Post by Macmoish on Oct 15, 2010 8:30:59 GMT
The Sun
The FA WERE WRONG TO AXE ME
ROB BEASLEY: Did you see England at the World Cup? Did you see them against Montenegro? They've gone backwards since you left, haven't they?
SVEN GORAN ERIKSSON: I saw more or less every England game at the World Cup. I remember the Germany game especially... Frank Lampard was so unlucky to see that goal disallowed.
But I always said to reach the World Cup final everything must go for you - and it didn't go for England that night.
I also watched the Montenegro match and OK, it wasn't the best result, but it is only one game.
Sometimes these results can happen. I know because losing in Northern Ireland was not good for me and you do get criticised.
But I think England will still qualify. They played well in their other qualifying games, didn't they?
RB: At least you got us to the quarter-finals every time - and even then it wasn't your fault we lost. Ronaldinho's free-kick in Japan 2002 was a fluke, there was Sol Campbell's disallowed goal against Portugal in the 2004 Euros and Wayne Rooney's red card in Germany 2006.
SVEN: Don't remind me because, yes, we were so unlucky like that and in Germany we came so, so close. All I know is that it's very good to be a lucky manager.
RB: You did have a great record as England manager, so were the FA wrong to sack you?
SVEN: If it had depended on me I would have stayed with England. I was incredibly proud having that job.
Being England manager is beautiful, I loved every day there. I wanted to stay but that proved impossible. And it hurt even more because of the way it was done.
If they had sacked me for not reaching the semi-finals or final of the World Cup in Germany well, OK, maybe I could accept that.
But they did it in a dirty way, so yes it was wrong. They reacted to a newspaper story rather than anything that happened on the pitch.
In January 2006 Brian Barwick (then FA chief executive) rang and told me 'That's enough!' I couldn't believe it. I remember saying 'Do you want me to leave now, before the World Cup?' He said 'No, after the World Cup' and I just said 'So it's true what they say - the newspapers rule even the FA!'
RB: So are you still bitter?
SVEN: No, I'm not bitter about it. Life goes on. It's all history now and life is new and exciting now at Leicester City. I have the butterflies in my stomach again.
RB: Should the next manager of England be an Englishman?
HEAD-TO-HEAD ... our man Beasley with ErikssonSVEN: I have heard that one before (laughs). It's true there are some good English managers, like Harry Redknapp. He is a very good manager, he has done a great job with Tottenham and he did a great job at Portsmouth. His teams also play attractive football.
So maybe Harry... but it's the FA who decide. One time they want a foreign coach, the next time an English coach. So maybe next time it will be an Englishman.
RB: Should the likes of Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry retire from international football now to let other players, younger players, have their chance?
SVEN: No, they should not... no, not at all. How many goals did Frank Lampard score for Chelsea last season - 20 wasn't it? And from midfield! So why should he retire, he is one of the very best in the game.
Rio Ferdinand too. Yes, he has had his injuries. But when he's fit he is one of the top defenders in the world.
John Terry is the same. Who is better than JT in this country, in the world? And if he doesn't play, who is coming in to replace him, to replace Rio and replace Frank Lampard?
RB: Would a winter break help England's chances of success?
SVEN: Yes, I definitely think so. For my five years as England manager I argued that the players should have seven days off straight after the third round of the FA Cup.
Just missing that one week and one weekend's games would make a big difference and be a huge benefit for the national team.
Why? Because before every finals we could see the fitness levels of all the players were so low it was so difficult to prepare them for the tournament ahead. And I went to every single FA committee to argue the case and every one of them agreed. But nothing was ever done.
RB: You mean the FA wouldn't back you even though they agreed it would help England's chances?
SVEN: Shall I tell you a good story? I met with Sepp Blatter in an hotel in London and I told him if he wanted the 2006 World Cup to be a success, he should make sure all the different leagues finished their seasons one month before the World Cup started.
