Gareth Southgate's trusted ally to join Man City-owned club in second managerial job
Gareth Southgate's long-time assistant Steve Holland has agreed to take over Yokohama F. Marinos, a Japanese side who are partly owned by the City Football Group
by Felix Keith · The MirrorSteve Holland is poised to step out of Gareth Southgate’s orbit and take the job as manager of Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos.
Holland has been without a job since Southgate announced he was stepping down as England manager on July 16. The 54-year-old worked as Southgate’s assistant manager with the Three Lions for eight years, helping the team reach the final of the European Championship on two occasions and the World Cup semi-finals.
He was a key member of the coaching staff under Southgate and developed a good reputation, which has remained, despite an incident with Ben White. The Arsenal defender left England’s camp at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after taking issue with something Holland said on the training pitch and hasn’t played for his country since.
Holland has only previously been a manager on one occasion, leading Crewe Alexandra between 2007 and 2008, but is now ready to step back into the role. The Athletic reports that he will soon be announced as the manager of J1 League team Marinos.
The club, who are part-owned by the City Football Group – the conglomerate which includes Manchester City – have been without a manager since dismissing ex-Leeds midfielder Harry Kewell in July. Kewell’s assistant John Hutchinson has been in interim charge ever since, but that will come to an end soon.
Marinos are ninth in the J1 League with just two games remaining and sit third in their AFC Champions League group. The club will be hoping Holland can make an impact like Ange Postecoglou. The current Tottenham boss was manager of Marinos between 2018 and 2021 and led them to their first J1 League title in 15 years.
As well as working with Southgate, Holland has a long history with Chelsea, where he worked as assistant to Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo, Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink and Antonio Conte.
But it is undoubtedly Southgate who has been his biggest supporter over the years. He once explained: “We developed an understanding and relationship that I think has been a huge friendship as well as a working relationship. He’s someone I trust entirely, whose opinions and views on football are aligned with mine, whose values as a person are at a really high level and his attention to detail around doing the job are an example to any coach at any level.
“I think he would be the most successful coach in English football or English coach, I can’t think of anyone else who has won the things he has won or had his experience at club and international level. He's a top operator. Without his experiences, his approach, his thoughtfulness and the quality of his work, would we have had the journey we have had in the last five years with the seniors and the U21s?"
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