AS a wide-eyed teenager, he used to welcome Jurgen Klinsmann and his wife over to his home for Christmas dinner. Now Glen Southam is finally back and ready for battle at Non-League's top table.
It's fair to say the Eastleigh captain has had a cracker. A Skrill South champion followed by a week in Vegas entirely on the chairman, not exactly the kind of gift you find buried beneath your tree!
Southam has got his hands on some silverware for the first time since being a Conference winner in 2007 at Dagenham & Redbridge, John Still's midfield Mr Reliable.
He's now the driving force behind the Spitfires, but the wheels were set in motion nearly 20 years ago when a 14-year-old befriended a football superstar.
The former Dover, Barnet and Bishop's Stortford player said: “I still wonder if it really happened. I was a bit young to take it all in but it's a nice story to tell.
“My dad Micky used to work at Tottenham as a chauffeur when I was a youngster at the club. He looked after all the players, he travelled far and wide with the squad, they loved him, he was part of the team back then.
“Any new signings that arrived he would drive and help look after. It was just after the World Cup in 1994, and Jurgen had got a bit of stick. You know what people get like over here with diving.
“Dad picked him up from the airport and a few hours later he was at our house. He introduced himself and from then on he became a real friend to us all. His wife Debbie and my mum went everywhere together while he and my dad went viewing houses. It was all a bit surreal – he was a mega star in football terms. And he in my front room more often than I was!
“They even spent Christmas day with us. Mum put in a lot of effort with the turkey that year! I was too young to be buying gifts but he'd always get me things. I was lucky. I got to do and see a lot of things nobody else does. I can't complain.
“Looking back having grown up with him and watching the other big names at Spurs most days showed me that when you are young you take things for granted a little.
“I'd like to think that once I grew up I took a bit from my experiences, hopefully some of their professionalism and attitude rubbed off on me.”
His introduction to life in the game may have been something dreams are made of, but the twilight of the 33-year-old's career isn't panning out too badly either.
Eastleigh, backed by the investment of chairman Stewart Donald, have done what it's fair to say many predicted by winning the Skrill South title.
But Southam says the tag of favourites always weighs heavy – and the promotion success was one of his finest achievements.
He added: “It doesn't always pan out people think it will. Football is not always about the so called favourites getting what they want.
“Look how long it's taken Luton Town to get back up. I'm so pleased for John (Still) – I knew he would be the man to take them back. What a manager he is.
“People forget that we were 14 points behind Bromley at one stage. OK, we had some games in hand but they always say you want points on the board, especially with the weather we had and the fact we got into the FA Trophy quarter-final. Trust me, it's not easy winning any league at any level.
“We had the same budget as the year before and that was a bit of a struggle. If you don't put in the hard work you will be turned over. This is a big achievement, it was one hell of a grind.”
But after exertion often comes reward.
“Vegas was unbelievable, the boys had a great time,” Southam said, the day after landing back from a no doubt secret-stained jolly in America.
“The chairman stuck to his word – he's a fantastic guy who is looking to take the club onto the next level. I'd like to thank him. It's one of them places that is best described as a one off. Anyone that has been will respect that it's hard to describe.
“We know next season people will be expecting us to push on but I'm so pleased we got to experience that on the back of doing something special.”
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