‘I won U21 Euros with England – but retired at 30 to become a DJ in Corfu’

England's U21s ended a 39-year wait by beating Spain's U21s to claim the Under 21s European Championships on Saturday evening.

While Cole Palmer's first-half deflected free-kick gave Lee Carsley's side the lead, the result looked to be in doubt when Spain were awarded a 96th minute penalty which could have sent the game to extra-time.

However, Manchester City keeper James Trafford, who looks set to join Burnley in the near future, produced a brilliant save to halt Abel Ruiz from the spot, then managing to save the follow up too.

The impressive result capped off a wonderful tournament for England which saw them go the entire competition without conceding a single goal.

READ MORE:England U21s win Euros – and Three Lions fans already can't wait for World Cup 2030

Last time the Young Lions managed to win the U21 Euros was in 1984. Back then, the final was held over two legs, with England also facing off against Spain.

Over the two legs, England won 1-0 out in Seville, and 2-0 back home in Sheffield, giving them a 3-0 aggregate win. One of the players to have featured in that successful U21s winning side was ex-Watford star Nigel Callaghan.

What did you make of the current England U21s European Championship win? Let us know in the comments section below.

During his playing days, Callaghan made over 200 appearances for Watford between 1980 to 1987, helping them reach the 1984 FA Cup final. He also starred for Derby County, Aston Villa and Huddersfield Town too.

However, despite the masses of appearances he wracked up for the Hornets, Callaghan, who also battled and recovered from cancer twice, opted to trade his boots for a set of DJ decks at just 30-years-old, swapping England for Greece's sunny Corfu.

Speaking to the Guardian back in 2019, Callaghan said: "When my contract [with Aston Villa] finished [in 1992] and I was more or less told to naff off by Ron Atkinson I just thought: 'I'm going to go abroad, I'm going to go out and if I want to have a drink I'll have a drink.

"I've never had another job. I've never sat in an office, done 9-5. I finished my football career early but I didn’t do bad. I played in an England Under-21 final, played in an FA Cup final, came second in the top league. There were a lot of great moments.

"I’ve done a lot of things in my short career that a lot of players haven’t done, so I’d never complain about what I had. And I’ve done all right out of DJing, to be fair. I’ve stayed in the entertainment business. There’s no way DJing can even come near scoring a winning goal or playing in front of 100,000 people but I’ve made a good life out of it. I think I’ve been quite lucky."

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