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SOUTHGATE LEADS BY EXAMPLE
By Daniel Spellman of Betting Zone
Middlesbrough skipper Gareth Southgate will lead his side into UEFA Cup final battle in Eindhoven on Wednesday night having helped to establish a new dynasty on Teesside.
The 35-year-old defender was Steve McClaren's first signing back in 2001, and has repaid his £6.5m fee over and over again.
Southgate's sterling service last week led chairman Steve Gibson to vow to keep him at the club far beyond McClaren's reign, which will draw to a close in Holland whatever happens at the PSV Stadium in his 250th match.
The fact that the former England international was part of the blueprint from the start will make the biggest game in the club's history all the more special for him, although he admits he was not sure about the new national coach's sales pitch when he made his move five years ago.
He said: "When Steve brought me here, there were other teams who had shown an interest in signing me who were already established and challenging for trophies.
"One of the things he said to me was, 'You will get more satisfaction out of being involved in something from the beginning than you will from just joining in'.
"I wasn't too sure about that at the time - I was even less sure about it three months later - but I've got to say, it was right.
"I've taken tremendous satisfaction from being a part of the changing wind through this club.
"When the manager moves on, he has left something of a legacy in terms of the development of the club, and it's been a very, very successful period for the club.
"I feel integral in that and that's very, very rewarding. When I feel the reaction of the fans towards me - and when you get comments like the chairman made in the week - then it makes it worthwhile coming to work.
"I come because I like doing it, but when you receive that sort of respect, then it makes it all the more worthwhile."
McClaren and Southgate have already written themselves into Teesside folklore as the first manager and captain respectively to claim a major trophy.
However, victory over Sevilla 20 years after the club almost went out of existence would complete a fairytale campaign which has so often flirted with disaster - they overturned seemingly impregnable deficits against both Basle and Steaua Bucharest to reach the final - but ultimately brought immense elation.
The drama started on the closing day of last season when goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer - who will play in a protective mask just 17 days after fracturing his cheekbone - saved a last-minute Robbie Fowler penalty to deny Manchester City a place in the competition.
"You just can't find words to describe how we got here," admitted McClaren, who was in relaxed mood as he spoke to the media at the stadium this afternoon.
"Anybody at Manchester City watching the penalty save - there's such a thin line between success and failure.
"The two games we have just had, you don't get two games like that in your career, never mind in three weeks.
"We have seen memorable, memorable performances in the last two games that will never be forgotten.
"It's been an incredible run. Words can't describe it.
"If we win it, then after the game, I'll find the words to describe it."
The fine line between success and failure is something McClaren has tip-toed along himself this season, surviving a fans' backlash in February and then last week landing the England job just days after Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari had jumped to the head of the queue.
He is adamant the saga which surrounded his appointment has not got in the way of tomorrow's game, which will inevitably rekindle memories of Manchester United's Champions League final victory in 1999.
McClaren sat alongside Sir Alex Ferguson in the United dug-out in Barcelona, and the Scot left him with a few well-chosen words after their sides met in the league last week.
"I spoke to him after the game at Manchester United," said McClaren. "He said, 'It's been an incredible journey, make sure you go all the way'."
Schwarzer will play in a protective mask, provided German referee Herbert Fandel passes it, while experienced former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour could be a surprise inclusion in the starting line-up.
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