Sven’s sensational return

Wednesday, 06/10/2010

Last weekend saw the latest return to English football of Sven Goran Eriksson. The former England manager took over at Championship side Leicester City, replacing former boss Paulo Sousa, who was sacked on Friday.

The 62-year-old Swede has signed a two-year contract and been tasked with gaining promotion to the Premier League.

It’s Sven’s first management job in club football since he left Manchester City in 2008, following spells as Notts County’s Director of Football and coach of the Ivory Coast national team, and the obsession surrounding the charismatic coach appears to be as evident as ever.

Since he took charge of England in 2001, Eriksson has been headline news, with the media following his every move, initially with expectations of success and latterly with anticipations of failure.

And failure is how some sections of the press and many England supporters view Sven’s time in charge of England, a notion that is completely unfair when you analyse his achievements.

Under Eriksson, the Three Lions qualified for three successive major tournaments, reaching the quarter-final stages at two World Cups and one European Championships, going out to top class teams by the narrowest of margins.

Often criticised for this record, it’s important to remember that during Sven’s reign, England were ranked around eighth in the world and they played to their rankings at each tournament, consistently reaching the last eight.

It is also said that he squandered the talents of England’s golden generation, with the likes of David Beckham, Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard at his disposal, but it’s also important to remember the genuine lack of depth of English talent available to play alongside the leading lights.

The likes of Darius Vassell and Danny Mills both gained regular caps and represented England at major tournaments, which again highlights how well Sven did.

He also got the best out of Wayne Rooney at a major tournament, as England's finest attacking talent bagged an impressive four goals in four games at Euro 2004.

The managers that have gone since have hardly set the world alight either, with the debacle of Steve McClaren’s tenure and then Fabio Capello’s England struggling at the World Cup despite an immaculate qualification campaign.

Sven managed to impress in qualifiers and the major tournaments, giving fans moments to remember like the 5-1 win in Germany and the 1-0 over Argentina.

Sven’s record at Manchester City also stands up to closer scrutiny. In a season where the Sky Blues did the league double over neighbours and eventual Champions League winners Manchester United, Eriksson guided City to a respectable ninth place finish, accruing what was then their joint highest Premier League points record.

A disastrous 8-1 defeat against Middlesbrough on the last day of the season ultimately cost Sven, but many City supporters were sad to see him go and felt he was taking the club in the right direction.

Before coming to England, Sven won major honours in Italy and Portugal which was proceeded by a hugely impressive record in his native Sweden.

He won the Serie A title and the European Cup Winners Cup with Lazio as well as the Portuguese title with Benfica and UEFA Cup with IFK Gothenburg.

So Sven’s record more than stands up to the criticism it receives from many members of the British media, whose obsession with the amount of money he earns and his private life have led to plenty of negative coverage in recent years.

Leicester could be the perfect club at the perfect time for Eriksson, who is hungry for one more shot at the Premier League and still commands the respect of players all over the world.

If given the backing he’s obviously expecting in the transfer market, then the Foxes could well be set for a return to the top flight for the first time since 2004, as a return to the footballing big-time beckons for Sven.

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