Advertisement
I said it would mean all the top players would have time to recover and be fit and fresh to ensure the World Cup was the best it could possibly be.
He liked the idea so much that FIFA contacted all the leagues to make it happen.
But I then got a call from someone at FIFA who asked me: 'Have you got so many enemies at the English FA?'
He then explained that England were the only nation who had not agreed to the idea, they had asked for permission to play on for one more week.
RB: So your own FA was trying to sabotage your plans behind your back?
SVEN: Yes, absolutely. But FIFA refused to allow it, they said no.
RB: Did you also feel sabotaged at Manchester City?
SVEN: I have not been very successful in keeping my jobs in England, have I? First England and then Manchester City.
And I still don't know why City sacked me. I have absolutely no idea. The players were happy, the fans were happy, we were playing good football and getting good results.
But three games before the end of the season they came and told me. I asked 'Why?' but they never explained. We lost those last three games but that was absolutely not my fault - it was a result of what they had done.
And then they went and did something similar to Mark Hughes, too.
RB: What is it, then, that keeps you coming back for more? You don't need the money, so you could be enjoying yourself in the sun somewhere.
SVEN: I don't enjoy life if I'm not in football. I'm not old enough to want to retire... well, I don't feel old, anyhow.
My life has been football and I have been a coach since I was 27-years-old. In all that time I only had one year off - that was after England and it was awful.
RB: But why Leicester City?
SVEN: It's a big club, a famous club with a good stadium and with a lot of fans.
Now they have a new owner with a big ambition. He wants Leicester City in the Premier League and fast.
As a manager you know that's not going to be easy. But he knows if you take a club from the middle of the Championship and want to take it to the Premier League and stay there for many years, then it will cost you a lot of money. So he is prepared for that.
Still, to do it this season will be hard. But we will try.
We are eight points off the play-off places and it's 36 games so it's tough . . . but it's not impossible.
Interview: ROB BEASLEY
www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3180840/Sven-Goran-Eriksson-insists-the-FA-were-wrong-to-axe-him.html
The FA WERE WRONG TO AXE ME
ROB BEASLEY: Did you see England at the World Cup? Did you see them against Montenegro? They've gone backwards since you left, haven't they?
SVEN GORAN ERIKSSON: I saw more or less every England game at the World Cup. I remember the Germany game especially... Frank Lampard was so unlucky to see that goal disallowed.
But I always said to reach the World Cup final everything must go for you - and it didn't go for England that night.
I also watched the Montenegro match and OK, it wasn't the best result, but it is only one game.
Sometimes these results can happen. I know because losing in Northern Ireland was not good for me and you do get criticised.
But I think England will still qualify. They played well in their other qualifying games, didn't they?
RB: At least you got us to the quarter-finals every time - and even then it wasn't your fault we lost. Ronaldinho's free-kick in Japan 2002 was a fluke, there was Sol Campbell's disallowed goal against Portugal in the 2004 Euros and Wayne Rooney's red card in Germany 2006.
SVEN: Don't remind me because, yes, we were so unlucky like that and in Germany we came so, so close. All I know is that it's very good to be a lucky manager.
RB: You did have a great record as England manager, so were the FA wrong to sack you?
SVEN: If it had depended on me I would have stayed with England. I was incredibly proud having that job.
Being England manager is beautiful, I loved every day there. I wanted to stay but that proved impossible. And it hurt even more because of the way it was done.
If they had sacked me for not reaching the semi-finals or final of the World Cup in Germany well, OK, maybe I could accept that.
But they did it in a dirty way, so yes it was wrong. They reacted to a newspaper story rather than anything that happened on the pitch.
In January 2006 Brian Barwick (then FA chief executive) rang and told me 'That's enough!' I couldn't believe it. I remember saying 'Do you want me to leave now, before the World Cup?' He said 'No, after the World Cup' and I just said 'So it's true what they say - the newspapers rule even the FA!'
RB: So are you still bitter?
