Football
Leon Imber 310d

Gareth Southgate, Steve Clarke surprise Special Olympics GB team at St George's Park

Nobody has experienced the highs and lows of football quite like Great Britain's Special Olympics unified team. As children, many were shunned by their clubs. They recall being left on the sidelines, not fitting in.

But on Monday, they rejoiced as England boss Gareth Southgate and Scotland manager Steve Clarke made a surprise appearance to their training day at St George's Park, as preparations continue for the Special Olympics World Games (broadcast on ESPN) in June.

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"To see them, it made my day," goalkeeper Daniel Braithwaite said, taking "confidence" from the encouragement of the national bosses as well as former West Ham United coach Stuart Pearce and ex-Olympic gold medalist Tim Foster.

The GB team will head to Berlin, Germany with the opening ceremony at the Olympiastadion on June 17. Over nine days, they will play a minimum of five matches in their bid for a gold medal in their respective division.

The unified football system is unique to the Special Olympics, with the starting squad comprising of seven players -- four with intellectual disability, three without.

"It's not a concept that I'd heard of previously but the idea that we all gain from mixing and learning from each other is really rich," Southgate said.

"I could see the excitement of the team and also the challenge for everybody on how can we work together, how can we find ways of working together.

"I think that will go way beyond what happens in the next few weeks for them as a team and into their everyday lives."

Scotland boss Clarke was once well-acquainted with St George's Park having completed coaching courses at England's training ground. He was pleased to be back in familiar surroundings to support the team in their preparations for the World Games.

"These days are special," he told ESPN. "When you get an invite to this you don't turn it down, you come along. Everybody tries to put professional people at the top of the pedestal, for me, these guys behind us, they're top of the pedestal. They're the ones that are the superheroes. They're the athletes we should all be proud of.

"Trying to make a name for themselves going to the Special Olympics is a great honour, representing Great Britain, so its great to be here and great to be a part of it."

Pearce, capped 78 times by England and manager of Team GB at the 2012 Olympic Games, also joined the session -- much to the delight of a West Ham-supporting squad member, as both shared their respective thoughts on the potential departure of star midfielder Declan Rice from the London Stadium this summer.

Pearce even laced his own boots to assume his once-familiar defensive role in a five-a-side matchup, admitting the tempo was much faster than what he has become accustomed to in his 21 years of retirement. The ex-West Ham boss has vast experience in coaching, but said he had learnt a lot after leading the morning's session with the unified GB team.

"It's been an eye opener for me," he told ESPN. "I've talked to the coaches, the manager Ben, you talk to them about the different way certain players learn, that makes you a better coach.

"I was saying to the coaches it'll probably make you a better coach because there's so many different ways the boys here learn. Some you can show them, others you can just talk to them [and] others a multitude of all the above. I just think from a coaching aspect it's a real eye opener for me."

LMA chief executive Richard Bevan and former England caretaker boss Howard Wilkinson also watched on as the unified team, led by head coach Ben Mathews, enjoyed the facilities of England's training ground in the beaming sun.

Mathews, in his 10th year of coaching unified football, said his team will remember the experience of playing in front of their idols for the rest of their lives.

"For our guys it means the absolute world," he said. "They haven't been able to stop talking about it. I knew for a few weeks that they were coming, so holding it as a secret was tough, I almost let it slip this morning.

"Ultimately for them to get to showcase their ability, as people that were told they couldn't play football, for them to produce a session like that in front of the England and Scotland manager, I'll be suprised if they don't get a call up this week."

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