Fully deserved
Gareth Southgate has been nominated for FIFA’s Best Men’s Coach of 2018 award after taking England to their first World Cup semi-final since 1990.
England were knocked out of the World Cup by Croatia in extra-time courtesy of a Mario Mandžukić goal, but still exceeded expectations by reaching the last four.
Their achievements reignited England’s love and passion for the national team, which will serve the team well going into Euro 2020, during which a semi-final and the final will be held at Wembley.
Other nominees for the award include:
- Massimiliano Allegri, Serie A winner with Juventus.
- Stanislav Cherchesov, who took Russia to the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
- Zlatko Dalic, who reached the final of the 2018 World Cup with Croatia.
- Didier Deschamps, who won the 2018 World Cup with France.
- Pep Guardiola, Premier League winner with Manchester City.
- Jurgen Klopp, who took Liverpool to their first Champions League final since 2007.
- Roberto Martinez, who took Belgium to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
- Diego Simeone, who won the Europa League with Atlético Madrid.
- Ernesto Valverde, who won La Liga with Barcelona in his first season at the Camp Nou, losing just one game.
- Zinedine Zidane, who led Real Madrid to their third consecutive Champions League victory.
Southgate is unlikely to win the award, but it is a deserved token of recognition of how far he has taken the England team since he took over from Sam Allardyce in 2016. During those two years, he has tinkered with the formation, made bold player selections and encouraged an attacking style of play, instilling an identity in the England team that was sorely missing when England crashed out of Euro 2016 to Iceland.