SVEN: No, I'm not bitter about it. Life goes on. It's all history now and life is new and exciting now at Leicester City. I have the butterflies in my stomach again.
RB: Should the next manager of England be an Englishman?
HEAD-TO-HEAD ... our man Beasley with ErikssonSVEN: I have heard that one before (laughs). It's true there are some good English managers, like Harry Redknapp. He is a very good manager, he has done a great job with Tottenham and he did a great job at Portsmouth. His teams also play attractive football.
So maybe Harry... but it's the FA who decide. One time they want a foreign coach, the next time an English coach. So maybe next time it will be an Englishman.
RB: Should the likes of Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry retire from international football now to let other players, younger players, have their chance?
SVEN: No, they should not... no, not at all. How many goals did Frank Lampard score for Chelsea last season - 20 wasn't it? And from midfield! So why should he retire, he is one of the very best in the game.
Rio Ferdinand too. Yes, he has had his injuries. But when he's fit he is one of the top defenders in the world.
John Terry is the same. Who is better than JT in this country, in the world? And if he doesn't play, who is coming in to replace him, to replace Rio and replace Frank Lampard?
RB: Would a winter break help England's chances of success?
SVEN: Yes, I definitely think so. For my five years as England manager I argued that the players should have seven days off straight after the third round of the FA Cup.
Just missing that one week and one weekend's games would make a big difference and be a huge benefit for the national team.
Why? Because before every finals we could see the fitness levels of all the players were so low it was so difficult to prepare them for the tournament ahead. And I went to every single FA committee to argue the case and every one of them agreed. But nothing was ever done.
RB: You mean the FA wouldn't back you even though they agreed it would help England's chances?
SVEN: Shall I tell you a good story? I met with Sepp Blatter in an hotel in London and I told him if he wanted the 2006 World Cup to be a success, he should make sure all the different leagues finished their seasons one month before the World Cup started.
Advertisement
I said it would mean all the top players would have time to recover and be fit and fresh to ensure the World Cup was the best it could possibly be.
He liked the idea so much that FIFA contacted all the leagues to make it happen.
But I then got a call from someone at FIFA who asked me: 'Have you got so many enemies at the English FA?'
He then explained that England were the only nation who had not agreed to the idea, they had asked for permission to play on for one more week.
RB: So your own FA was trying to sabotage your plans behind your back?
SVEN: Yes, absolutely. But FIFA refused to allow it, they said no.
RB: Did you also feel sabotaged at Manchester City?
SVEN: I have not been very successful in keeping my jobs in England, have I? First England and then Manchester City.
And I still don't know why City sacked me. I have absolutely no idea. The players were happy, the fans were happy, we were playing good football and getting good results.
But three games before the end of the season they came and told me. I asked 'Why?' but they never explained. We lost those last three games but that was absolutely not my fault - it was a result of what they had done.
And then they went and did something similar to Mark Hughes, too.
RB: What is it, then, that keeps you coming back for more? You don't need the money, so you could be enjoying yourself in the sun somewhere.
SVEN: I don't enjoy life if I'm not in football. I'm not old enough to want to retire... well, I don't feel old, anyhow.
My life has been football and I have been a coach since I was 27-years-old. In all that time I only had one year off - that was after England and it was awful.
RB: But why Leicester City?
SVEN: It's a big club, a famous club with a good stadium and with a lot of fans.
Now they have a new owner with a big ambition. He wants Leicester City in the Premier League and fast.
As a manager you know that's not going to be easy. But he knows if you take a club from the middle of the Championship and want to take it to the Premier League and stay there for many years, then it will cost you a lot of money. So he is prepared for that.
Still, to do it this season will be hard. But we will try.
We are eight points off the play-off places and it's 36 games so it's tough . . . but it's not impossible.
Interview: ROB BEASLEY
www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3180840/Sven-Goran-Eriksson-insists-the-FA-were-wrong-to-axe-him.html