I tried to bring Gareth Southgate into cricket and developed two England stars; Now I'm off to see them all star at Wembley.
Gareth Southgate will take charge of his 92nd game for England this weekend, but he could have followed a totally different path if he had listened to his former teacher.
The Three Lions will face Brazil in a friendly at Wembley on Saturday, before taking on Belgium on Tuesday night, with both matches live on talkSPORT.
Every stadium will be full of England fans ready to bid their team farewell to this summer's tournament.
Coincidentally, this month's two friendlies coincide with EFL Youth Development week.
So what better time for the man who taught? South Gate at school and also developed two England stars to be in the crowd and see them all?
In the 1980s, Charlton Academy headmaster Steve Avory taught 15-year-old Southgate, who was a scholar in crystal Palace at the time, at Hazelwick School in Three Bridges, near Crawley.
Speaking to talkSPORT.com, he was asked if he could have ever predicted that the young man he taught at school would go on to lead his country.
To which he said: “What you saw in Gareth, even as a schoolboy, is what a good leader he was, because he was probably captain of every sports team we had at school.
“In any case, football and athletics were his two leaders. But he also played other sports, such as basketball and cricket.
“But in rugby, he was also a good rugby player. When he was a schoolboy he was an all-round athlete. But obviously football became the priority.”
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“He was a good 400-meter runner. He would participate in several events for the school's track team, but his father was a track coach for several years.
“That influenced what Gareth would do during the summer season. I wanted him to play some cricket too, but athletics was his priority.”
However, it turns out Southgate wasn't too keen on swapping a football for a cricket bat.
“No, I could see that athletics was his priority,” Avory said. “And athletics was a big sport at school.
“I mean, my summer sport was more of a form of cricket, and obviously I tried to develop a cricket culture at school as well, but athletics was very strong at Hazelwick.”
Avory has many more reasons to claim fame than teaching the England coach, bringing in many big-name stars through the Addicks' academy.
Despite Charlton languishing in the third tier for most of the last decade, the south London side have continued to produce top-class talent at their Sparrows Lane academy.
That includes current England and Premier League stars. Joe Gomez and Ezri Konsa.
When asked about the Liverpool and Aston Villa stars, who left Charlton in 2015 and 2018 respectively, Avory said: “They keep in touch.
“It was only last season that we asked Ezri if he would send a message to some of our younger players in the early stages for a parents' evening at the start of last season.
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“So there is an example of how willing he is to stay involved.
“I sent him a message in his call-up for the last England camp, of course, in the end he didn't play, but you get the response from him.
“So there is an example of how these players always respond quickly and want to help.
“Joe, yeah, I mean, I have several messages with Joe throughout the season and I guess I have a more direct connection with Joe because I've always kept in touch with his father, and his father has kept in touch with me and The academy.
“It was only at the beginning of this season that I got Augustas Gomez, Joe's father, involved in a question and answer session, which I did with him and another father, Deji Elerewe (now at Bromley), to talk to the parents.
“Because for them it was good to hear their parents' vision of what happened to them in their lives during their school years.”
Avory is now hoping to see Southgate, Gomez and Konsa on Tuesday for the Three Lions' clash against Belgium at the home of football.
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He said: “I can't go to the Brazil game, but I will be there on Tuesday.
“Afterwards I will stay and hope to join them.”
England vs Brazil is broadcast live on talkSPORT from 7pm
