With 18 trophies on his CV, Sven-Goran Eriksson has always left a remarkable impression through his professionalism which eventually led to silverware. Despite never tasting success with the England national team, he is still regarded as one of the best managers the Three Lions ever had. The Swede was recently in Malta as an ambassador for FanLeague and he met up with Gianluca Lia…

Proving to be a credible football tactician in a career which has spanned 40 years would be an uphill task for any coach, but despite the evolution the ‘Beautiful Game’ has gone through in the recent decades, Sven-Goran Eriksson never went out of fashion.

One of his best memories on the touchline was guiding England to a 5-1 rout of Germany in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers in Munich.

“With England I can recall many great memories, but that 5-1 win was something exceptional,” Eriksson underlined.

When Eriksson was called to replace Kevin Keegan after a poor Euro 2000 campaign, he was handed the task of restoring English pride and turn the team into one of the strongest on the international scene.

During his tenure, he had what everyone was referring to as the ‘golden generation’ which included the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham and Paul Scholes.

He nurtured all the talent he had at his disposal and guided them to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, as well as Euro 2004. 

However, despite boasting so much talent, England never went beyond the quarter-finals in all three campaigns.

“Honestly, I don’t have regrets of having never won with England, however, I do believe that in 2006 we should have done better,” he said.

“In Germany, we had a good team but unfortunately we were plagued with injuries and in the most important match, we were a man down.

“I remember prior to that tournament I spoke with my staff and explained to them that the squad we had was rich in talent and I could not see anyone better than us as there was no team who really stood out during that period.

“Even the squad I took to Portugal in 2004 was really well-structured but in 2002, I believe we were not quite ready although we still did well.”

Eriksson always had an eye for youth talent and that came particularly to the fore during his England rein.

In fact, in February 2003 he handed a senior debut to a certain 17-year-old by the name of Wayne Rooney, who was still in Everton’s ranks at that time.

“Rooney was easy to spot. People before me had already acknowledged the fact that his talent was something exceptional, in particular David Moyes who developed him at Everton,” the former Benfica manager explained.

“Speaking to Moyes ahead of the Euros, he had told me not to select him so he won’t get burned out  too quickly, but I still took him as he was already prepared physically and mentally.”

Midfield partnership

Undoubtedly, one of the dilemmas raised by the English media was the so-called dysfunctional midfield partnership between Lampard and Gerrard whom Eriksson used to pair in the England games.

“There’s no doubt that they could play together as they were clever players, excellent passers, exceptional shooters and they had what it takes to carry the teams they played for,” he said.

“I know that question was always on the mind of the media but then I would ask them, who would you take out?

“Then unfortunately, after Euro 2004, we had lost a pivotal player in Paul Scholes who had decided to retire from the national team.

“It was a blow for our midfield but I respect his decision.”

England have traditionally under-performed when it mattered most in major tournaments and Eriksson points on the players’ fitness as the main reason.

“Players’ fitness has plagued England’s fortunes in major tournaments over the years.

“While other European leagues  have a winter break, English players have to contend with a congested fixture list during that period and that hurts them.

“Prior to major finals I used to ask my staff how we could improve the players’ fitness  and their response was to give the players a week’s rest. 

“But clearly, you don’t have enough time to do that.”

England are now under the helm of Gareth Southgate and Eriksson is confident the former Middlesbrough skipper could lead the team to a strong World Cup in Russia next year.

“(Gareth) Southgate is a good manager and in my opinion, they boast a huge team as they showed in the qualifications – I see them as outsiders,” Eriksson said.

“They have a world-class striker in Harry Kane as he scores a lot.

“Although few top English players pursue their career overseas, especially due to the market inflation on English players, Kane would do very well at top clubs around Europe because his style of play makes it difficult for any footballer to mark him.”

With the 2018 World Cup around the corner, Eriksson sees several teams who can emerge as contenders for the biggest prize in football, but he could not deny his thoughts about his native Sweden to do well if they manage to qualify.

“I hope that Sweden qualifies, for I see them as a really good team despite not having Zlatan Ibrahimovic on board, whom I would still call for one last time in case of a qualification,” he said.

“An expanded World Cup will be interesting to see as it is always good to have as many teams as possible”

Prior to being handed the England task, Eriksson was living the good life in Rome, winning seven trophies with Lazio – including one Serie A championship and a UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup in 1999.

"I had everything I wished for at Lazio as I could count on a solid team and on the backing of a president who always acknowledged my decisions in building a competitive squad,” Eriksson highlighted.

“Unfortunately, I think Italy’s top-flight has been on decline lately after being the dominant league in the 90s and early 2000s and this can be clearly seen by top players leaving Italy to move to more prestigious European leagues.”

Eriksson is currently out of work but he has not closed the door to new opportunities.

“I do miss coaching and although at the moment I have no offers, I would consider any opportunity that comes at me,” he concluded. 

Eriksson is an ambassador of the social betting app FanLeague, a new ground breaking social sports betting concept where you can challenge your friends in predicting predefined English football games and have a chance at winning the guaranteed jackpot prize. For further details, visit www.fanleague.com.

Markus Jennemyr, CEO of FanLeague is particularly eager to see this venture hit the ground running on our shores following the success they had in the United Kingdom.

"It (FanLeague) is a social betting app on English football and I know both gaming and football are popular in Malta, so hopefully that works in our favour;" Jennemyr said to Times of Malta.

"It is mainly about the passion for the game, especially the English Premier League which is followed by billions of people around the world.

Basically, we focus on the idea of challenging your friends to see who has the edge when it comes to football knowledge. FanLeague is available on iOS on the App Store and on our website, www.fanleague.com, for Android"