Ex-England coach Gareth Southgate
Knighted by Prince William
For the former England coach Gareth Southgate, it became emotional at Schloss Windsor today. Prince William hit him to the knight.
It was a moment when Gareth Southgate (54) had to wait some time – and he was more emotional than expected. In a solemn ceremony at Windsor Castle, the heir to the throne Prince William (43) ceremoniously put the sword on his shoulders and hit him to the knight. Southgate received the honor for his extraordinary services to English football. He achieved two final games of big tournaments with the Three Lions.
Gareth Southgate “more emotional when I thought”
After the ceremony, Southgate spoke of an “incredible privilege” and added: “I have to say that I was more emotional than I thought, but it was a great experience for my whole family.” The fact that Prince William was awarded was no coincidence, after all, the son of King Charles (76) as President of the English Football Association FA was a constant companion during Southgate’s term.
“The prince was an incredible supporter of the English team,” Southgate praised the Royal. With him he shared “some fantastic moments”, but also “but also disappointments in which he spoke so brilliantly about the team,” said the ex-coach of the English national team.
Only fourth England coach in the knighthood
Southgate was originally supposed to be ennobled against Italy after the lost European Championship final 2021. But tax problems prevented this. He landed on a “tax-risk list” by the British authorities. It was only last year that it was decided that he had not broken any rules.
After Sir Walter Winterbottom, Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson, Southgate is only the fourth England manager, who was knighted. He trained the Three Lions from 2016 to 2024, the team led in two European Championship finals, which were both lost, as well as the 2018 World Cup, when it was over for Croatia.
About a year ago, Southgate resigned against Spain after the 1-2 defeat in the European Championship final. In total, he played 102 caps as head coach – more than any other coach in the history of the English national team. His successor was the German successful coach Thomas Tuchel (51), who is supposed to lead the team to the title at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Spotonnews
Source: Stern
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