England legend Teddy Sheringham has discussed THAT crazy night he had with the squad in Hong Kong ahead of the EURO 96 tournament.
While England stars are still oftentimes involved in scandals relating to their debauchery, their wrongdoings pale in comparison to those of their predecessors, who were renown for it just as much as their football.
Testament to that is a tale told by Teddy Sheringham during an interview with The Sun, which detailed what the Three Lions squad were doing in the build up to EURO 96.
The iconic tournament, held on home soil, much like EURO 2020, saw England reach the semi-final stage, only to be knocked by Germany in a penalty shootout, with Gareth Southgate missing the decisive spot-kick.
It’s a miracle that the England squad were able to get so far in the tournament, with the pictures which emerged from their pre-tournament night out not a particularly good look.
READ MORE: (Photo) England star Phil Foden sends these fans into a frenzy as he dyes his hair a mystery colour
During an interview with The Sun, Teddy Sheringham, who was at the forefront of the scandal, has spoken out on their wild night ahead of the European Championships.
“It was a great night out, yes. Great fun.”
“I mean, you’re with 20 of your mates. You know you have four weeks of staying in and are allowed this one night out.”
“It’s not great pictures, I know, how it turned out. But you know you want to enjoy yourself for that one night — and we certainly did.”
“We know it didn’t look very good to the public and Terry wasn’t best pleased about it and he let us know in no uncertain terms. But what he did afterwards with the Press was pure genius.”
“He said, ‘Look, I allowed them out; it’s on my shoulders.’ And he protected the players. He defended us and we loved him for it.”
“I think that is exactly how it brought us together. When you’re in each other’s company, you get to know people.”
“And then when someone defends you like (Terry did), it gives you a sturdiness in your group and a unity that perhaps you wouldn’t have got if we had stayed at home and stayed at (team hotel in England) Burnham Beeches and all been on a quiet front.”
While Southgate was part of the EURO 96 squad which was embroiled in controversy, and he likely had a great time in the process, it’s hard to imagine him giving the squad permission to head out and party ahead of the Croatia clash on Sunday.
Especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, all of the squad will have to be on their best behaviour if they want to have any chance of matching, or even bettering, the footballing heroics of the class of ’96.
Who did Arsene Wenger name as the ‘super favourite’ to win EURO 2020? Find out here.