David James and Gareth Southgate lined up alongside each other 83 times for club and country during the pair’s illustrious playing careers.
The duo were first put together in England’s 2-0 friendly win over Mexico in 1997 and would go on to spend two seasons together at Aston Villa between 1999 and 2001.
James’ playing career would continue until a 2014 stint with Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters, by which time Southgate was well into his stint as England U21s manager.
David James on his admiration for Gareth Southgate
After three years with the U21s, Southgate was the beneficiary of Sam Allardyce’s shock resignation after just one match, as the FA turned to the former Middlesbrough manager as their new boss.
What followed would be the most successful stewardship of the England job since Sir Alf Ramsey’s World Cup-winning stint, as Southgate would lead the Three Lions to the World Cup semi-finals and two European Championship finals.
For James, Southgate’s post-playing career has been something that he has admired.
“I played with Gareth at Aston Villa,” he tells FourFourTwo. “And after the last FA Cup final at the old Wembley, when we lost to Chelsea in 2000, we had a post-final dinner.
“Having lost, you can imagine, it wasn’t the best fun. But I sat next to Gareth and said, ‘We’ll get to Wembley again’. We both achieved that in different ways.
“For him to go from player to manager at such a young age, then become the England manager and, short of winning the trophy, arguably become England men’s most successful manager, my admiration for him is massive.
“He dealt with a tremendous amount of stress, but he’s such a decent person.”
David James was speaking on a day when he joined a walking football team, as part of a Carlsberg campaign
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