Sir Gareth Southgate reflected on his experiences in football as he called for young men in Britain to be taught belief and resilience.
The former England manager followed in the footsteps of famous authors, actors, entrepreneurs and members of the Royal Family in delivering the 46th Richard Dimbleby Lecture at the University of London.
Titled ‘The Beautiful Game: Building Belief and Resilience in a Younger Generation’, Southgate used the address to describe how his career as a player and manager has shaped his view of society.
“Tonight, I want to talk about two very different penalty kicks, separated by more than two decades, but connected by two characteristics far more powerful than football,” began the 54-year-old, who stepped down after eight years in charge of England following last summer’s European Championship final defeat by Spain.
“These characteristics have picked me up when I’ve been down, grounded me in success, and given me purpose amidst the noise of public life. They are qualities that everyone, young and old, needs every day of their lives. They are belief and resilience.”
Starting with his missed penalty at Euro 96 that ended England’s hopes of reaching the final, which he said would always haunt him, Southgate described how he had learned to grow from difficult experiences.
He made changing the culture and image of the England team his biggest priority after taking over the hot seat and saw the difference when Eric Dier stepped up to the penalty spot to send England through to the quarter-finals at the World Cup in 2018.
“In 1996, I had walked 30 yards to the penalty spot believing I would miss,” said Southgate. “In 2018, Eric had walked the same 30 yards believing he would score.”
Southgate cited the influence of social media and influencers and a lack of present male role models in the lives of the current generation of young men for their “suffering”.
The former defender has visited community centres, schools and a prison in recent months, and he said: “Today, young people are bombarded by information at all times of the day.
“They are targeted with images of the perfect body, the perfect career and the perfect life. A beautifully crafted highlights reel where success appears to be instant and effortless. How can this make them feel good about themselves?
“The solutions are complex because bad habits have been formed. But ignoring the negative impact of social media on our young people is not an option.”
Southgate also expressed his belief that boys are not given enough chance to experience failure as children and develop the resilience needed to overcome it.
He was particularly scathing about a certain type of online influencer, calling them “callous, manipulative and toxic”.
“They willingly trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance, never showing emotion, and that the world, including women, is against them,” he said.
“They are as far away as you could possibly get from the role models our young men need in their lives.
“With England, we gave ourselves the best chance to succeed. And we must give our young men the best chance to succeed as well. That’s the message we need to offer young men today.
“Not everyone will win trophies, not everyone will be at the top of their field. But everyone can live a life where they can constantly strive to improve.
“That is how we will create a young generation, a society, and a nation of which we can all be very proud. And I’m looking forward to playing whatever role I can to help make it happen.”
:: The Richard Dimbleby Lecture with Sir Gareth Southgate is available now on BBC iPlayer and on BBC One at 10:40pm on Wednesday 19 March.
