Barbara Southgate is the mother of the England National Football Team manager Gareth Southgate.
She was a dinner lady at Pond Hill Middle School. Barbara originally belonged to Islington in North London.
She used to do clerical work for a precious metals company named Johnson Matthey.
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Married life
She’s married to her husband, Clive Southgate. Barbara and Clive were both academics, having attended grammar schools.
They were also talented athletes. Barbara was a hurdler, whereas Clive threw a javelin.
It is said that they met while representing their respective countries in a track and field event.
They are blessed with two children, Gareth and Michelle. Michelle is six years younger than Gareth.
After the birth of their children, Barbara and Clive decided that their mother should be at home with the children.
Her husband said that this decision paid off, as Gareth is extremely close to his mother, has a very well-grounded upbringing, and learned the right values.
In an interview, her husband revealed that Gareth's posh voice is copied from his mother as Barbara was always well spoke and won school prizes for reading.
Gareth also learned a lot from his grandfather, Barbara's father, Arthur Toll.
Arthur taught him fair play as he would buy Gareth a packet of sweets but never allowed him to eat them in the street.
His grandfather's teaching stuck with him, and fair play is very important to him.
Who is Barbara’s son Gareth?
Gareth is a professional football manager and a former player. He has been the manager of the England national football team since 2016.
Gareth was born in the year 1970 and has his birthday on September 3.
He started playing football at a very young age, and at the age of 35, he retired from playing and started coaching. He is a British citizen by nationality.
Does Gareth have a wife?
Gareth has been married to Alison Bird since 1997. He met Alison when he was playing for Crystal Palace as a trainer.
Gareth was in his early 20s when he met Alison, who was a boutique assistant at that time. She is four years older than him.
Gareth would go to her boutique frequently, pretending to be browsing for clothes.
Gareth lacked the confidence to ask her out at the time, as he was always teased for having a prominent nose.
It took him two years to muster the courage to ask her out. However, Alison said she was in a live-in relationship with someone else.
Alison then left her boyfriend and started dating Gareth. In the beginning, they kept their relationship private.
Gareth revealed in his book that he used to meet Alison secretly in a Tesco car park so as not to let her ex find out about their romance.
The turning point in their relationship came when Gareth got an offer from Aston Villa.
Alison then gave him an ultimatum. She gave him two choices, i.e., either she moved to Birmingham with him, or they would end their relationship.
Luckily, Gareth decided for Alison to move in with him.
Since his parents had met her only once, they were a bit shocked when he told them that they were living together.
They always pictured their son as methodical, logical, and weighing up everything, but this behavior of their son was capricious.
They tied the knot in June 1997. They are now parents to two children, Flyn and Mia.
Age and Net Worth
Barbara’s age and net worth are unknown. Her son, Gareth, is 53 years old. He has a net worth of £9 million earned from his football career.
Gareth dislikes loosing
Gareth is currently the football manager of the England national team.
England played against Brazil in the UEFA Champions League 2024 at Wembley Stadium a few days ago, and unfortunately, England lost the match with a score of 0 – 1.
After the loss, Gareth talked about the gameplay in the press conference and said that he doesn’t like losing football matches.
It was very sad, and as much as he hated to lose, he also saw the effort of the players.
He appreciated each and every player and said that the individual effort of the players during the game was great.
Also, there were many players playing for the first time in the Champions League, and Gareth liked how nicely they played in the match.
Gareth impressed was with Declan Rice
During the match with Brazil the England players gave their full and best games play on the match.
Gareth saw the hard work of the players, including the goalkeeper, so he was very satisfied with the game even though they didn’t win.
But among all the players, Gareth was extremely impressed by Declan Rice’s gameplay.
He feels that Declan’s performance in the game with and without the ball was amazing.
Declan played in the position of midfielder in the game, and as England was short of midfielders, Declan was the key player.
Gareth liked how Declan made himself comfortable on the ground during the gameplay and delivered his outstanding performance.
Biggest regret of Gareth
Gareth was one of the great players during his football days. He played for clubs and country for many years.
In an interview with Prince William, he talked about the biggest regret of his life, which was missing a penalty shootout.
He played for England in the 1996 Euro Cup and ended up missing the penalty at the very final moment of the game.
England played against Germany, and his penalty shootout could have made England take the Euro cup, but he missed that chance by missing the shootout.
He felt really bad after the match and felt responsible for the loss. It’s been decades now, and still, that thing haunts him.
He feels regret and remorse about missing the penalty and a part of him will never forget that thing.