«I‘m not a believer in fairytales, but I am a believer in dreams»
Gareth Southgate finds poetic words ahead of the Euros final that could remain forever associated with a possible England triumph. But it also becomes clear how much is at stake for the nation.
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Harry Kane is not one of those footballers who avoids questions. The England captain is used to being confronted with every conceivable topic in interviews. At this European Championship, despite his three goals in the tournament and his team's run to the final, he had to deal with criticism of his form and performances, which did not appear to be up to his usual standard. Both seemed to be a consequence of his persistent back problems at the end of the season at FC Bayern. But at the media session with his coach Gareth Southgate on the eve of Sunday's final against Spain (9pm) at Berlin's Olympiastadion, Kane evaded a reporter's inquiry as to whether he believed in fate. The background to the question was that England could now win a title beyond their own island for the first time in Germany of all places, after the Germans had once secured the European Cup in England in 1996.
Kane leaves the question of destiny to Southgate
Kane reacted as quickly as a goalscorer to a rebound in the penalty area. He turned to his coach sitting next to him on the podium and passed the question back to him after Gareth Southgate had initially pointed a smirking finger at his striker. Kane's quick-witted explanation for the riposte: It was Gareth Southgate, after all, who had been on the pitch as an international in the semi-final defeat on penalties against Germany. The audience in the press room cheered, everyone of course knew the punchline that Southgate had missed the decisive penalty in the game in question. Southgate endured the laughter with dignity; he has had to endure worse allusions to his life-long faux pas in his home country.
When it was finally his turn to answer the question of fate, Gareth Southgate spontaneously uttered a life sentence that will probably be printed on all England shirts if they win the title. Southgate said: "I don't believe in fairy tales, but I do believe in dreams." A statement so legendary that it absolutely must be read in English: "I'm not a believer in fairytales, but I am a believer in dreams!" Any Shakespeare novel could begin with this, let alone any drama about English soccer and the 58 years of heartache in which the nation has not lifted a trophy since winning the World Cup at home in 1966.
Geoff Hurst is the last living Englishman from the World Cup starting eleven
Southgate's words were reminiscent of a famous phrase from the '66 final at Wembley. "Some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over ...", shouted BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme into the microphone at the time, because some cheering Englishmen had already stormed onto the pitch at 3-2 just before the final whistle of extra time, before he finished after the final fourth goal for England: "... it is now!" Some people think it's over - it is now.
Phonetically, the brackets for the 1966 title and the possible 2024 triumph have already been set thanks to Southgate's ingenuity. Nobody would probably like it to happen more than England fan Geoff Hurst, 82, who shot his nation to the World Cup with a treble. He is the last living starting eleven player from the world champion team. His greatest wish is to experience another English title win, he emphasized shortly before the final. After the deaths of many of Hurst's colleagues in recent years - Bobby Charlton, Jimmy Greaves, Roger Hunt, George Cohen - there is growing concern in the motherland of soccer that there may soon no longer be a title winner among them unless the national team achieves success in the near future.
The press conference with Kane and Southgate was more humorous than many an England game
Kane illustrated the importance of the upcoming final for England when he unhesitatingly accepted a reporter's fictitious offer to exchange all his awards for the European Championship trophy. He provided another light-hearted moment with his birthday wishes for Spain's Lamine Yamal, who turned 17 on Saturday, when he was asked about the talent's abilities. Overall, the half-hour press conference with Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane was far more humorous than some of England's lengthy European Championship matches.
The coach provided the only sporting outlook for the clash with Spain right at the start. All the players were fit, Gareth Southgate emphasized, and cheerfully added that this was not unusual for a final. This bon mot was ultimately lost, as was Southgate's self-irony, according to which he could imagine having been one of the more popular Englishmen in Berlin at the time of his 96 against Germany. He used this reference to introduce his statement on whether he believed in fate - the one about fairy tales and dreams.