himself to the national team, the FA and wider football development in this country for so long, the question is how will he feel on the other side this summer when England take to the field in the 2026 World Cup?

“It was strange at first for me,” he says. “Particularly with the constant comparisons with what we did. But obviously there’s lot of people that I worked with still at the FA, lots of players still part of the team.

“I’m an England supporter and always will be. I’m hoping they can take the next step. It dominated my life for a decade. But I’m really enjoying the different experiences I’ve had since.

“I’ve got businesses I’m involved with, I do quite a lot of work on leadership, I mentor young coaches, so I’m really enjoying a different phase of my life.”

Since leaving post his diary, perhaps mercifully, is less dictated by the football calendar and attending endless amounts of live games. But he was never going to miss the chance to see Palace make history at Wembley last year.

“I loved being at Wembley for the FA Cup Final – that was really special.

"Having been at the club when we didn’t quite get over the line in semi-finals, I knew what it would mean to the supporters.

“But to see it in person was brilliant. Oliver’s [Glasner] done a great job and I remember going to the game thinking ‘Palace have got a really good chance today.’”

That day was the greatest in club history. Yet now, just a year on, the Eagles have a chance to write another historic chapter, having reached a first European final.

“I think what you realise is that as much normality as possible is helpful for these games,” he adds. “They’re still games of football that you have to win. You’ve got to take away as much of the peripheral noise and distraction as you can.

“But Oliver’s a very experienced guy who has shown he knows how to win cups in the last few years.

“I always felt throughout this season they’d have a great chance to go all the way and they’ve managed it well. Obviously, I’m keen to see Palace do well and progress.

“I’m lucky really. I only played for three clubs and I have special memories with all three.

“But the reality is, without Palace, I don’t have a career in the game, so I’m forever grateful for that opportunity.”

Two things are certain as Southgate continues to navigate this next chapter. He’ll be successful in whatever he does – and he’ll never forget those formative years in South London.

2026 UEFA Conference League Final

Crystal Palace v Rayo Vallecano

• Wednesday, 27th May
• 21:00 CEST local time / 20:00 BST
• Red Bull Stadium, Germany